The eight-part series will retell the fall of Troy; from the judgement of Paris, his scandalous love affair with Helen, and the ill-starred prophecy surrounding his birth.

The drama will star Louis Hunter (The Fosters) and Bella Dayne (Humans) as lovers Paris and Helen, whose affair takes Greece and Troy into war that could destroy them both.

David Threlfall (Shameless) will play Paris’ father, King Priam of Troy, with Frances O’Connor (The Missing) as Hecuba, Queen of Troy, and Tom Weston-Jones (Dickensian) as their eldest son Hector.

"I'm delighted we've assembled such a high-quality ensemble cast, mixing some exciting new faces with experienced actors whom I have long coveted and admired," said writer David Farr. 

"The story we're telling has an epic and political sweep but is also deeply human and intimate. I look forward to seeing these actors take you on the journey."

Other members of the cast include Joseph Mawle (Game Of Thrones) as Odysseus, Chloe Pirrie (War & Peace) as Andromache, Johnny Harris (This Is England 86-90) as Agamemnon, David Gyasi (Interstellar) as Achilles, and Jonas Armstrong (Ripper Street) as Menelaos, the King of Sparta whose marriage to Helen is turned upside down when Paris arrives in his city.

Alfred Enoch (How To Get Away With Murder) will star as the Trojan general Aeneas, and Aimee-Ffion Edwards (The Detectorists) will play Priam and Hecuba’s daughter, Cassandra.

Piers Wenger, Controller BBC Drama Commissioning, said, “We now have the perfect cast to bring David Farr’s extraordinary scripts to life, including, in Louis Hunter and Bella Dayne, two of the most exciting upcoming actors cast as two of mythology’s most iconic figures. 

"Troy: Fall Of A City will be like nothing broadcast before; a 3,000 year old tale crafted on a huge scale, ready to enthral and capture the imaginations of BBC One viewers as if it were being told for the very first time.”

The story will be told from the perspective of the Trojan royal family at the heart of the siege and explore human existence, intimacy and the destruction of war through this adventure epic. 

“These myths may be 3,000 years old but they still have an elemental grip on our imagination, resonating through history as current conflicts bring Homer closer to us than ever," Derek Wax, Executive Producer for Wild Mercury, added.

I am thrilled that David Farr’s wonderful scripts have attracted such a brilliant cast, breathing new life into these characters, finding the human intimacy within the epic sweep."

Troy: Fall Of A City is currently filming in Cape Town and will premiere in the UK on BBC One and globally outside of the UK on Netflix.