Drama

Filming begins on BBC One's Noughts + Crosses adaptation

The six-part series will follow the love story between two teenage protagonists Sephy Hadley (Baduza) and Callum McGregor (Rowan) who are divided by the colour of their skin in a dystopian world. 

Childhood friends Sephy, a member of the black ruling class the 'Crosses' and the daughter of the Home Secretary, and Callum, a member of the white underclass the 'Noughts', must overcome violent forces trying to tear them apart as their relationship becomes more complex and romantic as they grow up. 

Emma Thompson to star in Russell T Davies drama Years and Years

Emma Thompson DBE (Credit: BBC)

Set in a Britain rocked by political, economic and technological changes, the six-part drama follows the Lyons family as their busy live converge one night in 2019.

Over the next fifteen years, the drama tracks the twists and turns of everyday life to find out if this ordinary family can change the world.

Starring in the family saga is two-time Oscar winner Emma Thompson (Love Actually) as Vivienne Rook, an outspoken and controversial public figure whose rise to power brings an uncertain future.

Elen Rhys and Julian Looman lead new BBC One daytime crime drama The Mallorca Files

Elen Rhys and Julian Looman (Credit: BBC)

Set on the Spanish Island of Mallorca, introverted British cop Miranda Blake (Rhys) clashes with her German partner Max Winter (Looman) who is unashamedly unconventional and wears his heart on his sleeve.

Their opposing personalities play out in their crime-solving endeavours while the Police Chief Inez Villegas keeps them busy with cases her own team don’t want.

Written by Dan Sefton (The Good Karma Hospital), the new series is directed by Bryn Higgins (Black Mirror).

Casting announced for new BBC One drama Dark Mon£y

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Centred on The Mensahs from North London, Dark Mon£y tells the story of parents Manny (Ceesay) and Sam (Halfpenny) who suffer a horrific shock when their youngest child reveals he was abused by a known filmmaker while filming a Hollywood movie in America.

In an attempt to build anew, the working-class family reluctantly accept a large pay-off for their silence.

Believing themselves to be free of the hardships of pressing charges against a renowned celebrity, The Mensahs are proven wrong as accepting the pay-off leads to dark consequences.

French thriller Killer by the Lake to premiere on Channel 4

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Created by Jeanne Le Guillou and Bruno Dega, the series revisits detective Lise (Julie De Bona), whose happy family life is interrupted when two women are discovered dead within two days.

After solving the disappearance of teenage girls by Lac de Sainte-Croix three years previously, Lise has moved 200 miles away to Lac d’Annecy with her husband and son. The family's rural idyll is shattered as Lise is placed as lead detective on the new murder case.

BBC Two reveals cast for new drama The Luminaries

Eve Hewson as Lucy Elkins in The Knick (Credit: Sky)

Set in New Zealand during the 1860s gold rush, The Luminaires follows British adventurer Anna Wetherell (Eve Hewson) as she searches for a new beginning across the globe.

When she falls for fortune hunter Emery Staines during an encounter on the Wild West Coast of New Zealand’s South Island, the star-crossed lovers become entangled in a world of murder, revenge and tragedy. Especially with the not-so-pleasant Lydia Wells (Eva Green) and rich boy Francis Carver (Marton Csokas) causing trouble for the couple.

ITV commissions fourth series of Unforgotten

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The commission builds on the success of the critically-acclaimed third season, which peaked with 6.9 million viewers.

ITV’s Head of Drama, Polly Hill, praised creator Chris Lang for his powerful and compelling writing. “We have been delighted with the reception of the first three series of Unforgotten and are thrilled to commission a fourth instalment. Chris Lang’s writing is incredibly powerful and his storytelling utterly compelling, so we have no doubt that the new case will have viewers gripped again.”

Fifth and final series of BBC One’s Poldark begins filming

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The new series takes place after a time-jump of ten years, which fans of the books by Winston Graham (on which the series is based) have been expecting. Horsfield, who has written every episode of the four previous series has a cunning approach to seamlessly weaving in this passage of time. 

The drama will pick up in the wake of the shocking death of Ross Poldark’s long time paramour and, latterly, enemy Elizabeth Warleggan.

Stop the Press: BBC drama gets rewritten for being too accurate

The six-part series, which kicks off on BBC One later this week, explores the lives of journalists at two rival papers – left-leaning broadsheet The Herald and tabloid The Post.

Charlotte Riley leads the cast as the Herald’s Deputy News Editor Holly Evans, with Ben Chaplin plays the Post’s charmingly amoral Editor Duncan Allen, and Priyanga Burford as the Herald’s Editor Amina Chaudury.