Jack Rowan

Created and written by Ryan J. Brown, the comedy horror - with an element of slasher - takes place aboard The Sacramentum cruise ship. 

New recruit 20-year-old Jamie (Oscar Kennedy, Ladhood) has joined the ship to try and infiltrate the 3,000 strong crew in a tense race to find his missing sister, who was working on the same ship during a previous tour but vanished mid charter. 

As Jamie learns the realities of cruise life, he discovers the different tribes within the staff, from the theatre kids, to the mafias, to the low paid workers. 

The eight-part series will star Jack Rowan (Noughts + Crosses), Tahirah Sharif (The Tower), Dougray Scott (Crime), Jason Flemyng (Pennyworth) and Martha Plimpton (Younger). 

The explosive family drama is set amongst the sunny backdrop of Costa del Sol in the early 80’s, with a decade-defining soundtrack to accompany the series.

Series two will dive back into the alternate history of Malorie Blackman’s bestselling novels, where black ‘Cross’ people rule over the white ‘Noughts’.

Jack Rowan and Masali Baduza will return as forbidden lovers Callum and Sephy, who are now attempting to escape Albion in search of a better, safer life together.

How did you get involved with the Noughts and Crosses project?

The British musician will play newspaper editor Kolawale, a new role created for the six-part series.

Adapted for screen by Toby Whithouse (Being Human), Noughts + Crosses is set in an alternate reality where society is segregated by race, with a white underclass called ‘Noughts’ and a black ruling class called ‘Crosses.’

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. 

Yet playing a villain in his first leading role was perfect for the 21-year-old newcomer. “I love it because it’s so far removed from who you really are,” he tells the RTS.

His chilling portrayal of teenage psychopath Sam Woodford secured Rowan a nomination for an acting award at this year's RTS Programme Awards alongside “two kings” Stephen Graham and Sean Bean.

“Even to be in the same sentence [as them] is beyond me, I’m just kind of pinching myself.”