David Farnor | On 07, Dec 2018

Sophie Cookson, James Norton, Emilia Fox and Ben Miles will star in BBC One’s The Trial of Christine Keeler.

lead stellar cast in Bafta award-winning novelist Amanda Coe’s six-part drama for BBC One.

Written by BAFTA award-winning novelist and screenwriter Amanda Coe (Apple Tree Yard, Room at the Top, Life in Squares) and directed by Andrea Harkin (Come Home, Clique), The Trial of Christine Keeler takes a fresh look at one of the most infamous British stories: the chain of events in the 1960s that came to be known as the Profumo Affair. At the centre of the storm was 19-year-old Christine Keeler – a young woman whom the powerful, male-dominated establishment sought to silence and exploit, but who refused to play by their rules.

Sophie Cookson (Kingsman: The Secret Service, Gypsy, Red Joan) leads the cast in the role of Keeler. James Norton (McMafia, War and Peace, Happy Valley) stars opposite Cookson in the role of Stephen Ward together with Ellie Bamber (Les Miserables) as Mandy Rice-Davies. Ben Miles (The Crown) will play John Profumo and Emilia Fox (Silent Witness, Delicious) stars as Valerie Profumo. Nathan Stewart-Jarrett (Angels in America, Mope) plays Johnny Edgecombe and Anthony Welsh (Journeyman, Black Mirror) plays Aloysius “Lucky” Gordon.

The Trial of Christine Keeler takes us behind the headlines to tell a human story about the sexual and cultural politics of one of the most revealing and iconic stories of modern times. It is an Ecosse Films and Great Meadow co-production. The executive producers are Kate Triggs and Douglas Rae for Ecosse Films, Amanda Coe and Lucy Richer for BBC. Rebecca Ferguson will produce.

Kate Triggs, Executive Producer for Ecosse Films, says: “I am thrilled that Amanda’s wonderful scripts have attracted such an exciting and stunning cast. They all bring something unique and fresh to the story and will be so compelling to watch. Sophie Cookson is the perfect Christine, embodying all her complexity and incredible spirit”.

“I’m delighted to be playing Christine Keeler,” adds Cookson. “Amanda Coe has written an illuminating script about a vivid, complex woman who has previously, it seems, been reduced and misunderstood. Now feels like the perfect time to reconsider her life, and redress the balance.”

Filming on the series is now underway in Bristol.

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