David Farnor | On 22, Feb 2019

Helen Hunt heads to BBC One this year for new drama World on Fire.

Written by Peter Bowker (Eric and Ernie, Blackpool) and produced by Mammoth Screen, the epic seven-part series is a gripping retaling of the first year of WWII, told through the intertwining fates of ordinary people drawn from Britain, Poland, France, Germany and the United States.

Peter Bowker says: “World On Fire tells the hidden human stories within the big historical events we think we know. From Harry, a young English translator in Warsaw caught up in negotiations with the Nazis and trying to smuggle his Polish lover Kasia out of the country, to Lois, the girl who is waiting for him at home, a young Mancunian factory worker who will come to take all the opportunities the War can offer to live a different kind of life. To Nancy, a female US war correspondent who can’t find peace unless her life is at risk, to the Rossler family in Berlin, worried for their soldier son and willing to do anything to protect their disabled daughter from the attentions of the ruling Nazi regime. These are the stories of the ordinary people who shaped our world. Stories of loyalty and brutality, courage and fear, hopes, stories of love and loss, hopes and dreams forged in extraordinary times.”

Bringing those stories to life is an impressive cast that includes Helen Hunt (As Good As It Gets, Mad About You) as Nancy Campbell, Jonah Hauer-King (Little Women, Howard’s End) as Harry Chase and Polish Academy Award-winner Zofia Wichlacz (Warsaw 44, Amok) as Kasia Tomaszeski. The ensemble also includes Academy Award nominee Lesley Manville (Phantom Thread, Mum), Emmy and BAFTA winner Sean Bean (Broken, Game of Thrones, Lord of the Rings), Blake Harrison (A Very English Scandal, The Inbetweeners), and poet and actor Yrsa Daley-Ward (Today Will Burn). Now, we’ve got our first look at some of them in action with new pictures from the production, which has filmed in Prague, Manchester and Paris.

 

Sean Bean joins Helen Hunt and Lesley Manville in BBC’s World on Fire

30th November 2018

Sean Bean will star alongside Helen Hunt and Lesley Manville in World on Fire, BBC One’s new World War II drama.

Written by multi-award winning writer Peter Bowker (Eric And Ernie, Blackpool), the seven-part epic is an adrenalized series following the first year of World War II through the intertwining fates of ordinary people drawn from Britain, Poland, France, Germany and the United States, as they grapple with the effect of the war on their everyday lives.

Bowker says: “World On Fire tells the hidden human stories within the big historical events we think we know. From Harry, a young English translator in Warsaw caught up in negotiations with the Nazis and trying to smuggle his Polish lover Kasia out of the country, to Lois, the girl who is waiting for him at home, a young Mancunian factory worker who will come to take all the opportunities the war can offer to live a different kind of life… to Nancy, a female US war correspondent who can’t find peace unless her life is at risk, to the Rossler family in Berlin, worried for their soldier son and willing to do anything to protect their disabled daughter from the attentions of the ruling Nazi regime. These are the stories of the ordinary people who shaped our world. Stories of loyalty and brutality, courage and fear, hopes, stories of love and loss, hopes and dreams forged in extraordinary times.”

Bean says: “I am thrilled to be part of this ambitious drama. Peter Bowker’s study of the human stories that thread through this huge global conflict is fascinating and something I look forward to being part of on screen.”

He joins the already announced Helen Hunt (As Good As It Gets, Mad About You) and Lesley Manville (Phantom Thread, Mum).
Also joining the ensemble is Blake Harrison (A Very English Scandal, The Inbetweeners), poet and actor Yrsa Daley-Ward (Today Will Burn), Ansu Kabia (The Long Song) and Ewan Mitchell (The Last Kingdom), with other cast members including rising British stars Jonah Hauer-King (Little Women, Howard’s End) and Julia Brown (The Last Kingdom), Polish Academy Award-winner Zofia Wichłacz (Warsaw 44, Amok) and Brian J. Smith (Sense8), along with Parker Sawyers (Southside With You, The Autopsy Of Jane Doe), Tomasz Kot (Gods, Cold War), Bruno Alexander (Eden, Der Verlorene Bruder), Johannes Zeiler (Faust, Codename Holec) and Eugénie Derouand (Genius, Beatrice).

Adam Smith (Trespass Against Us) is directing episodes one and two, Thomas Napper (Jawbone) is directing episode three, Chanya Button (Burn Burn Burn) is directing episodes five and six, and Andy Wilson (Unforgotten) is directing episodes four and seven.

Filming started in September in Prague and other filming locations include Manchester and Paris.
World On Fire is produced by Mammoth Screen which is part of ITV Studios.

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