Parade's End: Stoppard's TV Return
Edwardian fever continues to grip the imagination of British broadcasters. With Downton Abbey back on ITV this month, the BBC has announced that filming has begun on Parade’s End, a Mammoth Screen production for BBC2/HBO which stars Benedict Cumberbatch (Sherlock, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy) & Rebecca Hall (Vicky Cristina B’lona).
The five-part series is based on a series on novels by Ford Madox Ford and is being scripted by Tom Stoppard. It is set during a formative period of British history – from the twilight years of the Edwardian era to the end of the First World War.
Parade's End is produced by Oscar and Bafta-winning David Parfitt (The Madness Of King George, Shakespeare In Love, My Week With Marilyn) and twice Bafta-winning Selwyn Roberts (Longitude, Shackleton).
Michele Buck, Damien Timmer and Tom Stoppard are executive producers for Mammoth Screen, Piers Wenger for the BBC.
At the centre of Parade’s End is English aristocrat Christopher Tietjens (Cumberbatch), his beautiful but wilful wife Sylvia (Hall), and Valentine Wannop, a young suffragette, played by Adelaide Clemens. Filming will take place across the UK and Belgium until December with a supporting cast including Roger Allam (The Queen), Anne-Marie Duff (Nowhere Boy), Rupert Everett (Importance Of Being Earnest) and Miranda Richardson (Made In Dagenham).
Commenting, Ben Stephenson, Controller, BBC Drama Commissioning, says: "It's great to be working with HBO on this ambitious project which demonstrates BBC2's ongoing commitment to original British drama in 2012. The stellar cast assembled confirms the buzz and excitement around Sir Tom Stoppard's return to British TV."
Parade's End was commissioned by Janice Hadlow, Controller, BBC2 and Ben Stephenson. It will join a raft of new drama series on the channel including Jed Mercurio's Line Of Duty, Paula Milne's White Heat, Stephen Poliakoff's Dancing On The Edge, and a cycle of Shakespeare's four most acclaimed works as part of a season based on the Bard's life.
