Sheridan Smith begins filming Mammoth Screen drama

Filming has commenced on new ITV and Mammoth Screen (Endeavour) thriller Black Work.

Written by the writer of BBC One’s Our Zoo, Matt Charman, the three-part drama stars, Sheridan Smith (Cilla), Matthew McNulty (The Syndicate), Douglas Henshall, Geraldine James (Utopia) and Phil Davis (Silk).

Sheridan plays police woman Jo Gillespie whose world is thrown into turmoil when husband Ryan (Kenny Doughty – Vera), an undercover policeman, is shot dead in mysterious circumstances. She resolutely sets out to discover who murdered him and has to confront difficult truths about her family life and her marriage to Ryan.

Jo is mother to 7-year-old Melly (played by Honor Kneafsey) and stepson Hal (Oliver Woollford). Understandably Jo is emotionally distraught and heavily conflicted so leans on his colleague and fellow police officer DC Jack Clark (McNulty) for support.

Writer Matt Charman on his inspiration for the drama:

“Sheridan Smith is a dream to write for because as an actress there’s really nothing she can’t do. And Black Work is a story that pushes her to the limit – it makes her character, Jo Gillespie doubt herself, her family, her friends, everything she’s always taken for granted in her search for her husband’s killer.”

The Black Work cast also includes: Sharon Duce (Coronation Street), Andrew Knott (Spooks: Code 9), Ace Bhatti (Eastenders), Carla Henry (Homefront), Lisa Dillon (Cranford), Vinette Robinson (Sherlock), and Ben-Ryan Davies (Waterloo Road).

Michael Samuels (Any Human Heart, The Fear) is director; Rebecca Keane and Damien Timmer will executive produce for Mammoth Screen.