ITV2 commissions Switch a 6 x 60 – minute drama starring Ex EastEnders star Lacey Turner as one of four witches in a coven in London’s Camden Town.
Take four girls, add some flirting, stir in a quantity of heady rebelliousness, risk-taking, true friendship and Stella, Jude, Grace and Hannah are born; played by Lacey Turner (Eastenders, Bedlam), Nina Toussaint-White (Doctor Who), Phoebe Fox (Black Mirror) and Hannah Tointon (The Inbetweeners).
The drama is written by Chloe Moss (Secret Diary of a Call Girl, Prisoners’ Wives, Hollyoaks, Skins – script editor) and Tim Price (Secret Diary of a Call Girl, Eastenders, Casualty, Holby City).
Laura Mackie ITV’s Drama Commissioning team said: “Chloe and Tim have created four fun-loving, free-spirited characters and we’re delighted with the direction the series takes.”
Rob Pursey said:“We’re delighted to be working with ITV2 and with Tim and Chloe to create this really exciting new series. Switch is an upbeat, funny drama about four young witches trying to make their way in the big city. They want to live a modern life, not one based on their mothers’ old-fashioned rituals. But modern life presents serious problems, and our girls can’t help casting the occasional spell to try to sort things out…”
Character descriptions…
Stella (Lacey Turner) is the careerist. Always immaculately dressed and with a rotten boss, Janet, who takes great pleasure in telling terrified Stella she’s crap at her job and should find another profession.
Jude (Nina Toussaint-White) is the fashionista of the bunch, stylish, sexy and clothes conscious she works in a fashion store and certainly has an eye for the boys! Free-spirited and cool Gerry, a guitarist in an indie band, is one of her conquests. Miles is another, but is he really straight?
Newest to London and struggling to cope with the Big City is Grace (Phoebe Fox). She has a traditional attitude to witchcraft, a strong moral sense and tends to pull the girls back from the brink when they are teetering on the edge of disaster.
Hannah (Hannah Tointon) is the traveller of the pack, who arrives from India at the beginning of the drama. Although devoted to the girls wherever she is in the world, Hannah is restless and a commitment–phobe. She’s also the most spontaneous of the quartet.
There’s also a brooding dark force in the form of their sworn enemies Witches of Kensington – Alexa, India, Romola and Remy.
Grace’s mum Gloria also puts in an appearance and is a witch of the old-fashioned kind. The Solstice is important to her and she’ll stop at nothing to persuade Grace and her friends to attend the ceremony this year.
The first three episodes of Switch will be directed by Dominic Leclerc (Love Life, Coronation Street). The series is produced by Philip Trethowan (Being Human) and executive produced by Touchpaper’s Managing Director, Rob Pursey (Being Human, Coming Up).
Switch will go into production in London, Cardiff and Bristol for 11 weeks from April 2012.
