Keeley Hawes Leads The Cast In BBC1 Adaptation of ‘The Lady Vanishes’
Keeley Hawes heads up Fiona Seres’s adaptation of The Lady Vanishes
Keeley Hawes (Spooks, Upstairs Downstairs, Ashes To Ashes) has been cast as Mrs Todhunter, the lead in a one-off 90 minute adaption of The Lady Vanishes to be shown on BBC One at Christmas.
Gemma Jones (Spooks, Bridget Jones’s Diary) will also star in the psychological thriller as Rose Flood-Porter, Stephanie Cole (Coronation Street, Doc Martin) as Evelyn Flood-Porter and Julian Rhind-Tutt (The Hour, Notting Hill) will play Keeley’s husband Mr Todhunter, with Selina Cadell taking on the role of the spirited Miss Froy (Doc Martin, Toast), Tuppence Middleton (Spies of Warsaw) as Iris and Tom Hughes (Cemetery Junction, Silk) as Max.
It is 1931, beautiful and wealthy young socialite Iris Carr (Middleton) whilst holidaying with her friends in the Balkans their raucous behaviour escalates and Iris resolves to seek out some tranquillity and travel home alone, she faints on the platform of the railway station in the scorching heat. She wakes in time to be rushed on to the train but with a pounding head and a feeling of being almost in a dream.
Whilst in this malaise she is comforted by Miss Froy (Cadell), whose tweed suit and bookish looks belie a jovial and adventurous spirit. Miss Froy talks at length about her desperation to return home to her family; but when Iris falls asleep she awakes to find Miss Froy has vanished and her fellow passengers denying she ever existed….
With only the allegiance of handsome English traveller Max Hare (Hughes) for support, Iris maintains her conviction that Miss Froy has somehow been abducted.
As fellow passengers refute Iris’s story her conviction appears increasingly to be madness. Iris will have to rely on a strength of character she never knew she had to battle doubt and overcome danger as she strives to solve the mystery of why the lady vanished.
Fiona Seres, writer, said: “I am very excited to have such a brilliant cast for the Lady Vanishes not just the key characters played by Tuppence Middleton and Tom Hughes but also a dynamic supporting cast that includes Danish actors Benedikte Hansen and Jesper Christensen.”
Kate Harwood, Controller, Series and Serials, BBC Drama commented:
“Fiona’s adaptation of The Wheel Spins deftly weaves together the intriguing stories of a psychologically complex group of characters – with the mysterious disappearance of Miss Froy on a packed train – played out against the tense backdrop of the Balkans in the 1930s.
I am delighted with the incredible cast and crew we have assembled for the project. The Lady Vanishes will be a thrilling treat for BBC One audiences this Christmas.”
The outstanding cast also includes: Alex Jennings (Silk) as the Professor, Sandy McDade (Lark Rise To Candleford) as Mrs Barnes, Pip Torrens (Silk) as Rev Barnes, Benedikte Hansen (Borgen) as the Baroness, Jesper Christensen (Melancholia) as the Doctor, Emerald Fennell (Any Human Heart) as Odette, Charles Aitken (Bonkers) as Charlie and Daisy Lewis (Doctor Who) as Diana.
Adapted by Fiona Seres (The Silence, Tangle) from the novel The Wheel Spins – also filmed by Hitchcock as The Lady Vanishes – it will be directed by Diarmuid Lawrence (South Riding, Little Dorrit) and produced for the channel by BBC Drama Production.
‘The Lady Vanishes’ will start filming on location in Budapest in August.
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