New cast members announced for second series of BBC One’s period drama The Paradise

The BBC has announced that Ben Daniels, Lisa Millett, Adrian Scarborough and Katie Moore will be joining the series 2 cast of period drama, The Paradise.

The second series reopens the doors to The Paradise a year after the dramatic events that saw Moray declare his love for Denise and break off his engagement to Katherine Glendenning.

Joanna Vanderham reprises her role as Denise Lovett, a bright and beautiful girl from Peebles full of ambition, and Emun Elliot returns as the dashing and entrepreneurial Moray. Elaine Cassidy returns as the spurned Katherine, with all three characters locked in a love triangle battling for control of The Paradise.

Ben Daniels (Jack The Giant Slayer, House Of Cards, Merlin) will play Katherine’s new husband, Tom Weston, an enigmatic former soldier.

On starring in the series Ben says: “I’m a huge Émile Zola fan and when Bill Gallagher said he was writing a new character for The Paradise and had me in mind for the role, I knew I wanted to play Tom Weston before I’d even read a word of the script. Tom’s a fascinating animal and will certainly be ruffling a few feathers (and silks!) along the way. I’m really looking forward to the next few months of filming.”

Lisa Millett (Five Daughters, The Pillars Of The Earth) will take on the role of Myrtle as the bawdy but kind-hearted new cook alongside new characters Susy, played by Katie Moore (Misfits, Merlin); Tom’s daughter Flora, played by Edie Whitehead; and Fenton, played by Adrian Scarborough (Upstairs, Downstairs). There are also appearances from Kevin Guthrie who will be playing Nathanial, and Branka Katic as Clemence.

Also returning are Matthew McNulty (Dudley), Sarah Lancashire (Miss Audrey), Stephen Wight (Sam) and Sonya Cassidy (Clara).

The popular series, which attracted a average consolidated audience of 5.7 million, is adapted from the much-loved classic French novel by Emile Zola, and follows the smart, ambitious and big-hearted Denise Lovett played by Vanderham, who arrives in the city to find work. The store provides the catalyst for her rags-to-riches story as she falls in love with the exhilarating and dangerous charms of the modern world and her eyes are opened to a whole new world of possibilities.

The Paradise is written and created by Bill Gallagher and made in-house by BBC Drama Productions. The executive producer for the BBC is Susan Hogg and the producer is Simon Lewis.