Filming begins on Tony Jordan’s retelling of Noah’s Ark

Filming has begun on BBC One’s single drama The Ark – a retelling of the biblical story of Noah’s Ark written by Tony Jordan (Hustle, The Nativity).

David Threlfall (Tommy Cooper, Shameless, What Remains) heads up the cast as Noah; Joanne Whalley (The Borgias, Jamaica Inn) plays his steadfast wife Emmie alongside Nico Mirallegro (The Village) as Noah’s youngest son, Kenan.

The one-off special (not to be confused with The Crimson Field which was formerly called The Ark), from Red Planet Pictures (Death in Paradise, The Passing Bells), is currently being filmed in Morocco and tells the timeless tale of family and faith; about one man’s belief and fixation with building the ark which will ultimately save his family and mankind.

Noah, a farmer and family man, is instructed by an angel to build an ark in the middle of a desert in order to save both his family and the faithful from a devastating flood.  A seemingly impossible task, especially when his sons refuse to believe him and help, Noah risks ridicule and humiliation from the degenerate townsfolk as well as his loving but exasperated family, in his quest to carry out his God-given task.

Commenting on his role, David Threlfall said: “The story jumped off the page at me from the first reading. It’s not just a family saga but the first family saga. It takes its inspiration from many faiths and speaks of values which should be shared across all cultures. It was something I immediately wanted to be part of.”

Other cast members include: Ashley Walters (Top Boy, Truckers), Emily Bevan (In The Flesh), Hannah John-Kamen (The Hour, Death in Paradise), Georgina Campbell (One Night), Ian Smith(The Syndicate), Michael Fox (New Worlds) and Andrew Hawley (Hinterland, Borgia).

Belinda Campbell, Executive Producer for Red Planet Pictures said: “The Ark is a timeless tale which will touch those who are both familiar with the story from the Bible, as well as those who are seeing it for the first time. Warm and humorous, it tells the tale of the impact on a family when an ordinary man undertakes to do an extraordinary thing.”

The Ark is a Red Planet Pictures production, in association with Lip Sync Productions and Great Point Media, for the BBC. Belinda Campbell and Tony Jordan are executive producers for Red Planet and Polly Hill for the BBC. It’s directed by Kenny Glenaan (Charlie, Yasmin, The Cops) and produced by Jules Hussey (In The Flesh, Complicit, The Nativity).