Production begins on BBC1’s new investigative drama

The first casting has been announced as filming begins on bestselling author and screenwriter Anthony Horowitz’s new seven-part BBC One drama, New Blood.

The two leads will be played by newcomers Mark Strepan (The Mill) and Ben Tavassoli (No Offence), who will play junior investigators Stefan and Rash respectively, who individually work in the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) and the police; brought together by two seemingly unrelated cases.

New Blood shows a unique side of modern London, through the eyes of two outsiders. who will come up against the uber rich and powerful, and the new breed of criminals who hide behind legitimate facades and are guarded by lawyers.

Rash and Stefan are opposites in almost every way. What they do share are the same frustrations with life – underpaid, unappreciated and undermined. They are both British but not part of the establishment.

Together they come to understand that by quietly pooling resources and combining their different skills they make a formidable crime-solving force.
New Blood is created and written by Anthony Horowitz and produced by Eleventh Hour Films (Safe House, Foyle’s War).

Anthony Horowitz says: “When I created a hero who was Polish/British and another who was Iranian/British, I never expected that we’d actually find the real thing but with Mark and Ben we’ve done exactly that. They really are the ‘new blood’ that the title promises and I’m confident that they’re going to make a wonderfully surprising and entertaining team.”

Ben Tavassoli, who plays Rash, says: “I remember this green book knocking about at school when I was in year 7. I didn’t read anything besides forged sick notes back then, but I decided to jump on the bandwagon and pick up a copy of Stormbreaker. The only problem was I couldn’t put it back down and now 15 years later I’ve been cast in the author’s new BBC drama. Madness. It’s such a privilege.”

Mark Strepan, playing Stefan, said: “When I was 17, I remember serving ‘Alex Rider’ Alex Pettyfer at a charity dinner. I was working and saving money for drama school, standing in awe of the actor who got to be a part of Anthony Horowitz’s Stormbreaker. I can’t wait to get started. You read these scripts and you can’t help but want to do a little dance. There’s a lot of action, a lot of training to be done and a lot of fun ahead. I feel incredibly lucky to be a part of it.”

Further casting will be announced soon.