PREMIUM SPOTLIGHT ON AGATHA CHRISTIE'S 'ORDEAL BY INNOCENCE' MINI SERIES WITH BILL NIGHY, MATTHEW GOODE, ELEANOR TOMLINSON, LUKE TREADAWAY, CHRISTIAN COOKE

   'ORDEAL BY INNOCENCE'

NEW AGATHA CHRISTIE SERIES

The series starts this Easter Sunday

Although we thought Sarah Phelps' adaptation of Witness for the Prosecution was ghastly bad last year at BBC, we did absolutely adore And Then There Were None the year before it, so we are ready to give ORDEAL BY INNOCENCE her latest Agatha Christie project a go when it starts airing Easter Sunday at BBC. It was originally supposed to air at Christmas but it underwent a 12 day reshooting in order to replace Ed Westwick with Christian Cooke in 35 scenes in which he appears in the three part mini series. The reshooting wasn't easy as they had to book the ensemble cast again and shoot in winter instead of summer while also booking all the locations and costumes

Bill Nighy leads the cast as the victim's widower!

again too. They have also changed the ending from the one in Christie's novel for which they've got a special permission from Agatha Christie's estate.

DEATH IN FAMILY & MURDERER IS STILL AMONG THEM 
Wealthy philanthropist Rachel Argyll (Anna Chancellor) is murdered at her family estate Sunny Point. Her adopted son Jack Argyll (Anthony

Rachel's children and Alice Eve as their future stepmother

Boyle), a young delinquent, is arrested for her murder. He vehemently protests his innocence. Eighteen months later, Dr Arthur Calgary (Luke

Christian Cooke was cast to replace Ed Westwick in 32 scenes

Treadaway), a mysterious scientist, walks onto the velvety lawns of Sunny Point claiming to have just returned from an expedition to the Arctic. Even

Poldark's Eleanor Tomlinson plays one of Rachel's daughters

more extraordinary is his claim to hold the alibi that can prove Jack’s innocence. But Jack died in prison before the case could come to trial, and the Argyll family is reluctant to dig up the secrets of the past. Rachel’s widower

Matthew Goode is secretly attracted to his wife's sister in the series

Leo (Bill Nighy) is about to remarry his secretary Gwenda (Alice Eve) and none of Rachel’s other adopted children Mary (Eleanor Tomlinson), Mickey (Christian Cooke), Tina (Crystal Clarke) or Hester (Ella

Luke Treadaway returns from Arctic and brings mystery with him

Purnell), nor long standing housekeeper Kirsten (Morven Christie), is willing to reopen that most horrendous chapter of their lives. However, the shattering implications of Calgary’s story are too big to avoid; if he is telling

Alice Eve plays Bill Nighy's secretary and future wife

the truth then the wrong person was arrested for Rachel’s murder. And if Jack is innocent, then it must have been somebody else at Sunny Point. Somebody still out there…Matthew Goode plays Mary's disabled husband Philip.

STARZ ORDERS 'SPANISH PRINCESS' WHITE QUEEN & WHITE PRINCESS FOLLOW UP EPIC SERIES! 'ORDEAL BY INNOCENCE' TRAILER WITH BILL NIGHY, MATTHEW GOODE, ELEANOR TOMLINSON! 'YOUNG & HUNGRY' CANCELLED EMILY OSMENT TO LEAD '25' SITCOM! TONE BELL, NINA DOBREV TO LEAD 'FAM' SITCOM

  'THE SPANISH PRINCESS' 

STARZ ORDERS NEW EPIC SAGA

TV day today, starting with an amazing piece of news for all of you who loved Starz' brilliant epic series White Princess last year! The follow up to

This will be third series based on Gregory's books

BBC's White Queen will now get its own follow up in THE SPANISH PRINCESS based on Philippa Gregory’s best selling books The Constant Princess and The King’s Curse.

THE SPANISH PRINCESS will follow Catherine of Aragon, the beautiful young princess of Spain who was promised the English throne since she was a child. She arrives in a grey, rain lashed England with her glorious and diverse court including her lady in waiting Lina – an African Moor. She is Princess of Wales now, but when her husband Prince Arthur dies suddenly, the throne seems lost to Catherine. Until she claims her marriage was never consummated and that as a virgin she may set her sights on the new heir, the charismatic and headstrong Prince Harry who will one day rule as King Henry VIII.

  MULTICAM SITCOM PILOTS 

EMILY OSMENT TO LEAD '25' 

Emily Osment is moving to 25 at CBS

Good and bad news from the TV comedy world. Sad news is that Freeform is ending its sitcom Young and Hungry with the remaining ten episodes of the fifth season which will air from June 20th. The good news is that its star Emily Osment has booked a lead role in new CBS multicam sitcom pilot 25 which follows twenty something Kyle (Matt Shively), who comes to Austin to finally convince his old best friend from camp, Kate (Osment), that they are perfect for each other. Unfortunately, she just got engaged. A lot of guys would give up; Kyle is not one of those guys. But to Kyle’s surprise, even though he came to town looking for “the one,” he might end up with much more than that.

TONE BELL AND NINA DOBREV TO LEAD 'FAM' SITCOM AT CBS
Another of our favourite comedians Tone Bell, whose Disjointed has just been cancelled, will take the lead in CBS multicam sitcom FAM next to Nina

Tone Bell also starred in Truth Be Told sitcom

Dobrev who plays a woman whose dreams of an upstanding life with her new fiancé, Jay (Tone Bell), and his upstanding family are dashed when her train wreck younger half sister (Odessa Adlon) comes to live with her to escape their train wreck of a father. Bell's Jay is a sophisticated NYU history professor who comes from old money but is refreshingly unaffected and down-to-earth despite his refined background. Deeply in love with Clem (Dobrev), he proposes to her — much to the delight of his parents, Walt (Brian Stokes Mitchell) and Rose (Sheryl

Nina Dobrev will take the female lead in Fam CBS sitcom pilot

Lee Ralph), who think Clem is a real catch. But he learns that Clem has not been completely honest about a few key elements in her life: For example, her father isn’t actually dead — and it drives a wedge of mistrust between them that might not be easily mended.

  'ORDEAL BY INNOCENCE' 

BBC MINI SERIES TRAILER!

Over across the pond, BBC has released trailer for Agatha Christie's ORDEAL BY INNOCENCE three part mini series which was postponed so that Edd Westwick's scenes could be reshot with Christian Cooke! Also

Click on the photo to see the whole cast in bigger size

starring Bill Nighy, Matthew Goode, Eleanor Tomlinson, Luke Treadaway, it is set at Christmas 1954. Wealthy philanthropist Rachel Argyll is murdered at her family estate Sunny Point. Her adopted son Jack Argyll is

Bill Nighy leads the stellar cast in the new mini series

arrested for her murder. He vehemently protests his innocence. The mysterious Dr Arthur Calgary returns from a trip to the Arctic claiming he has proof Jack is innocent. And if Jack was not the killer, then it must have been somebody else at Sunny Point. But who?

CHRISTIAN COOKE TO REPLACE ED WESTWICK IN AGATHA CHRISTIE'S 'ORDEAL BY INNOCENCE', HELENA BONHAM CARTER TO PLAY PRINCESS MARGARET IN 'CROWN' SEASON 3?

'ORDEAL BY INNOCENCE' 

CHRISTIAN COOKE TO REPLACE ED WESTWICK IN BBC'S MINI

Christian Cooke will be the new Mickey Argyil

Two people have been replaced in their small screen roles today, people! Although it has already been completed and ready to air on BBC at Christmas, Agatha Christie's ORDEAL BY INNOCENCE will be reshot and Ed Westwick's scenes will be replaced with new ones starring Christian Cooke after Westwick has been involved in an alleged sex scandal! Cooke will now play the character of Mickey Argyll next to the cast that includes Bill Nighy, Matthew Goode, Eleanor Tomlinson and Luke Treadaway. Set at Christmas 1954 it sees wealthy philanthropist Rachel Argyll murdered at her family estate Sunny Point. Her adopted son Jack Argyll is arrested for her murder but he vehemently protests his innocence which means that another member of the family might be the murderer.

'THE CROWN' TV SERIES

HELENA BONHAM CARTER TO PLAY PRINCESS MARGARET?

Helena has played the queen's mother already!

Meanwhile, over at Netflix, who are currently airing the second season of their hit series THE CROWN, Helena Bonham Carter is apparently in talks to play rebellious princess Margaret in the third season which will see Olivia Colman playing the queen instead of Claire Foy. She will replace Vanessa Kirby in the role after, which is very interesting, playing Margaret's mother in The King's Speech!  Helena Bonham Carter was, apparently, also in the running to play the queen herself but will now play her sister. There are also rumours that Matt Smith, who plays young Prince Philip, could be replaced in the third season by Michael Sheen or even David Tennant. Matthew Goode is playing Margaret's husband in season 2.

JUDI DENCH IS 'RED JOAN' SECRET GRANDMOTHER SPY NEXT TO TOM HUGHES! 1ST 'ORDEAL BY INNOCENCE' BBC SERIES PHOTO WITH BILL NIGHY, MATTHEW GOODE, ELEANOR TOMLINSON, ED WESTWICK

  TOM HUGHES JOINS

JUDI DENCH IN 'RED JOAN'

The film is based on a 2013 Jennie Rooney book

Here's a great story for you: Judi Dench will play Britain's oldest spy in RED JOAN! She will be joined by Victoria's Tom Hughes as the KGB’s longest serving spy in Britain. The film takes place in two eras. In a picturesque village in England, Joan Stanley lives in contented retirement, hiding her incredible past as one of the most influential spies in living history. Suddenly her tranquil existence is shattered as she’s shockingly arrested by MI5. Flashback to Stanley as a 1930s Cambridge physics student (Sophie Cookson) who falls in love with seductively attractive Russian saboteur, Leo (Tom Hughes). Through him, she begins to see that the world is on a knife-edge and perhaps must be saved from itself in the race to military supremacy. After the war, she works at a top-secret nuclear research facility and is confronted with the impossible: Would you betray your country and your loved ones if it meant saving them? What price would you pay for peace?

  'ORDEAL BY INNOCENCE'

FIRST CAST PHOTO FOR BBC'S NEW AGATHA CHRISTIE SERIES

Speaking of all things British, BBC has released the first cast photo for their new Agatha Christie adaptation ORDEAL BY INNOCENCE which will air this Christmas in three parts starring Bill Nighy, Matthew Goode,

Click on the photo to see it in full glory and grandeur

Eleanor Tomlinson, Luke Treadaway, Ed Westwick and Catherine Keener.  It is set at Christmas 1954 when a wealthy philanthropist Rachel Argyll is murdered at her family estate. Her adopted son Jack Argyll is arrested for her murder but he vehemently protests his innocence.

BBC CASTS BILL NIGHY, MATTHEW GOODE, ELEANOR TOMLINSON, ED WESTWICK IN AGATHA CHRISTIE'S 'ORDEAL BY INNOCENCE', ANGELA LANSBURY, EMILY WATSON, MICHAEL GAMBON FOR 'LITTLE WOMEN' MINI SERIES

'ORDEAL BY INNOCENCE' 

 BBC SETS STELLAR CAST FOR NEW AGATHA CHRISTIE SERIES

'Poldark' star Eleanor Tomlinson

While we're waiting to watch Kenneth Branagh's Murder on the Orient Express movie with Judi Dench, BBC One will again grace us with some Agatha Christie this Christmas! After the huge success of And Then There Were None in 2015 and the absolute flop of the ghastly horrid and painfully unwatchable Witness for the Prosecution last year, they are now doing ORDEAL BY INNOCENCE which was published back in 1958, and the cast has been announced as well! It will include Bill Nighy and Catherine Keener in the lead roles, joined by Matthew

Matthew Good is no stranger to period set drama

Goode, Eleanor Tomlinson, Anthony Boyle, Ed Westwick, Luke Treadaway, and Alice Eve.

Christmas 1954. Wealthy philanthropist Rachel Argyll is murdered at her family estate Sunny Point.Her adopted son Jack Argyll, a young delinquent, is arrested for her murder. He vehemently protests his innocence. Eighteen months later, Dr Arthur Calgary, a scientist, walks onto the velvety lawns of Sunny Point claiming to have just returned from an expedition to the Arctic. Even more extraordinary is his claim to hold the alibi that can prove Jack’s innocence. But Jack died in prison before

Ed Westwick and  Alice Eve

the case could come to trial, and the Argyll family is reluctant to dig up the secrets of the past. Rachel’s widower Leo is about to remarry his secretary Gwenda and none of Rachel’s other adopted children Mary, Mickey, Tina or Hester, nor long standing housekeeper Kirsten, is

Anthony Boyle and Luke Treadaway

willing to reopen that most horrendous chapter of their lives. However, the shattering implications of Calgary’s story are too big to avoid; if he is telling the truth then the wrong person was arrested for Rachel’s murder. And if Jack was not the killer, then it must have been somebody else at Sunny Point.

'LITTLE WOMEN' BBC SERIES

ANGELA LANSBURY AND EMILY WATSON TO LEAD THE CAST

BBC's been busy today, also revealing the cast for another of their upcoming three part mini series, a new small screen adaptation of

Emily Watson will be the matriarch

Louisa May Alcott’s LITTLE WOMEN which will also air on PBS! Angela Lansbury has been cast as Aunt March, Emily Watson as Marmee, the matriarch of March family, and Michael Gambon as benevolent neighbour Mr Laurence. The March sisters will be played by Maya Hawke as willful and adventurous Jo; Willa Fitzgerald as eldest daughter Meg; Annes Elwy as Beth; and Kathryn Newton as youngest sister Amy. Jonah Hauer King will play Laurie Laurence, the charming boy next door.

Willa Fitzgerald, Annes Elwy and Jonah Hauer King

LITTLE WOMEN are set against the backdrop of the Civil War, and the story follows the four sisters on their journey from childhood to adulthood. With the help of their mother Marmee, while their father is away at war, the girls navigate what it means to be a young woman: from gender roles to sibling rivalry, first love, loss and marriage.