.as BBC releases first image from Stephen Merchant’s new comedy
Julia Davis and Richard E. Grant have joined the cast of Stephen Merchant’s upcoming comedy-drama The Offenders.
The news comes as the BBC releases the first image today from the show, which is currently being filmed in Bristol.
The picture features Christopher Walken in his first lead British TV role, alongside writer and director Merchant and the rest of the cast: Rhianne Barreto, Gamba Cole, Darren Boyd, Clare Perkins and Eleanor Tomlinson.
The Offenders - which is still a working title - follows seven strangers from different walks of life forced together to complete a community payback sentence in Bristol.
Press Release
The image features Academy Award-winning actor Christopher Walken in his first lead British television role, alongside writer and director Stephen Merchant (The Office, Jojo Rabbit), with Rhianne Barreto (Honour, Hanna), Gamba Cole (Soon Gone: A Windrush Chronicle, Hanna), Darren Boyd (Killing Eve, Lucky Man), Clare Perkins (EastEnders), and Eleanor Tomlinson (Poldark, The War of the Worlds).
The Offenders follows seven strangers from different walks of life forced together to complete a Community Payback sentence in Bristol. At first, they seem like archetypes we can easily pigeonhole, but gradually we see behind their façades, understand their hidden depths, and what made them the people they are today. We are reminded that no one is all good or all bad. Everyone has a story.
The air date for Friday Night Dinner s 10th Anniversary Special has been revealed with the one-off documentary set to air on Friday 28th May.
The series, which focused on the middle-class Jewish family The Goodmans while they met for a weekly meal at their home in north London, first debuted on screens in 2011 and has won an army of fans over its six series run.
Much of the show s cast including Tamsin Greig, Simon Bird and Tom Rosenthal are expected to appear in the special documentary, which comes just weeks after the death of star Paul Ritter, who played the foul-mouthed dad Martin Goodman.
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The drama, written by The Office co-creator Stephen Merchant, follows seven criminals carrying out community service sentences.
Eleanor plays Gabby, an aristocratic celebutante whose glamour and life of leisure masks deep-rooted problems , according to the makers.
Radiant: The actress, 28, looked elegant in a high-neck gold blouse and green checked trousers as she got to work shooting scenes on a boat on the harbourside
Actress: She accessorised with a belt to cinch her in at the waist and carried a stylish black leather bag with her as she pouted for the camera
Eleanor - who wore her raven tresses in a sleek fringe and opted for a slick of red lip - looked in high spirits on set where she was filmed making a phone call.