Channel 5 have today announced two brand new dramas from Clapperboard, Chalkboard’s scripted sister company, set to air in 2022.
The Winter Child (4 x 60”)
The series follows Claudia, a lonely single mother and school nurse, longing for connection. Her opportunity to be a hero comes when a young child in her community – Emily Winter – goes missing.
Claudia becomes embroiled in the case and fixated on uncovering the truth. However, her fascination quickly begins to turn to obsession, not only with what happened to Emily, but also with the Winter family at the heart of the case.
Emily’s grief-stricken father, Owen; her cold mother, Sabine, and her twelve-year-old brother, Dean. Mike Benson and Julie Ryan serve as executive producers for Clapperboard, whilst Sophie Gardiner and Toby Bentley are executive producers for Chapter One. Giula Sandler (White House Farm) is the writer of The Winter Child, whilst Cormac Fox (Animals) joins the team as producer and Dominic Leclerc (The Teacher) will direct.
On the expansion of Channel 5’s 2022 drama slate Sebastian Cardwell said: “I’m delighted to be working with the talented Clapperboard team again on these exciting additions to our scripted slate. These new commissions for 2022 illustrate the continued growth of Channel 5’s thriving drama portfolio, and I’m looking forward to seeing them come to fruition over the next year.”
Mike Benson, Managing Director, Clapperboard added: “In The Winter Child our brilliant writer Giula has created a fascinating, flawed protagonist at the heart of the narrative which I loved from first reading the pilot. We’re of course thrilled to be working again with the Paramount Global team and our brilliant distribution partners who do such a fantastic job of supporting us and our productions.”
Casting details will be announced in the coming months.