REPUTATION: CASTING ANNOUNCED FOR NEW BBC LEGAL DRAMA AS FILMING BEGINS

Filming has commenced on Reputation, the brand new legal drama for BBC iPlayer and BBC One, from writer Anya Reiss and The Forge, a Banijay UK company.

The six-part series centres on Lena (Academy Award nominee Naomie Harris – Moonlight, Skyfall), a formidable lawyer who gets pulled into the celebrity case of the decade representing global pop star Davina Knight (Christina Hendricks – Mad Men, The Buccaneers).

Also joining the cast are Alex Jennings (The Crown, The Lady In The Van), David Gyasi (The Diplomat, Interstellar), Emily Atack (Rivals, Inbetweeners), Kyle Soller (Andor, Bodies), Marli Siu (Twenty Twenty Six, Everything I Know About Love), Alex Heath (Serpent Queen, Prime Target), Tilly Keeper (You, Queenie), Corey Johnson (Digger, The Day of the Jackal).

Plus Aidan McArdle (Sherlock & Daughter, Showtrial), Ernest Kingsley Jnr (Washington Black, The Sandman), Jodie Campbell (Boarders, Bitch Boxer), Kayla Meikle (Transaction, Time 2), Mike Noble (This City is Ours, Dirty Business),Enzo Cilenti (Black Mirror, Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell) and Kat Ronney (Dinosaur, Finding Emily).

Reputation is an audacious and glossy new drama that shows what happens when a celebrity legal battle spirals out of control. After Davina releases a provocative new song accusing her ex-husband, Billy (Soller), of abusive behaviour and he retaliates in kind, their private breakdown erupts into a very public libel battle.

The case is fought far beyond the courtroom, as PR machines are deployed, laws are bent and social media platforms become judge, jury and battleground - driving outrage for clicks and warping the truth.

For Lena, the case puts her own personal life in the line of fire. How far will she go to win and at what cost? And for Davina, how far will she go to protect her reputation?

Naomie Harris says: “I was hooked from page one of Reputation. It's so rare to read scripts with the wit and flair of Anya's writing and I knew straight away that I wanted to play Lena.”

Christina Hendricks says: “Davina's a fantastic, fierce character. I'm so looking forward to working with Naomie and I'm delighted to be working again with the Forge.”

Harris is represented by The Artists Partnership, WME, Untitled Entertainment and Johnson, Slewett, Shapiro and Kole. Hendricks is represented by LINK, Independent and IAG.

Reputation (6x60) was commissioned by Lindsay Salt, Director of BBC Drama, and is produced by The Forge. Alex Kazamia (Generation Z) will produce and BAFTA and RTS award winner Mahalia Belo (The End We Start From, The Long Song) will direct. Executive producers are George Ormond, Jade Taylor, Anya Reiss and Mahalia Belo. Alongside Anya Reiss, other writers on the series are Shyam Popat and Karla Crome. Reputation will be distributed internationally by Banijay Rights.