SHY & LOLA: BBC ANNOUNCES NEW DRAMA STARRING HAYLEY SQUIRES AND BEL POWLEY

Shy & Lola is a new six-part drama for BBC iPlayer and BBC One, written by award-winning screenwriter and novelist Amanda Coe (Apple Tree Yard, The Trial of Christine Keeler) and produced by multi-BAFTA and Emmy award-winning Clerkenwell Films (Baby Reindeer, The Death of Bunny Munro, The End of the F***ing World), part of BBC Studios.

The darkly comic story follows Shy and Lola, two very different women who are forced to become allies when a murder entangles them in the criminal underworld operating in Shy’s small coastal town in the North of England. Beginning as exploited novices, the unlikely duo turn out to have a talent for crime. As they build an operation that threatens to blow the local bad guys out of the water, opposing futures beckon – using their earnings to fund a fresh start, or becoming the new bosses in town.

Hayley Squires (The Night Manager, I, Daniel Blake) stars as Shy, a cleaner scraping by and dreaming of a new life in Portugal. Bel Powley (A Small Light, The Diary of a Teenage Girl) co-stars as Lola, an ex-model-turned-grifter who arrives in town with trouble at her heels. Further cast will be announced in due course. Filming is set to begin this spring in and around Hull and Leeds.

Screenwriter, Amanda Coe, says: “With such a rich and spiky central relationship at its core, Shy & Lola is a dream of a show to write, full of fun, action and emotion. I can’t wait to see our hugely exciting cast and director bring it to life.”

Rachelle Constant, Executive Producer for Clerkenwell Films, says: “Amanda has written a brilliantly bold series centred on a dynamic female duo, which blends dark comedy with propulsive storytelling. We’re thrilled to have Hayley and Bel as our leads, alongside an exceptional cast and crew.”

Lindsay Salt, Director of BBC Drama, says: “Shy and Lola are an unlikely duo, the classic odd couple, who get caught up in a murder - and that’s just the start of it. Amanda Coe’s superb scripts will surprise and amuse viewers in equal measure, and with Clerkenwell producing and Hayley and Bel leading the cast, BBC viewers are in for a real treat.”

The 6 x 60 series for BBC iPlayer and BBC One is written by Amanda Coe, with additional episodes written by Emilie Robson and Alys Metcalf, both alumni of BBC Writers, which works to nurture emerging voices while championing established writing talent. Sam Donovan (Severance, Down Cemetery Road, Utopia) is lead director, and Nadia Jaynes (The Responder, Big Mood) will produce.

The executive producers are Amanda Coe and, for Clerkenwell Films, Rachelle Constant and Petra Fried. Rachael Stephenson is associate executive producer, and the executive producer for the BBC is Jo McClellan. The show was commissioned by Lindsay Salt, BBC Director of Drama. BBC Studios is handling global sales.

The series is based on the French television drama Cheyenne and Lola, which was written by Virginie Brac, produced by Lincoln TV and STUDIOCANAL and distributed internationally by Federation International.