FIRST LOOK AND FURTHER CASTING ANNOUNCED FOR NEW BBC THRILLER SHY & LOLA AS BBC SETS 2027 RELEASE
The BBC has revealed a first glimpse of Hayley Squires and Bel Powley in their titular roles of the new BBC thriller series, Shy & Lola, as further cast are also unveiled.
The new six-part series is written by award-winning screenwriter and novelist Amanda Coe (Apple Tree Yard, The Trial of Christine Keeler) and is 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. Shy & Lola will be coming to BBC iPlayer and BBC One next year.
The first glimpse shows Hayley Squires (The Night Manager, I, Daniel Blake) as Shy, a cleaner scraping by and dreaming of a new life in Portugal and Bel Powley (A Small Light, The Diary of a Teenage Girl) as Lola, an ex-model-turned-grifter who arrives in town with trouble at her heels. Announced today, the cast also includes Amber Grappy (One Day, The Baby).
Plus Matthew McNulty (Deadwater Fell, Domina), Elizabeth Berrington (Tip Toe, Frauds), Edward Bluemel (Hercule, My Lady Jane), Jordan Bolger (The Witness, This Town) Thomas Turgoose (Mickey 17, Swimming with Men), Joseph Ayre (Hijack, Urchin) and Melanie-Joyce Bermudez, who is making her on-screen debut.
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.
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.”
Shy & Lola (6x60') will be coming to BBC iPlayer and BBC One next year.
