THE ENGLISH: EMILY BLUNT AND CHASKE SPENCER JOIN CAST OF BBC WESTERN

Filming has now commenced on The English, a 6x60” high-octane epic western led by Emily Blunt (Mary Poppins Returns, A Quiet Place) and Chaske Spencer (The Twilight Saga, Banshee) for BBC One and BBC iPlayer in the UK.

Written and directed by multi-award-winning Hugo Blick (The Honourable Woman, Black Earth Rising, The Shadow Line) and set in the mythic mid-American landscape in the year of 1890, The English follows Cornelia Locke (Emily Blunt), an Englishwoman who arrives into the new and wild landscape of the West to wreak revenge on the man she sees as responsible for the death of her son. Upon meeting Eli Whipp (Chaske Spencer), an ex-cavalry scout and member of the Pawnee Nation by birth, they join together and discover a shared history which must be defeated at all costs, if either of them are to survive.

The cast will also include Rafe Spall (The Salisbury Poisonings, Trying), Tom Hughes (A Discovery Of Witches, Victoria), Stephen Rea (The Shadow Line, The Honourable Woman), Valerie Pachner (A Hidden Life, The Kingsman), Toby Jones (Marvellous, Detectorists), Ciaran Hinds (The Terror, The Woman In Black), Malcolm Storry (The Princess Bride, Doc Martin), Steve Wall (Raised By Wolves, The Witcher), Nichola McAuliffe (Tomorrow Never Dies, Doctor Who), Sule Rimi (Black Earth Rising, Strike Back) and Cristian Solimeno (Avenue 5, Guilt).

Hugo Blick says: "The chance to make a Western with Emily Blunt and the cast is so delicious I’m still wondering if it’s one of those weird dreams we were all having during lockdown. If not, a thrilling, romantic, epic horse-opera is heading to your screen sometime next year, and I couldn’t be more excited.”

Greg Brenman, CEO of Drama Republic, says: “Hugo Blick has created a compelling, modern love story set against the epic landscape of a Western. The English is a true adventure that will tell us as much about the times we live in today as the period in which it is set.”

Piers Wenger, Director of BBC Drama, says: “I’m delighted that Hugo’s beautiful scripts are finally coming to life in The English. With a cast led by the exceptional Emily Blunt and Chaske Spencer, I have no doubt that this thrilling and compelling story will be a treat for BBC audiences when it hits our screens”.

The English is currently filming in Spain and further details will follow in due course.