Production is now underway on The Pale Horse, a Mammoth Screen and Agatha Christie Limited drama for BBC One, which is filming at The Bottle Yard Studios and across Bristol, supported by Bristol Film Office.
Casting for the new two-part Agatha Christie drama has been confirmed, with Rufus Sewell (The Man In The High Castle, The Marvellous Mrs. Maisel, The Father) playing Mark Easterbrook, joined by Kaya Scodelario (Crawl, Extremely Wicked and Shockingly Evil And Vile) playing Hermia. Bertie Carvel (Doctor Foster, Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell) stars as Zachariah Osborne, Sean Pertwee (Gotham, Elementary) as Detective Inspector Lejeune, Henry Lloyd-Hughes (Killing Eve, Indian Summers) as David Ardingly, and Poppy Gilbert (Call The Midwife) as Thomasina Tuckerton, Madeleine Bowyer (Black Mirror, Britannia) as Jessie Davis and Ellen Robertson (Snowflake, Britney Soho) as Poppy.
Sarah Woodward (Queens Of Mystery, Loving Miss Hatto), Georgina Campbell (His Dark Materials, Black Mirror) and Claire Skinner (Outnumbered, Vanity Fair) will also star. Completing the cast are Rita Tushingham (Vera, A Taste Of Honey) as Bella, Sheila Atim (Girl From The North Country, Bloodmoon) as Thryza Grey and Kathy Kiera Clarke (Derry Girls, Tartuffe) as Sybil Stamford who will play the trio of witches.
The Pale Horse follows Mark Easterbrook as he tries to uncover the mystery of a list of names found in the shoe of a dead woman. His investigation leads him to the peculiar village of Much Deeping, and The Pale Horse, the home of a trio of rumoured witches. Word has it that the witches can do away with wealthy relatives by means of the dark arts, but as the bodies mount up, Mark is certain there has to be a rational explanation.
The Pale Horse is being directed by Leonora Lonsdale (Beast) and produced by Ado Yoshizaki Cassuto (City Of Tiny Lights).
Tommy Bulfin, BBC Drama Commissioning Editor, says: “We are thrilled that filming is now underway on The Pale Horse for BBC One. Sarah’s brilliant scripts and her unique take on the famous Agatha Christie stories have once again attracted an array of top and exciting talent.”
James Prichard, Executive Producer and CEO of Agatha Christie Limited, says: “This adaptation feels like nothing we have done before. This is a very different story from most that my great grandmother wrote, and Sarah has taken it to new heights. The cast, with the likes of Rufus Sewell and Bertie Carvel, is superlative, and it should be a highly entertaining drama.”
Helen Ziegler, Executive Producer for Mammoth Screen, adds: “Sarah Phelps has excelled herself with her fifth adaptation of Agatha Christie’s work. The Pale Horse is a stunningly atmospheric, bewitching and thrilling piece, which has attracted the most wonderful stellar cast. We are utterly thrilled to see Sarah’s brilliant writing be brought to life by director Leonora Lonsdale, the fantastic production team and incredible cast.”
The Pale Horse is a Mammoth Screen and Agatha Christie Limited drama for BBC One. The executive producers are Sarah Phelps, Damien Timmer and Helen Ziegler for Mammoth Screen, James Prichard and Basi Akpabio for Agatha Christie Limited and Tommy Bulfin for BBC.
Amazon Prime Video is the US co-production partner and Endeavor Content will handle sales in all territories internationally.