An exciting array of young and upcoming stars have been cast alongside Oscar-winning actress Vanessa Redgrave in Man In An Orange Shirt – the first screen drama from best-selling British novelist Patrick Gale. The series will be directed by Michael Samuels.
Julian Morris (New Girl, Felt), James McArdle (The Worricker Trilogy, Star Wars: The Force Awakens), Joanna Vanderham (One of Us, The Go Between), Oliver Jackson Cohen (Mr Selfridge, Emerald City), and David Gyasi (Containment, Interstellar) star alongside Redgrave in the two-part drama which tells two love stories, 60 years apart – stories linked by family, and by a painting that holds a secret that echoes down the generations. Further cast includes Laura Carmichael (Downton Abbey, Marcella), Julian Sands (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Killing Fields), Angel Coulby (Merlin, The Tunnel), Charlie Wernham (Bad Education, Hollyoaks), Tommy Bastow (Angus Thongs & Perfect Snogging, The Cut), and newcomer James Godden.
“This was an incredible commission for a novelist unused to writing for television to receive and I seized it with both hands. As a writer who has long celebrated and explored alternative sexualities and hidden lives in his fiction, I’d been impatient for the BBC to do something similar for a mainstream audience.” Patrick Gale commented “I was so flattered when they and Kudos came to me that I quite forget to be appropriately daunted by the enormity of the challenge: represent gay men’s experience in the 20th century. I hope I’ve come up with a story that finds the universal resonance in the marginalised. To then see it fleshed out by such a five star cast, including one of my lifelong heroines in Vanessa, is incredible. I’ve only watched two days’ shooting and the daily rushes so far, but already I’m getting that fizzy feeling, finding the scenes and characters I’ve been carrying around with me for the last half-decade so lovingly brought to life. Already I can see that the look of the show is going to be incredible. Here’s hoping it starts a national conversation.” Gale added.
“I’m so pleased to be sharing Patrick’s epic yet intimate love story with the BBC One audience, and thrilled to have assembled such an exciting cast.” Diederick Santer, Executive Producer for Kudos commented.