Cameras roll on Birkbeck lecturer’s ITV drama
The Bay has been created by creative writing lecturer Daragh Carville.
Filming has begun on the new six-part drama series written for ITV by Birkbeck creative writing lecturer Daragh Carville.
The Bay is set in the coastal town of Morecambe in Lancashire and is being made by the production company behind TV hits such as Trauma and Bancroft, Tall Story Pictures.
It stars Morven Christie – who has appeared in programmes such as The A Word, The Replacement and Grantchester – in the lead role of Detective Sergeant Lisa Armstrong, a family liaison officer
Daragh, from the Department of English and Humanities, has a number of previous TV credits including BBC student drama 6 Degrees, Sky One’s The Smoke and the supernatural BBC3 series Being Human – which starred Russell Tovey and Aidan Turner.
His new series focuses on Armstrong who is assigned to support a family during a missing person investigation but goes on to discover she has a personal connection with the frightened family which could compromise the investigation.
Daragh, who also wrote the films Cherrybomb and Middletown, said: “I’m beyond proud that this brilliant cast is coming on board to tell the story of The Bay. I can’t wait to welcome them to Morecambe.”
Actress Christie said: ““I loved Daragh’s scripts, rooted in the families and community of this distinctive town. I hope we’re going to make something that feels raw and real, as well as being a hugely compelling story.”
And executive Producer Catherine Oldfield said: “Daragh's wonderful writing and Lee (Haven, director)'s brilliant vision for the show have drawn this amazing cast to The Bay and we can't wait to see them bring the scripts to life for ITV.”
The series also features Tracie Bennett, familiar to many for her role as Sharon Bentley in Coronation Street in the 1980s and 90s, and more recently drew Olivier and Tony nominations for her performance as Judy Garland in the stage production End of the Rainbow. Other well-known figures include Lindsey Coulson who played Carol Jackson in BBC1’s EastEnders for a number of years.
It is being filmed around Morecambe and Manchester over the coming weeks and is due to be broadcast in the spring.