BBC Announces the Cast for new Mini-Series The Fuse

They had me at Christopher Eccleston.... but here's the BBC Press Release.

Dervla Kirwan (Injustice, The Silence) and Ewen Bremner (Page Eight, Perfect Sense) join Christopher Eccleston in this original four-part drama for BBC One, written by Bill Gallagher (Lark Rise To Candleford, The Prisoner) and produced by Red Production Company (Exile, Single Father).

Also confirmed are Andrew Scott (The Hour, Sherlock), Lyndsey Marshal (Garrow’s Law, Being Human), Rebecca Callard (32 Brinkburn Street, Robin Hood), MyAnna Buring (The Twilight Saga, Any Human Heart) and Branka Katic (The Jury II, Big Love).

The Fuse follows Daniel Demoys (Eccleston), a stranger in his own life. Over the years he has gone from being an idealistic young man with a burning desire to make the world a better place, to a disillusioned and corrupt council official. His alcoholism has driven a wedge between him and wife, Alex (Kirwan), and their three children. The fallout from his alcohol-fuelled actions prove agonising for all around him.

When Daniel wakes up after another drunken night, he realises that he might be responsible for a murder. A dramatic act of redemption buys him public adoration, so much so that he has become a candidate in the race for Mayor, persuaded by council official Jerry Durrans (Bremner), and lawyer sister Lucy (Marshal).

The public’s opinion of Daniel as a straight-talking everyday hero couldn’t be higher. They are enthralled by his no nonsense determination not to treat the electorate like fools and by his openness about his personal problems and struggle with addiction.

As his public star rises ever higher and he tries to repair the damage done to his private life, he is painfully aware that it could all come crashing down at any moment. With Detective Dalien Bevan (Scott) hot on his trail and determined to gain respect in the force, he could be just the person to do this.

Daniel’s deepening relationships with Bevan’s ex-wife Sylvie (Buring), hospital nurse Donna (Katic), and the murdered man’s daughter Ruth (Callard), means he finds himself in even more of a tangled web than he could ever have imagined.

Christopher Eccleston says: “Bill Gallagher has written a fantastic four episode drama about obsession, addiction and redemption. I’m very excited about the role of Daniel Demoys and to be working with Red Production Company and BBC One”.

Bill Gallagher, Writer and Executive Producer, says: “I liked the idea of starting a story with a man who finds himself in a self-induced hell, and following him as he tries to make amends for the harm he has done. He happens to be a politician, so he has a chance to pay for his sins in his community”.

“I am extremely excited to be working on another Bill Gallagher script,” says Nicola Shindler, Executive Producer, Red Production Company. “He has written an incredibly compelling, morally complex thriller with a very recognisable family at its core. We are going to make an accessible, very honest and stylish drama for BBC One”.

Filming has started and will take place on location in Liverpool and Manchester, for a Spring 2012 transmission.