Call The Midwife and Poldark actors set to star in new crime drama Bookish by Mark Gatiss

Virgin Radio

29 Apr 2024, 16:17

There's a brand-new crime drama incoming courtesy of Sherlock co-creator Mark Gatiss. Bookish is coming to UKTV and will star Call the Midwife's Ella Bruccoleri and Poldark's Luke Norris.

Filming for the six-part period crime series set in 1940's London is underway in Belgium and will land on Alibi in 2025.

Gatiss will play detective Gabriel Book alongside Polly Walker (Bridgerton), Joely Richardson (The Gentleman), Daniel Mays (The Long Shadow), Jonas Nay (Deutschland 83), Connor Finch (Everything I Know About Love), Elliot Levey (We Were the Lucky Ones) and Buket Kömür (Our House).

Other famous faces include The Inbetweeners' Blake Harrison, The Power of Parker's Rosie Cavaliero, and The Great's Jacob Fortune-Lloyd, plus Tom Forbes (Champion), Amanda Drew (The Gold), and Michael Workéyè (This is Going to Hurt).

The synopsis reads: "London, 1946 is the dynamic, dangerous and chaotic setting for this stylish new detective drama, with the eccentric Gabriel Book at the very heart of the story: a self-appointed consultant detective to the local police. The thousands of books that line the shelves of his shop provide him with all the knowledge he needs."

It continues: "Book has gathered around him a host of lovable, damaged misfits whom he informally protects, cajoles, and mentors. His wife Trottie (Polly Walker) runs the wallpaper shop next door.

"She's a charismatic adventuress whom Book loves deeply but not physically, for they are in a ‘lavender’ marriage to help conceal Book’s sexual orientation in a time when it was illegal to be gay."

Dr Who's Gatiss said: "To misquote the movie Goodfellas: 'All my life I’ve wanted to be a detective!'.

"I couldn’t be more excited to be bringing this series to the screen, and to plunge viewers into our intoxicating version of post-War London. It's an under-examined time and an under-examined world and Bookish is the strange, funny and thrilling show that I’ve always wanted to make."

The series will marry 'post-war nostalgia with the reckless and life-affirming atmosphere of the times'.