THE TUNNEL (w/t) Stephen Dillane and Clémence Poésy to take lead roles

As part of Sky’s continuing investment in original home-grown content, Sky Atlantic HD and CANAL + is today (1st February 2013) delighted to announce that Stephen Dillane (Game of Thrones) and Clémence Poésy (Birdsong) will lead the cast in THE TUNNEL. The director will be Dominik Moll (The Monk, Lemming) who won the 2001 César Award for Best Director for Harry, He’s Here to Help.

Thrilling crime drama, THE TUNNEL, is a Sky Atlantic HD and CANAL+ co-production from Kudos Film and TV and Shine France Films in association with Filmlance. Production on the 10 x 60’ series will begin this month for TX later in the year.

THE TUNNEL, adapted by an Anglo-French writing team led by Ben Richards (Spooks, Outcasts, Party Animals), is based on the format of The Bridge (created by Hans Rosenfeldt) but set against the backdrop of Europe in crisis. When a prominent French politician is found dead on the border between the UK and France, detectives Karl Roebuck (Dillane) and Elise Wassermann (Poésy) are sent to investigate on behalf of their respective countries. However, the case takes a surreal turn when a shocking discovery is made at the crime scene, forcing the French and British police into an uneasy partnership.  As the serial killer uses ever more elaborate and ingenious methods to highlight the moral bankruptcy of modern society, Karl and Elise are drawn deeper into his increasingly personal agenda.

In further casting news, Joseph Mawle (Game of Thrones) will play social worker, Stephen Beaumont. Tom Bateman (Da Vinci’s Demons) will take the role of the UK journalist, Danny Hillier, who unintentionally becomes caught in the serial killer’s web. Tobi Bakare (Silent Witness) will play Chuks Akinade, junior counter-part to Karl Roebuck. Jeanne Balibar (All About Actresses) appears as Charlotte Joubert whose husband’s troubles lead her straight into the path of Karl and Elise’s investigations. Thibault de Montalembert (Days of Glory) will play the Head of the Calais police and Mathieu Carrièrre will play Charlotte’s husband, Alain. Angel Coulby (Merlin) and Jack Lowden (Mrs Biggs) will play Karl’s wife and son, Laura and Adam Roebuck.

Additionally, joining the cast in episode two will be Keeley Hawes (Ashes to Ashes) as Suze Harcourt, a drug-addicted care worker to Harriet, who will be played by Liz Smith (The Royle Family).

THE TUNNEL has been commissioned by Anne Mensah, Head of Drama, for Sky and Fabrice De La Patellière, Director of Fiction, for CANAL+. Primarily set in Folkestone and Calais, the series will be bilingual – a first in broadcasting for both the UK and France.

THE TUNNEL, alongside the recently announced FLEMING (w/t),is the latest commission from Sky Atlantic HD following Sky’s commitment to increase its investment in original British content. By 2014, Sky expects to invest £600 million a year in British programmes across its portfolio of channels. Sky Atlantic HD is to be a major part of that charge by commissioning bold, authored pieces with strong narrative stories across a range of genres including drama, comedy and factual. The critically acclaimed Hit and Miss, created by Paul Abbott, was Sky Atlantic’s first original drama commission and was recently followed by Falcón, based on the best-selling novels of Robert Wilson.

THE TUNNEL will be executive produced by Anne Mensah for Sky, Fabrice De La Patellière for CANAL+, Jane Featherstone, Karen Wilson, Manda Levin and Ben Richards for Kudos Film and TV, Nora Melhli for Shine France and Lars Blomgren for Filmlance. The producer is Ruth Kenley-Letts (The Hour, The Nativity).

Further information:

Sky Atlantic HD

Sarah Aspinall                                                               Megan MacLeod

Senior Publicist, Sky Atlantic HD                            Publicist, Sky Atlantic HD
Sarah.aspinall@bskyb.com                                        megan.macleod@bskyb.com

020 7032 1488                                                               020 7032 4252

www.skypressoffice.com

Follow us on twitter @skyatlantic

 

CANAL+

Danièle Maisonnasse                                           Delphine Huchet

Senior Publicist                                                       Publicist

daniele.maisonnasse@canal-plus.com        delphine.huchet@canal-plus.com

+33 1 71 35 24 73                                                    +33 1 71 35 24 71

 

About Sky

Sky is the UK and Ireland’s leading home entertainment and communications company. Around 40% of all homes have a direct relationship with Sky through its range of TV, broadband and home telephony services.

Sky is the UK’s biggest investor in television content, investing more than £2.3 billion a year in channels such as Sky 1, Sky Atlantic, Sky Living, Sky Arts, Sky Sports, Sky Movies and Sky News. Around two-thirds of Sky’s content spend is invested in the UK and Sky is the fastest-growing source of investment in original British programmes.  More than 30 million people watch Sky content each week.

Alongside its commitment to offering customers a greater choice of high-quality content, Sky is a leading innovator. Customers enjoy total control and flexibility over their favourite TV through Sky+, watch TV on the move through Sky Go, and enjoy the best quality TV experience at home through High Definition and 3D.  

Sky distributes its content broadly over several platforms, including satellite, cable, IPTV, mobile and WiFi. NOW TV, Sky’s second consumer brand, builds on the company’s leadership in internet TV. Sky is also the UK's fastest-growing home communications company and favourite ‘triple-play’ provider of TV, broadband and home phone. 

Sky believes in making a wider contribution to the communities in which it operates by taking positive action on the environment, supporting grassroots sports and increasing access to, and participation in, the arts. Sky employs 23,000 people, has annual revenues of £6.8 billion and is estimated to support a £5.4 billion contribution to UK GDP. Sky is listed on the London Stock Exchange (BSY). www.sky.com/corporate

About CANAL+

CANAL+ Group is the leading pay-TV group in France, ranking first both for its premium-content network with CANAL+ and associated channels, and its themed networks, which include CINE+, SPORT+ and PLANETE+. CANAL+ Group also runs CANALSAT, a multi-channel package with more than 250 channels and services distributed over all platforms. The company operates in Metropolitan France and French overseas territories, as well as in French-speaking Africa, where it reaches a total of 11.2 million subscribers. A pioneer in innovative TV services, CANAL+ Group has a high international profile, with a presence in pay-TV in Poland and Vietnam. Overall, CANAL+ Group subscribers number almost 13 million worldwide.

CANAL+ Group has recently expanded into free-to-air television by creating a specific division with three national channels, including entertainment channel D8, a 15-30 year-old channel D17, and 24-hour news channel i>TELE

Through its subsidiary STUDIOCANAL, CANAL+ Group is also a European leader in the acquisition, production and distribution of feature films.

About Kudos Film and TV:

Kudos Film and Television is the UK’s most successful and original producer of popular, award-winning scripted television, supplying broadcasters domestically and internationally. Shows include the era-defining Spooks, Hustle, Life on Mars and Ashes to Ashes; successful, returning series The Hour, Law & Order: UK, M.I. High and Lip Service and critically acclaimed mini-series and single films such as Occupation and We’ll Take Manhattan. Currently broadcasting is Utopia (written by Dennis Kelly for Channel 4) and forthcoming productions include Sky 1 HD’s The Smoke (created by Lucy Kirkwood), Broadchurch (written by Chris Chibnall for ITV) and the Ben Court and Caroline Ip-penned Mayday (BBC One). In 2007, 2010 & 2011 Kudos was voted the UK’s most admired independent production company by its peers in Broadcast magazine. Formed in 1992, it has been part of the Shine Group since 2007.

For further information please contact

Sarah Aspinall - Senior Publicist, Sky
T:
E: Sarah.Aspinall@bskyb.com

Megan MacLeod - Publicist, Sky Movies HD, Sky Atlantic HD
T:
E: megan.macleod@bskyb.com