Production starts on My Mother And Other Strangers starring Hattie Morahan

Filming has begun in Northern Ireland on BBC One’s new drama series My Mother And Other Strangers, written by Barry Devlin (Ballykissangel, Darling Buds Of May) and with a cast led by Hattie Morahan (The Outcast, Beauty And The Beast) as Rose Coyne.

Published: 19 February 2016
I’m really excited about the casting. I wrote the series around Hattie Morahan because she somehow manages to combine a magical serenity with a capacity to be daft as a brush: and Rose, our heroine, combines those two qualities in spades.
— Barry Devlin

Set in Northern Ireland during World War Two, My Mother and Other Strangers follows the fortunes of the Coyne family and their neighbours as they struggle to maintain a normal life after a huge United States Army Air Force (USAAF) airfield with 4,000 service men and women lands in the middle of their rural parish in 1943.

At the heart of the series is an ongoing love story that enfolds Rose and her husband Michael Coyne in a dangerous love triangle with a handsome and charming USAAF liaison officer, Captain Dreyfuss. Owen McDonnell (Single-Handed) plays Michael and Aaron Staton (Mad Men) plays Captain Dreyfuss. Meanwhile, the Coyne’s children, 16-year-old Emma (Eileen O’Higgins, Brooklyn), Francis, 10, and Kate, seven, have no idea of the strains under which their parents’ marriage creaks.

Also joining the cast are Des McAleer (Hunger), Seamus O’Hara (6 Degrees) and Ryan McParland (The Survivalist) as the neighbouring Hanlon family, whose frustration at being displaced from their family home by the airfield is well vented. Kerr Logan (Game Of Thrones) plays Failey, local fisherman and boyfriend to Sally Quinn (Fiona O’Shaugnessy, Utopia) who, along with her brother Barney (Gavin Drea, What Richard Did), works on the Coyne’s farm. Charles Lawson (Coronation Street) plays the Parish doctor, Dr Black.

Stephen Wright, Head of Drama for BBC Northern Ireland, says: “I’m delighted that Hattie Morahan will be leading our brilliant cast as Rose Coyne. Barry Devlin’s scripts are formed by his love of life with all its complexities, and a love for the place and people where he grew up. The scripts are in safe hands with the cast and our producer Grainne Marmion. Adrian Shergold will do a brilliant job bringing this unique time and world to life.”

Barry Devlin, writer, says: “I’m really excited about the casting. I wrote the series around Hattie Morahan because she somehow manages to combine a magical serenity with a capacity to be daft as a brush: and Rose, our heroine, combines those two qualities in spades. Watching Hattie work that magic on screen is a true pleasure. Owen McDonnell, Eileen O’Higgins, Aaron Staton lead a cast who excite me more every time I see them.”

My Mother And Other Strangers is the first drama commission to be announced since the publication of the BBC and Northern Ireland Screen Partnership Agreement in March 2015. This joint agreement sees the BBC and Northern Ireland Screen work together to invest financially and creatively in developing an internationally competitive screen industry in Northern Ireland.

The executive producer is Stephen Wright, Head of Drama for BBC Northern Ireland, and the producer is Grainne Marmion (Doctor Foster). Adrian Shergold (Mad Dogs, Persuasion) will direct. The 5x60 series was commissioned by Charlotte Moore, Controller of TV Channels and BBC iPlayer, and Ben Stephenson, former Controller of BBC Drama Commissioning.

Note to Editors

  • The BBC and NI Screen partnership agreement was signed in March 2015. The agreement stated that BBC Drama and Northern Ireland Screen would build on and renew the current successful Northern Ireland-produced BBC Drama slate (including The Fall and Line Of Duty), with BBC and Northern Ireland Screen co-financing productions; work to increase Northern Ireland-produced network commissions on BBC One and BBC Two; and identify opportunities to produce television drama series in Northern Ireland, which are capable of attracting international co-financing.
  • The agreement recognised the importance of local production ownership and creative talent in the long-term development of a sustainable sector. The agreement also stated that BBC Drama would invest a minimum of £200,000 per year during the term of the partnership in the development of local writing, directing, performing and production talent.
  • Further information on the BBC Northern Ireland and Northern Ireland Screen partnership agreement can be found here: bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/latestnews/2015/bbc-ni-screen-partnership
  • The agreement in full can be found here (PDF).

SA2, MD

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