Press Releases Get ready for naked ambition on BBC One in The Empress's New Clothes

Category: TV Drama; BBC One; Northern Ireland
Date: 11.07.2007
Printable version

Denise Van Outen (Any Dream Will Do, Chicago) and Liz White (Life On Mars) are today confirmed to star in The Empress's New Clothes, the fourth and final instalment of comedy dramas to be made by Hat Trick Productions in Northern Ireland as part of the modern anthology of Fairy Tales for BBC One.

Adapted by Debbie Horsfield (Cutting It, True Dare Kiss), The Empress's New Clothes introduces Michaela (Van Outen), the star of "Empire State", a top TV soap opera.

Surrounded by a coterie of fawning stylists and advisers, Michaela is hell-bent on outshining her co-star and arch-rival Shekeelia at the Silver Sphere Awards, the highlight in the soap opera calendar.

Jake (Kenny Doughty, Fantabulosa) is the hot new chef at Michaela's local bar, Amber's, and upon meeting his wife Shannon (White), Michaela decides to make Shannon her new pet project.

When Shannon spots Shekeelia sneaking into the new designer clothes shop opposite Amber's, she dutifully informs Michaela, who vows to out-dress her rival at the awards and make it onto the front pages of the tabloid newspapers...

The other Fairy Tales featured in the anthology are Rapunzel, starring Lee Ingleby, Charity Wakefield and Shaun Williamson; Cinderella, starring James Nesbitt and Maxine Peake; and Billy Goat, starring Bernard Hill, Paul Nicholls, Mathew Horne and Sarah Smart, all of which were all filmed recently in Northern Ireland.

All four Fairy Tales have been commissioned by BBC Northern Ireland and made by Hat Trick Productions in association with the Northern Ireland Screen and will transmit later this year on BBC One.

The Empress's New Clothes is produced by Rhonda Smith, executive produced by Mark Redhead, and directed by Peter Lydon. The executive producer for the BBC is Patrick Spence and all four Fairy Tales were commissioned by Jane Tranter, Controller, BBC Fiction.

Notes to Editors

The Emperor's New Clothes is a Danish Fairy Tale written by Hans Christian Andersen and was first published in 1837, as part of Eventyr, Fortalte For Børn (Fairy Tales, Told for Children).

SH