Sky Living orders more Bedlam

Sky LivingSky Living has ordered a second series of it supernatural drama Bedlam with former EastEnders actress Lacey Turner joining the cast.

Sky Living HD has commissioned a second series of hit, haunting drama Bedlam. The first series transmitted in February 2011 and is Sky Living’s most successful commissioned series to date. The new series promises to be even darker and scarier than before. Returning with sharp scripts, dramatic special effects and compelling storylines, Bedlam will boast an all new line up.

Leading the cast is award winning actress Lacey Turner (EastEnders, Being Human), playing Ellie, a newcomer who gets caught up in the danger and mystery surrounding the old mental asylum. Starring alongside Lacey is Gemma Chan (Secret Diary of a Call Girl, Fresh Meat), as well as newcomers Jack Roth (The Café) and Nikesh Patel. Hugo Speer (Full Monty, Five Days) will return as Warren Bettany, Kate’s father and current owner of Bedlam Heights. The first series finished with a cliff hanger, leaving viewers unsure of who would make it out alive.

The new series opens with Ellie (Lacey Turner), a paramedic, who like Jed has struggled to accept her special “ability” to see ghosts. She is a determined girl who’s fought hard for a normal life – but instead is flung into an extraordinary world. After hearing rumours about Jed from his time spent on the psychiatric ward, she decides to try and track him down, looking for answers. His last known address leads her to Bedlam Heights, where she starts to meet some of the buildings inhabitants – both dead and alive.

After the dramatic events of the previous series, Molly and Kate (Charlotte Salt) fled the apartment to go travelling across Asia. Kate has now returned home to visit her father, Warren, seeking an explanation she confronts him about the Bettany family secrets. Kate returns to her apartment to find that her father has moved some new tenants in: Dan (Nikesh Petal), her father’s new right hand man and Max (Jack Roth), who works in the newly opened Bedlam Heights Bar. Whilst trying to track her father down, Kate bumps into an old friend, Kiera (Gemma Chan), who has also moved into the building. But it’s not long before the new inhabitants start to realise that something strange is going on inside the building, something dark and dangerous.

“I am really excited about taking part in the second series of Bedlam! It’s a great story with brilliant writing and a fantastic cast! Ellie is a really interesting and conflicted character I’m looking forward to playing her and seeing where the story takes her.” – Lacey Turner

“I thought the first series was very interesting, opening many exciting doors to explore in a far darker way and I can’t wait to get started on the second one. Horror is a genre which can be capitalized upon brilliantly for television as there is time to fully develop ideas and my character. Max has a great backstory with countless intriguing and mysterious directions to be taken along with Ellie”. – Jack Roth

“I think the scripts have a great mix of drama, suspense and supernatural chills that people will really enjoy. Keira’s a complex soul and a bit of a loose cannon; definitely fun to play! It’s going to be a fantastic series and I’m looking forward to working with the new cast.” – Gemma Chan

“”The new series of Bedlam has a really exciting cast. Dan has a darkside to him which is going to be a lot of fun to play, and I can’t wait to get stuck into the role.” – Nikesh Patel

“We have huge ambitions for Bedlam. The show is a unique combination of engaging relationship drama and real scares. Our fantastic cast are delivering wonderfully on the emotional material and our great production team seem determined to terrify the audience. It’s a fantastic mix”. – Anne Mensah, Head of Drama, Sky

“I’m hugely excited to be making more of Bedlam, a show unlike any we have made at Red in the past. The mixture of scares, sexual tension and dark histories make it a real pleasure. And I’m delighted with the new cast, young, beautiful and very talented. This year will be even better”. – Nicola Shindler, Executive Producer, Red Production Company

The series is written and created by Neil Jones, David Allison and Chris Parker and returns to the eerie Bedlam Heights, the converted pre-Victorian lunatic asylum.  Bedlam was commissioned by Anne Mensah and will be Executive Produced by Huw Kennair-Jones, Drama Commissioning Editor, Sky and Nicola Shindler from Red Production Company. The series will be Produced by Peter Gallagher (Single Father) and Directed by Fraser MacDonald (Secret Diary of a Call Girl). The new series will transmit on Sky Living HD in Spring 2012.