Cast announced for BBC Three drama Thirteen

The BBC has announced the on-screen talent involved in upcoming BBC Three drama Thirteen.

Leading the cast is Jodie Comer (Doctor Foster, My Mad Fat Diary), alongside Aneurin Barnard (The Scandalous Lady W, War And Peace), Richard Rankin (From Darkness), Valene Kane (The Fall, ‘71), Natasha Little (Wolf Hall), Stuart Graham (Our World War, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy), Joe Layton (Tatau), Katherine Rose Morley (Last Tango In Halifax), Eleanor Wyld (Misfits), Ariyon Bakare (Jonathan Strange And Mr Norrell) and Nicholas Farrell (Chariots of Fire, Bloody Sunday).

Comer stars as Ivy Moxam, a 26-year-old woman who escapes from the cellar that’s been her prison for the last thirteen years. Returning home to her family and to her life, this is only the beginning of the story.

“I am beyond excited to be working with the BBC as part of the cast of Thirteen. Marnie Dickens’ writing is truly remarkable and I feel privileged to have the opportunity to bring Ivy to life. Imagine the most unimaginable happening. Life turning completely on its head, with the actions of one person affecting so many lives. We as humans, even though we doubt ourselves, have this amazing strength within us to cope in the most terrifying situations, and Marnie explores that so beautifully. With Vanessa Caswill’s vision and such a truly talented cast and crew, I cannot wait to introduce you all to this world that so often becomes people’s reality.” – Comer

Written by rising star Marnie Dickens, the drama explores how to pick up the threads of a life half-lived and how to survive as a family under the greatest pressure. How to feel again, chance love again. The beeb note that the five-part series is ‘a psychological drama about who to trust when you can’t even trust yourself’. Ivy Moxam is a young girl. Ivy Moxam is a woman. Ivy Moxam is whoever you want her to be.

The drama will also see appearances from Kemi-Bo Jacobs, Melina Matthews, Chipo Chung, Colin Mace, Suzette Llewellyn and Charles Babalola.

“The characters of Thirteen have been in my head for a long time. To now see such an incredible cast bringing them to life is just brilliant.” – Marnie Dickens

Thirteen is produced by the beeb’s In-house Drama Production team in England with filming underway in Bristol.