Trevor Eve is to star as an international hostage negotiator in new ITV1 drama Kidnap and Ransom.

It is the first thriller to come from Trevor Eve’s production company Projector Pictures.

It is in pre-production, with plans to commence filming in South Africa this spring.

Eve will star alongside John Hannah, Helen Baxendale, Natasha Little, Emma Fielding and Amara Karan.

The story begins with the kidnap of a businesswoman in South Africa. Eve’s character is called in to deal with the case, but when the release is botched and the kidnapper strikes again in Britain, more sinister motives are revealed.

ITV and Mammoth Screen announces the cast and start of principal photography for A Bouquet of Barbed Wire a 3 x 60 min drama

Six weeks of principal photography began this week on the ITV1 drama, A Bouquet of Barbed Wire.

TREVOR EVE (Waking the Dead, Framed) leads the cast as Peter Manson. Written by acclaimed writer Guy Andrews (Lost In Austen, Prime Suspect), directed by Ashley Pearce (Agatha Christie’s Poirot, The Commander, Afterlife) produced by Mammoth Screen, and commissioned by ITV1, the 3 x 60 min drama will be filmed on location around London.

Eve will star alongside, HERMIONE NORRIS (Spooks, Kingdom), IMOGEN POOTS (Miss Austen Regrets, 28 Weeks Later), TOM RILEY (St. Trinians 2, Lost In Austen), JEMIMA ROOPER (Lost In Austen, The Black Dahlia) and MARK LEWIS JONES (The Passion, The Commander).

A modern reworking of Andrea Newman’s taboo-busting 1970s psychological drama, and adapted by Guy Andrews, A Bouquet of Barbed Wire explores the consequences of a father’s obsessive love for his daughter and how secrets once buried in the past return to haunt their lives. Trevor Eve will play Peter Manson, whose apparently successful life is turned upside down when his beloved teenage daughter Prue reveals she’s pregnant by her teacher, Gavin Sorenson. The very heart of the family is threatened as Peter has an intuitive sense that Gavin’s on a personal quest for revenge.

Commissioned by ITV’s Controller of Drama Commissioning, Sally Haynes, A Bouquet of Barbed Wire will be adapted for ITV by independent production company Mammoth Screen, who have recently produced Wuthering Heights, and whose joint managing directors Michele Buck and Damien Timmer are overseeing ITV1/AMC’s upcoming The Prisoner for ITV Studios. Mammoth will produce three 60 minutes episodes of A Bouquet of Barbed Wire.

“We’re delighted Guy Andrews has agreed to adapt A Bouquet of Barbed Wire for ITV,” said Sally. “It’s a timeless, multi-layered tale of a family torn apart by secrets from the past. It created a stir during the 1970’s when first produced for television, and 30 years on we’re convinced a modern day audience will be just as intrigued by its themes of paternal jealousy and incestuous relationships.”

Executive Producer for Mammoth Screen Damien Timmer said: “The original TV version of A Bouquet of Barbed Wire was one of the most controversial dramas of its era, busting taboos which still have the power to shock decades later. Guy will bring a thrilling, modern sensibility to the story,” he added.

Central to the drama are the characters of Peter (Trevor Eve), his daughter Prue, and his wife Cassie. No further casting information is available presently and pre-production has commenced. Filming is scheduled for November 2009.

As the story unfolds, architect Peter employs mid 20’s rising star, Sarah Francis. Consequently, Peter and Cassie’s relationship becomes increasingly distant, as Peter tries to overcome the aching fear that he’s lost his daughter, and embarks on an affair with Sarah. With Peter’s marriage at breaking point, his increased erratic behaviour and facing financial ruin, it’s only a matter of time before the truth is revealed.

Waking The Dead – Magdalene 26

BBC ONE

DSI Boyd leads the Met’s Cold Case Unit as BBC One’s popular International Emmy Award-winning drama, starring Trevor Eve, Sue Johnston, Tara FitzGerald, Wil Johnson and Félicité du Jeu, returns for its eighth series to investigate more unsolved crimes.

Grace, Eve, Spence and Stella are back as Boyd’s Cold Case team and use advanced forensic science, psychological profiling and insightful police investigation to continue their quest to uncover the truth in previously unsolved cases.

In the emotive opening episode of this two-part drama, a visibly distressed, unidentified woman is discovered fleeing from a car accident. Naked and disoriented she is found by PC Katrina Howard, who takes her to hospital.

Boyd takes on the case after tests reveal the mystery woman’s DNA is linked to a double murder in a Soho club in 1967.

The team identify her as successful business entrepreneur Elizabeth Andrews, who has suffered an horrific attack at the hands of her abductors. Boyd and Eve’s investigations lead them to Andrews’s home, where they discover what they believe to be Elizabeth’s husband hanging dead in the hallway.

With a new murder as well as the cold case to solve, the team sets to work to discover how the two are connected.

As Elizabeth recovers in hospital – guarded by Stella – her abductor returns to finish the job and, in the ensuing fight, he is shot dead. Tragically, he is not the only one to take a bullet…

Trevor Eve plays Boyd, Sue Johnston plays Grace, Tara FitzGerald plays Eve, Wil Johnson plays Spencer, Félicité du Jeu plays Stella and Stacey Roca plays PC Katrina Howard. Tonight’s episode also stars Sharon Maughan as Elizabeth Andrews.

Trevor Eve is one of country’s best-known leading actors with roles in Waking The Dead, Hughie Green Most Sincerely and the legendary Seventies private detective series Shoestring.

In Framed he plays Quentin Lester, a shy, reserved curator from the National Gallery, who, by chance, finds himself in a remote Welsh Village at the centre of a chain of events that will change his life for ever.

Speaking about his character, Trevor says: “He is very different from the roles that I usually play. Well, he is not a criminal investigator, for once, or even a game show host. (Laughs)

“I think he is a sensitive man. He is very shy, who can’t understand the inadequacies of the human race.

“He is the senior curator at the National Gallery, someone who has devoted his life to art and the appreciation of art. He is intolerant of people and doesn’t find them as fascinating as the canvasses that are in front of him so, when he has the opportunity to go into isolation with all of the paintings, he is very excited by this.

“In the end, though, it’s the interaction of the locals in the Welsh village which brings him round to an appreciation of people.

“In particular the character of Angharad, I think she is the one responsible for making him realise that beauty lies within people and not necessarily on canvas – and it’s been great working with Eve, she’s delightful, a really lovely girl.”

For Trevor it was Frank Cottrell Boyce’s script that really attracted him to the drama.

“Frank has created a wonderful world, which is a blend of fantasy and reality. I think the fascinating thing about him is that he doesn’t have any cynicism. He is a very un-cynical writer and I think that is rather charming and something that’s exciting to experience in this particular day and age.”

Did he do any research into the role of a curator?

“Yes, I have, I’ve spent time in the National Gallery and it’s not an effort believe me – I mean it’s just wonderful. I just think the work is just spectacular, you read about it and you read about the lives of the artists and it’s amazing.”

Framed was mainly filmed on location in Cardiff and on the mountains of Snowdonia. Speaking about the location, Trevor says:

“It’s a spectacular setting. I mean the landscape is so dramatic, it’s quite wonderful up there apart from the fact it seems to rain most of the time, but it’s breath-taking.

“I have really enjoyed filming in Wales; my mother was from South Wales so most of my holidays as a child were spent in the Mumbles of Swansea, so it was my home. And part of my family still live in Swansea, so it’s familiar environment to me.”

As well as acting alongside established actors such as Eve Myles and Bob Pugh, many of Trevor’s scenes were with Samuel Davies and Mari Ann Bull, who play the Hughes children. So did he have any words of advice for the young actors?

“I’m wiser than that, I wouldn’t attempt to give a single word of advice. I think they are really talented; their level of professionalism is amazing. They are more professional than me and I’ve been at it 35 years!”

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