+ Q&A with cast Suranne Jones and Shaun Evans, and writer and creator Tom Edge. Hosted by broadcaster Edith Bowman.
When a crew member is found dead on board the Trident nuclear submarine HMS Vigil, police in Scotland are called in to investigate. The catch? The UK’s nuclear deterrent must remain unbroken, so the submarine stays on patrol and Detective Chief Inspector Amy Silva (Suranne Jones) must go aboard to begin an investigation. Although the death was written off as an accidental overdose, Amy suspects foul play. But when the crew close ranks in the face of Amy’s questioning, a new threat overshadows her inquiry.
Vigil (6x60’) is made for the BBC by World Productions, the producers of Line of Duty, The Pembrokeshire Murders, Save Me, and Bodyguard. Episode one will premiere on BBC One and BBC iPlayer at 9pm on Sunday 29 August, with episode two at 9pm on the Bank Holiday Monday, 30 August. Vigil will then continue each Sunday night, with new episodes premiering weekly on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.
The fictional series is written and created by Tom Edge, with episodes by Ed Macdonald and Chandni Lakhani, and based on an original idea by George Aza-Selinger. It is directed by James Strong, and Isabelle Sieb. Vigil is produced by Angie Daniell, executive produced by Simon Heath and Jake Lushington for World Productions, Gaynor Holmes for the BBC, James Strong and Tom Edge. Vigil is set and was filmed in Scotland, and is supported by the National Lottery through Screen Scotland. International distribution is handled by ITV Studios.
Suranne Jones
Suranne will next be seen in hugely anticipated BBC/HBO’s Gentleman Jack Series II playing the title role of Anne Lister once again. This will be released in 2022.
She most recently appeared in the latest Dominic Savage project I Am Victoria for Channel Four. Her previous credits include; Doctor Foster (Series 1 and 2) in which she stars as Dr Gemma Foster and for which she won the BAFTA for Best Leading Actress, Save Me for Sky starring alongside Lennie James and Stephen Graham and she also featured in the ITV/Amazon production of Vanity Fair.
She created, executive produced, and starred in the critically acclaimed ITV series Scott & Bailey and has also starred in numerous other television shows including Brian Pern: A Life in Rock, Doctor Who, Lawless, Touch of Cloth, The Secret of Crickley Hall, Unforgiven, Coronation Street, and The Crimson Field. Suranne also won the British Soap Award for Best Actress two years in a row for Coronation Street, and won the National Television Award for Drama Performance.
Suranne’s theatre credits include; Frozen (Theatre Royal Haymarket), Orlando (Royal Exchange), Beautiful Thing (Arts Theatre), Top Girls (Trafalgar Studios & Chichester Festival Theatre), Blithe Spirit (Royal Exchange), Terms of Endearment, (a No. 1 Tour) and A Few Good Men (The Haymarket Theatre)
Shaun Evans
British actor, Shaun Evans, is best known for playing DS Endeavour Morse in the last seven series of ITV/PBS’s critically acclaimed Endeavour, with the highly anticipated eight season soon to be released. The flagship show, which acts as the prequel to cult show Inspector Morse, counts millions of loyal viewers who keep the programme firmly in the most-watched list for the channel. Shaun is also set to star as the lead, Ted Farrier, in Manor alongside Nancy Carroll at The National Theatre this October.
His noteworthy television credits also include BBC’s The Scandalous Lady W with Natalie Dormer and Craig Parkinson, The Take with Tom Hardy and Brian Cox, BBC’s The Project opposite Matthew MacFadyen and Naomie Harris, Comedy Central’s Teachers with Andrew Lincoln and James Corden, NBC’s The Last Weekend with Genevieve O’Reilly and HBO/BBC’s Whitechapel among others.
His notable film credits include Tom Harper’s War Book for HBO with Sophie Okonedo, Wreckers opposite Claire Foy and Benedict Cumberbatch, Dread with Jackson Rathbone, SONY’s Being Julia alongside Annette Bening and Jeremy Irons, RTS-nominated Boy A opposite Andrew Garfield and Universal’s Gone. Aside from acting, Shaun is also a director and producer, having directed episodes of Endeavour as well as ITV’s Casualty.
Tom Edge
Tom Edge is a BAFTA and WGA nominated screenwriter.
Recent work in TV includes the original six-part thriller Vigil (BBC1 / NBC Peacock) starring Suranne Jones, Rose Leslie and Shaun Evans (directed by James Strong). His four-part adaptation of Imran Mahmood’s novel You Don’t Know Me (BBC One / Netflix) will TX in 2022 along with his adaptation of the next in JK Rowling’s detective series, Strike: Troubled Blood (BBC One/HBO).
Edith Bowman
Having presented shows across MTV, Capital FM, BBC Radio 1, BBC Radio 2, BBC 5 Live, 6 Music and Virgin Radio Breakfast Show, Edith is the industry’s trusted music and film specialist, respected reviewer and tastemaker in the entertainment industry for over 20 years.
It’s no wonder she has presented the Scottish BAFTA’s for seven consecutive years as well as BBC Four’s Life Cinematic which explores filmmaking with guests such as Sam Mendes and Sofia Coppola. She also fronted this year’s BAFTA awards alongside Dermot O’Leary.
Edith Bowman’s critically acclaimed weekly Soundtracking podcast is the film industry’s go to with the biggest actors and composers choosing talking to Edith about the music that inspired them and how they use music in their films, from their current release to key moments in their career. Guests on the podcast include Nick Frost, Ewan McGregor, Ricky Gervais, Tim Burton, Pedro Almódovar, Quentin Tarantino, Hugh Grant, Richard Curtis, Bradley Cooper, Guy Ritchie, Greta Gerwig and more.
She also hosts Netflix’s The Crown: The Official Podcast diving deep into the stories of each episode interviewing the likes of Olivia Colman, Gillian Anderson and Helena Bonham Carter.
VIGIL
Directed by: James Strong and Isabelle Sieb
©: World Productions Ltd
For: BBC
Supported by: the Scottish government and the National Lottery through Creative Scotland
Executive Producers: Simon Heath, Jake Lushington, James Strong, Tom Edge
For BBC: Gaynor Holmes
For Creative Scotland: Leslie Finlay
For World Productions: Roderick Seligman
Produced by: Angie Daniell
Line Producer: Donald MacKinnon
Production Manager: Francesca Falchi-Pereira
Location Manager: Beverley Syme
Script Supervisor: Dolina Macfarlane
Post-production Supervisor: Johanne Wood
Casting Directors: Kahleen Crawford, Dan Jackson
Casting Associate: Ross Barratt
1st Assistant Director: Patrick Conroy
2nd Assistant Director: Joanna Matthews
Written and Created by: Tom Edge
Based on an original idea by: George Aza-Selinger
Director of Photography: Matt Gray
Editor: Steven Worsley
Production Designer: Tom Sayer
Supervising Art Director: Laura Donnelly
Art Director: Stephen Mason
Set Decorator: Janice MacRae
Visual Effects: Goodbye Kansas
VFX Supervisor: Jim Parsons
Composers: Glenn Gregory, Berenice Scott
Costume Designer: Rhona Russell
Make-up & Hair Designer: Laura Hill
Production Sound Mixer: Stuart Bruce
Dubbing Mixer: Kahl Henderson
Stunt Co-ordinator: Andreas Petrides
Cast
Suranne Jones (Amy Silva)
Rose Leslie (Kirsten Longacre)
Shaun Evans (Glover)
Martin Compston (Craig Burke)
Paterson Joseph (Newsome)
Adam James (Prentice)
Gary Lewis (Robertson)
Lauren Lyle (Jade Antoniak)
Lolita Chakrabarti (Branning)
Anjli Mohindra (Tiffany Docherty)
Connor Swindells (Hadlow)
Cal MacAninch (Ben Oakley)
Lorne MacFadyen (Doward)
Daniel Portman (Gary Walsh)
Stephen Dillane (Shaw)
Tom Gill (Adams)
Lois Chimimba (Tara Kierly)
Anita Vettesse (Jackie Hamilton)
Bobby Rainsbury (Cronin)
Cristian Ortega (Anderton)
Aisha Toussaint (Cat)
Orla Russell (Poppy)
Jim Sturgeon (Iain)
Oliver Lansley (Mark Hill)
Thoren Ferguson (Bretton)
Thierry Mabonga (aircrew officer)
Matt Costello (skipper)
Rian Gordon (Wilson)
Peter Guiney, Xavier Lake (trawlermen)
UK 2021
Episode 1: 60 mins
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