New BBC One comedy series ‘Desperados’, penned by William Ivory (A Thing Called Love, The Sins) has begun filming on location in Northern Ireland. Produced by Company Pictures (Elizabeth I, Shameless) with the support of Northern Ireland Screen, the series is shooting in Ballywalter, Portaferry and Bangor.
‘Desperados’ boasts a commendable cast of Warren Clarke (Dalziel and Pascoe, Bleak House), Dean Lennox Kelly (Shameless), Jenny Agutter (Spooks), Paul Barber (Only Fools And Horses, The Full Monty, Anthony Head (Little Britain, Buffy the Vampire Slayer) and Anthony’s real-life daughter Emily Head.
“We are thrilled to have a new series from William Ivory on BBC One, which is both smart and very funny,” says Polly Hill, Commissioning Editor, BBC. “’Desperados’ has brought together a wonderful cast - Warren Clarke, Anthony Head and Dean Lennox Kelly will be terrific as The Invisibles.”
The series follows Maurice Riley (Head) and Syd Woolsey (Clarke), old friends who return from the good life on the Costa del Crime, where they have spent their ill-gotten gains, to a quiet Devon fishing village, where they plan to eke out their retirement fishing and taking advantage of the NHS. However, the quiet life is not for them and, with money running short, they quickly find themselves drawn back into a life of crime, only to find that crime has moved on and they’ve got new things to learn.
"It's a dream of a cast. And what's especially brilliant is the breadth of the talent on board,” said Desperados creator William Ivory. “’Desperados’ is an ensemble piece which means every character relies on the one next to them to give full value in terms of what the script is trying to achieve. And that means, in an ideal world, you're looking to fill every role with a heavy hitter - but in truth you seldom achieve that. This time, I think we have..."
’Desperados’ is helmed by Will Sinclair, produced by Richard Burrell (Robin Hood, Filth: The Mary Whitehouse Story); and executive produced by George Faber and Charlie Pattinson (Company Pictures).
