Irish actors Robert Sheehan and Sharon Horgan have been cast in BBC’s feature length film ‘The Borrowers’ for BBC1, set to air over Christmas. ‘The Borrowers’ is an adaptation of Mary Norton’s classic children’s books about the world of tiny Borrowers who live under the floorboard and must borrow things to survive while keeping their existence unknown.
Sharon Horgan (Pulling) plays Homily, the mother of head-strong teenage Borrower Arrietty Clock played by Aisling Loftus (Oranges and Sunshine). Robert Sheehan (Misfits, Killing Bono) takes on the role of Spiller, a wild tearaway who helps Arrietty after her parents are captured by an evil professor. Other cast in the television movie include Stephen Fry (QI, Bones) as evil Professor Mildeye, Victoria Wood (Dinnerladies), Shaun Dooley (Eden Lake) and Christopher Eccleston (The Others, Heroes). The show is written by Ben Vanstone.
Filming on the production will take place this summer. The feature-length film will be produced by Working Title Television and directed by Tom Harper (Misfits, This is England 86). The BBC previously adapted the Borrowers books in the early 90s for a Sunday teatime series called ‘The Borrowers’ and ‘The Borrowers Afield’. It has been commissioned by Ben Stephenson, controller of BBC Drama commissioning and BBC1 controller Danny Cohen.
Robert Sheehan is attached to Stephen Bradley’s ‘Wayfaring Strangers’ and Glenn Leyburn’s ‘Good Vibrations’ which are both due to shoot at the end of this summer. Sharon Horgan will also be busy this summer filming for her role in upcoming BBC Three comedy series ‘Life Stories’ (Working Title).
