Ah, The Paradise… Fans of the hit BBC department store drama will be glad to know that another series is coming, as will several new characters.
Filming of the second series began earlier this year, with Ben Daniels (House of Cards, Law & Order: UK) joining the cast as enigmatic former soldier Tom Weston. Without getting into spoiler territory for viewers in the US who are just getting into The Paradise story, let’s just say that Weston and entrepreneur Moray (Emun Elliott, Threesome, Paradox) won’t be the best of mates.
Said Daniels about his new role:
“I’m a huge Émile Zola
fan and when Bill Gallagher said he was writing a new character for The Paradise and had me in mind for the role, I knew I wanted to play Tom Weston before I’d even read a word of the script. Tom’s a fascinating animal and will certainly be ruffling a few feathers (and silks!) along the way.”
In addition to Daniels, Lisa Millett (Five Daughters, The Pillars Of The Earth) joins the cast as Myrtle, the bawdy but kind-hearted new cook. Other new characters include Susy, played by Katie Moore (Misfits, Merlin); Tom’s daughter, Flora, played by Edie Whitehead; and Fenton, played by Adrian Scarborough (Upstairs, Downstairs, Cranford). Also appearing in Series 2 are Kevin Guthrie (Case Histories) as Nathanial and Branka Katic (Big Love) as Clemence.
Cast members returning alongside Emun Elliott are Joanna Vanderham (Dancing on the Edge, The Runaway) as the ambitious Denise Lovett, Elaine Cassidy (Harper’s Island, The Ghost Squad) as the rich and spoiled Katherine, Matthew McNulty (The Mill, Misfits) as Dudley, Sarah Lancashire (Last Tango in Halifax, Lark Rise to Candleford) as Miss Audrey, Stephen Wight (Threesome, Whites) as Sam, and Sonya Cassidy (The Fifth Estate, Vera) as Clara.
The Paradise: Series 2 premieres on BBC One this Sunday, 20 October. Fingers crossed that it will cross the pond to PBS Masterpiece sometime in 2014.
Viewers in the US who haven’t seen or need to catch up on the first two episodes of Series 1 can do so at the PBS website, Amazon Instant Video,
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