ROSE WILLIAMS, THEO JAMES, ANNE REID AND KRIS MARSHALL TO STAR IN THE LAVISH DRAMA FOR ITV AND MASTERPIECE ON PBS

(February 15, 2019) — As filming commences on brand new series, Sanditon, in and around Bristol (UK) including The Bottle Yard Studios, ITV and Red Planet Pictures are thrilled to announce casting for Jane Austen’s final and incomplete novel, which is being brought to a wide television audience for the very first time. Sanditon will star Rose Williams (Curfew, Changeland), Theo James (The Divergent Series, Downton Abbey), Anne Reid (Last Tango in Halifax, Hold the Sunset) and Kris Marshall (Death in Paradise, Love Actually).

The sumptuous period drama, adapted by Emmy® and BAFTA-winning screenwriter Andrew Davies (War & Peace, Les Misérables, Pride and Prejudice), will see Austen’s original 11-chapter fragment brought to life in an eight-part series for ITV and MASTERPIECE.

Written only months before Austen’s death in 1817, Sanditon tells the story of the joyously impulsive, spirited and unconventional Charlotte Heywood (Rose Williams) and her spiky relationship with the humorous, charming (and slightly wild!) Sidney Parker (Theo James). When a chance accident transports her from her rural hometown of Willingden to the would-be coastal resort of the eponymous title, it exposes Charlotte to the intrigues and dalliances of a seaside town on the make, and the characters whose fortunes depend on its commercial success. The twists and turns of the plot, which takes viewers from the West Indies to the rotting alleys of London, exposes the hidden agendas of each character and sees Charlotte discover herself and ultimately find love.

Rose Williams will star as Charlotte. Excited by the promise of adventure that Sanditon offers, Charlotte is a young woman of enormous energy who builds a reputation as an integral part of the new town. Open and optimistic in spirit, she’s excited by the changes the nineteenth century promises and she’s ready for a new life; she’s a truly modern Austen heroine. Confident in her opinions but unfamiliar with the rules of high society, Charlotte’s self-assurance is knocked when she meets Sidney. Will Sanditon give her somewhere, and someone, to love?