Lucan is a thrilling new two-part drama based on the life of
flamboyant aristocrat, Lord Lucan, and written by award-winning writer, Jeff
Pope.
Rory Kinnear (Southcliffe, Loving Miss Hatto, Skyfall) will
play Lucan whilst Christopher Eccleston (Song for Marion, Blackout, The Shadow
Line) takes the role of John Aspinall.
The drama will tell the story of Lucan’s exploits as a
member of the infamous Clermont set and will focus on his marriage collapse to
Veronica (Catherine McCormack), the Countess of Lucan.
With his marriage disintegrating, Lucan became obsessed with
regaining custody of his children.
Ultimately the drama will reveal what happened on that fateful night in
November 1974 when his children’s nanny, Sandra Rivett (Leanne Best), was
cruelly bludgeoned to death in the basement of the family’s home in London’s
Lower Belgrave Street.
To this day Lucan is thought to have mistaken Sandra for his
wife Veronica, whom he blamed for the fractures in his family life. His whereabouts and eventual fate have
remained a mystery for nearly four decades, captivating and intriguing the
public whose fascination with Lucan is undiminished.
The drama is inspired by and based upon the book, The
Gamblers, written by author John Pearson who conducted exhaustive interviews
with those most closely connected to Lucan at the time of Sandra’s murder. Pearson gained unprecedented access to
Lucan’s friends and acquaintances from the Clermont Club who helped him try to
piece together the Earl’s movements on the evening of 7 November. Once the
dreadful murder had taken place they speculated on how Lucan might have escaped
the police search, and what might have ultimately been his fate.
Michael Gambon plays older Burke, Paul Freeman plays John
Pearson, Rupert Evans plays Dominic Elwes, Jane Lapotaire plays Susie Maxwell
Scott and Gemma Jones plays Lucan’s mother Dowager Countess.
Cast:
Lord Lucan - Rory Kinnear
John Aspinall - Christopher Eccleston
Veronica Lucan - Catherine McCormack
Older John Burke - Michael Gambon
John Pearson - Paul Freeman
Older Susie Maxwell Scott - Jane Lapotaire
Ian Maxwell Scott - Alan Cox
Susie Maxwell Scott - Helen Bradbury
Dowager Countess - Gemma Jones
Lady Osborne - Ann Bell
Sandra Rivett - Leanne Best
Dominick Elwes - Rupert Evans
Jimmy Goldsmith - Alistair Petrie
John Burke - Rufus Wright
Susie Maxwell-Scott - Helen Bradbury
Annabel Birley - Annabel Mullion
Jane Hastings - Anna Walton
Charlie Benson - James Bradshaw
Ulrich - Aleksandar
Mikic
ITV commissions two-part drama Lucan
Published: Wed 31 Jul 2013/ http://www.itv.com/presscentre/press-releases/itv-commissions-two-part-drama-lucan#.UpB799JWySo
ITV today announced commission of a two-part drama, Lucan,
based on the life of flamboyant aristocrat, Lord Lucan, and written by
award-winning writer Jeff Pope.
Rory Kinnear (Southcliffe, Loving Miss Hatto, Skyfall) will
play Lucan whilst Christopher Eccleston (Song for Marion, Blackout, The Shadow
Line) takes the role of John Aspinall.
Acclaimed actor Michael Gambon will also appear in the drama.
The drama, produced by ITV Studios/GroupM Entertainment and
from the department headed by Creative Director and Executive Producer for ITV
Studios Francis Hopkinson (Wallander, DCI Banks, Married, Single, Other), will
tell the story of Lucan’s exploits as a member of the infamous Clermont set and
will focus on his marriage collapse to Veronica, the Countess of Lucan.
With his marriage disintegrating, Lucan became obsessed with
regaining custody of his children.
Ultimately the drama will reveal what happened on that fateful night in
November 1974 when his children’s nanny, Sandra Rivett, was cruelly bludgeoned
to death in the basement of the family’s home in London’s Lower Belgrave Street
as she made her way to the kitchen to make a cup of tea.
To this day Lucan is thought to have mistaken Sandra for his
wife Veronica, whom he blamed for the fractures in his family life. His whereabouts and eventual fate have
remained a mystery for nearly four decades, captivating and intriguing the
public whose fascination with Lucan is undiminished.
The drama is inspired by and based upon the book, The
Gamblers, written by author John Pearson who conducted exhaustive interviews
with those most closely connected to Lucan at the time of Sandra’s murder. Pearson gained unprecedented access to
Lucan’s friends and acquaintances from the Clermont Club who helped him piece
together the Earl’s movements on the evening of 7 November. Once the dreadful
murder had taken place they shed light on how Lucan escaped the police search,
and ultimately his fate.
Lucan will be produced by Chris Clough (Dates, Strike Back,
Skins) and executive produced by Francis Hopkinson, Jeff Pope and Quentin
Curtis. The drama will be directed by
Adrian Shergold (Mad Dogs, Pierrepoint, Dirty Filthy Love). Lucan is an ITV Studios/GroupM Entertainment
co-production with Executive Producers for GroupM Entertainment being Richard
Foster and Tony Moulsdale.
Francis Hopkinson, ITV Studios Creative Director and
Executive Producer commented:
“This extraordinary and tragic event has fascinated people
for 40 years. Jeff Pope's script, based on John Pearson's book The Gamblers,
brings new insight and revelations, which will surprise the audience. We are
delighted that a top cast and director have come together to tell this
story."
Richard Foster, Managing Director, GroupM Entertainment:
“We are delighted to continue to build on our relationship
with
ITV Studios and to be moving into drama with them -
especially
when that drama is based on such an intriguing and
ultimately tragic story and written by such a talented writer.”
ITV’s Director of Drama commissioning Steve November has
commissioned the drama.
“The story of Lord Lucan continues to mystify and intrigue
us,” said Steve. “Jeff’s reputation for
award-winning factual drama goes before him and these new scripts offer a
compelling insight into the events surrounding Lucan’s disappearance.”
Jeff Pope has devoted his career to writing and producing
factual drama and has a formidable reputation within the genre. Most notably he wrote and executive produced
Mrs Biggs for ITV Studios, and was the executive producer of Appropriate Adult,
See No Evil: The Moors Murders, This is Personal: The Hunt for the Yorkshire
Ripper and The Murder of Stephen Lawrence.
Filming of Lucan will begin in August 2013 in and around London.
Richard John Bingham, 7th Earl of Lucan (born 18 December
1934), popularly known as Lord Lucan, a British peer and suspected murderer,
disappeared without trace early on 8 November 1974. He was born into an
Anglo-Irish aristocratic family in Marylebone, the elder son of The 6th Earl of
Lucan and his wife, Kaitlin Elizabeth Anne Dawson. Evacuated during the Second
World War, he returned to study at Eton and from 1953 to 1955 served with the
Coldstream Guards in West Germany. Lord Lucan developed a taste for gambling
and, skilled at backgammon and bridge, became an early member of the Clermont
gaming club. Although his losses often outweighed his winnings, he left his job
at a London-based merchant bank and became a professional gambler. He was known
as Lord Bingham from April 1949 until January 1964.
Once considered for the role of James Bond, Lucan was a
charismatic man with expensive tastes; he raced power boats and drove an Aston
Martin. In 1963 he married Veronica Duncan, who bore him three children. When
the marriage collapsed late in 1972, he moved out of the family home at 46
Lower Belgrave Street in London, to a property nearby. A bitter custody battle
ensued, which Lucan lost. He began to spy on his wife and record their
telephone conversations, apparently obsessed with regaining custody of the
children. This fixation, combined with his gambling losses, had a dramatic
effect on his general demeanour and personal finances.
On the evening of 7 November 1974, the children's nanny,
Sandra Rivett, was bludgeoned to death in the basement of the Lucan family
home. Lady Lucan was also attacked; she later identified Lucan as her
assailant. As the police began their murder investigation he telephoned his
mother, asking her to collect the children, and then drove a borrowed Ford
Corsair to a friend's house in Uckfield, Sussex. Hours later, he left the
property and was never seen again. The Corsair was later found abandoned in
Newhaven, its interior stained with blood and its boot containing a piece of
bandaged lead pipe similar to one found at the crime scene. A warrant for his
arrest was issued a few days later and in his absence, the inquest into
Rivett's death named him as her murderer, the last occasion in Britain a
coroner's court was allowed to do so.
Lucan's fate remains a fascinating mystery for the British
public. Hundreds of reports of his presence in various countries around the
world have been made since Rivett's murder, although none have been
substantiated. Despite a police investigation and huge press interest, Lucan
has not been found and is presumed dead.
Judging from the photographs the actors do not look even close to the real people..females hair styles completely wrong. I hope is not a waste oportunity
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