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Hope Springs – Alex Kingston and Annette Crosbie to star in Â鶹¹ÙÍøÊ×Ò³Èë¿Ú One's new Scottish drama
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Acclaimed British actresses Alex Kingston (Doctor Who, ER, Moll Flanders) and Annette Crosbie (Little Dorrit, One Foot In The Grave, Dr Findlay) are among the first cast to be announced as stars of Â鶹¹ÙÍøÊ×Ò³Èë¿Ú One's Hope Springs, a new eight-part peak-time drama from Shed Productions through Â鶹¹ÙÍøÊ×Ò³Èë¿Ú Scotland.
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Made by the production company behind hit series including Waterloo Road, Bad Girls and Footballers' Wives, Hope Springs is a vibrant, thrilling and funny drama about four fabulous female ex-cons trying to go straight.
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The drama is scheduled to start filming on location in Scotland this summer.
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Alex Kingston stars as Ellie, the feisty, sexy leader of the female gang.
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Along with fellow ex-cons Hannah, Josie and Shoo, Ellie finds herself in hiding in a remote Scottish village called Hope Springs after their plans to start a new life in Barbados – courtesy of £3million stolen from Ellie's gangster husband – go awry.
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All they have to do is keep their heads down, assume new identities and plan an escape to their Barbados idyll...
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But little do they know that Hope Springs is going to change their lives forever.
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Annette Crosbie will play Sadie, local fount of all knowledge (and gossip) whose life gets entangled with the women's soon after their arrival in the village.
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The drama is about losing millions, survival, falling in love in unlikely places, making a home and chasing your dreams.
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The new drama will also star Christine Bottomley (The Street) as the streetwise Shoo Coggan, a girl with more front than Blackpool.
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Details of further casting to follow.
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Alex Kingston says: "I rather like the idea of working on a project where there are so many good, strong female roles.
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"These girls are ex-cons, so they're not necessarily role models, at least not to start with – they're four women with murky pasts stuck in a remote village in Scotland. Anything can happen!"
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And Annette Crosbie is delighted to take on her Hope Springs role.
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She says: "Sadie's a real character, a busy-body who is immediately drawn to the feisty strangers who appear in the village out-of-the-blue.
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"Hope Springs promises to be a tremendously fun drama to work on and I'm looking forward to filming in Scotland again - it'll be lovely to go home."
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Hope Springs is written by Anne McManus, Maureen Chadwick and Liz Lake (Shed Productions).
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The first of four filming blocks will be produced by Brian Park who will also executive produce the drama for Shed Productions along with Anne Mensah, Â鶹¹ÙÍøÊ×Ò³Èë¿Ú Scotland Head of Drama.
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Brian Park says: "We're thrilled to have such major screen talent as Alex and Annette fronting Hope Springs.
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"They both bring a distinct touch of class to the characters, which, combined with some truly spectacular locations, should make for a fabulous drama.
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"It's Shed Productions' first drama in Scotland - and we hope the first of many."
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A sparklingly modern fish-out-of-water drama set against the stunning backdrop of gorgeous Scottish scenery, Hope Springs will be filmed on location in Wanlockhead in Dumfries and Galloway, with interior shots being filmed at Â鶹¹ÙÍøÊ×Ò³Èë¿Ú Scotland's newly developed drama studios in Dumbarton.
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It is the latest drama from Â鶹¹ÙÍøÊ×Ò³Èë¿Ú Scotland to be filmed at the production base which, most recently, has seen productions including PAs (2AM TV, Â鶹¹ÙÍøÊ×Ò³Èë¿Ú Three) and God On Trial (Hat Trick Productions, Â鶹¹ÙÍøÊ×Ò³Èë¿Ú Two) – as well as being the home of Â鶹¹ÙÍøÊ×Ò³Èë¿Ú Scotland's acclaimed soap, River City.
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Hope Springs continues in the footsteps of distinctive drama recently made through Â鶹¹ÙÍøÊ×Ò³Èë¿Ú Scotland, which includes kung-fu action tale Phoo Action (Â鶹¹ÙÍøÊ×Ò³Èë¿Ú Three) and surreal crime drama The Reichenbach Falls (Â鶹¹ÙÍøÊ×Ò³Èë¿Ú Four).
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It is the latest in a recent wave of exciting Â鶹¹ÙÍøÊ×Ò³Èë¿Ú One drama commissions for 2008/9, including Merlin (Â鶹¹ÙÍøÊ×Ò³Èë¿Ú Drama/Shine Limited), Survivors and Tess Of The D'Urbervilles (Â鶹¹ÙÍøÊ×Ò³Èë¿Ú Drama Productions).
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The eight-part series is scheduled to transmit on Â鶹¹ÙÍøÊ×Ò³Èë¿Ú One in 2009.
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Hope Springs is a Shed Production through Â鶹¹ÙÍøÊ×Ò³Èë¿Ú Scotland for Â鶹¹ÙÍøÊ×Ò³Èë¿Ú One and is commissioned by Jane Tranter, Controller, Fiction.
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