A new BBC One drama series about the lives of journalists at two fictional newspapers begins filming next month ahead of its broadcast next year.
Press is written by Mike Bartlett and will be directed by Tom Vaughan, the team behind drama Doctor Foster, with David Suchet (Poirot) and Charlotte Riley (King Charles III) set to star.
The BBC said: “Set in the fast-paced and challenging environment of the British newspaper industry, we are immersed in the personal lives and the constant professional dilemmas facing our characters.
“We follow their lives as they attempt to balance work and play, ambition and integrity, amid the never-ending pressure of the 24 hour global news cycle and an in industry in turmoil.”
Suchet will play the chairman and chief executive of Worldwide News, which owns the The Post newspaper, with Ben Chaplin (Apple Tree Yard) as the fictional title’s editor. Riley will play the news editor of rival The Herald with Priyanga Burford (London Spy) as the broadsheet’s editor.
Bartlett said: “I’m so happy to be working with the incredible Tom Vaughan again, and the talent of this amazing cast make me feel like the luckiest writer around. Press is a series packed full of stories and now we have the very best people to tell them.”
Piers Wenger, BBC Drama controller, said: “The newspaper business is part of Britain’s identity and Mike’s gripping stories of crusading journalists in this ever-changing industry, brought to life by this brilliantly talented cast make for a fresh, thrilling and utterly British contemporary drama”.
Press is planned for six hour-long episodes.
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