1ST PHOTOS FROM DECEMBER PERIOD SET NEW TV SERIES 'WITNESS FOR THE PROSECUTION', BRONTE SISTERS 'TO WALK INVISIBLE', 'HALCYON' WW2 HOTEL, EPIC 'LAST DRAGONSLAYER'

First photos are arriving for upcoming new period set television series, among them BBC's latest adaptation of Agatha Christie! After scoring amazing success with their last year's And Then There Were None, which boasted a tremendous cast, BBC is bringing us THE WITNESS FOR THE PROSECU- TION this December within their festive programme schedule! Admittedly it does look much weaker than the last year's project and does not have such a strong cast. This one stars Kim Cattrall, Toby Jones, Andrea Riseborough and Billy Howle.

With the long terrible shadow of the Great War falling across the rackety, feral 1920s, THE WITNESS FOR THE PROSECU- TION is a compelling story of deceit, desire, murder, money and morality, innocence and guilt, heartbreak and most painful and dangerous of all, love. The story starts after the murder of glamorous and rich Emily French (Kim Cattrall). All the evidence points to Leonard Vole (Billy Howle), a young chancer to whom the heiress left her vast fortune and who ruthlessly took her life. At least, this is the story that Emily’s dedicated housekeeper Janet McIntyre (Monica Dolan) stands by in court. Leonard however, is adamant that his partner, the enigmatic chorus girl Romaine (Andrea Riseborough), can prove his innocence.

Speaking of BBC December will also bring us their new mini series on Bronte sisters TO WALK INVISIBLE which shows them in a new light and tells the story behind these three women who, despite the obstacles they faced, came from obscurity to produce some of the greatest novels in the English language. Jonathan Pryce plays the role of the Brontë sisters’ father, Patrick, and is joined by Chloe Pirrie as Wuthering Heights author Emily Brontë. Finn Atkins portrays ambitious older sister Charlotte who wrote Jane Eyre and Charlie Murphy plays the determined, level headed younger sister Anne the author of novelsAgnes Grey and The Tenant Of Wildfell Hall. Their reckless brother Branwell, whose destructive behaviour threatened to destroy his family, is played by always great Adam Nagaitis.

SET IN WW2 HOTEL 
Their rival ITV is, meanwhile, ready to air their eight part period set series HALCYON  set in the luxury of the Halcyon Hotel in World War II London! Fast paced and filled with music of that era, it shines a spotlight on the class divide between the upstairs and downstairs inhabitants of the hotel and their enduring relationships, lives and politics, set against the backdrop of World War II as it reaches its ferocious peak.  Olivia Williams is lady Hamilton, the owner of HALCYON, Steven Macintosh is the hotel manager. Lord and lady Hamilton also have two sons: Freddie (Jamie Blackley), a young Spitfire pilot, who's in love with Emma, manager's  daughter, the hotel receptionist, and younger son Toby (Edward Bluemel), who is secretly gay.

Meanwhile, Sky One's Christmas festive programme will include a new television adaptation of THE LAST DRAGON SLAYER  based on the  first in the series of popular fantasy novels written by Jasper Fforde. Little Ellise Chappell plays an orphan Jennifer Strange, a young inhabitant of the Ununited Kingdoms, who discovers that her destiny is to become the last Dragonslayer. This magical series also stars Ricky Tomlinson, Pauline Collins and John Bradley.