BBC drama with "intense forbidden romance" confirms Sherwood star among new other cast

The Ministry of Time, the upcoming drama from the BBC, has gotten an exciting cast update ahead of its release. Among the new faces are a Sherwood star, an actor from House of Guinness, and an Academy Award nominee.

The series is an adaptation of Kaliane Bradley's 2024 novel of the same name, with the plot taking place within a government department revolving around time-travel. The action centres on one agent, who comes into contact with an explorer from the Victorian era.

It was announced in August that Aoife Hinds and Billy Howle would be assuming the lead roles, with Alice Birch adapting Bradley's novel. And now, just over a month later, we have a major casting update.

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Hong Chau, the actor known for her Oscar-nominated role in The Whale, is perhaps the biggest international name to join the cast, while Sherwood's Adeel Akhtar and House of Guinness star Emily Fairn have also joined the project.

Tamara Lawrance, known for Get Millie Black and Mr Loverman, will portray Simellia, while other names in the cast include Aisling Loftus. Tawfeek Barhom, Nahuel Pérez Biscayart, Ciarán Hinds and Hélène Patarot.

"The Ministry of Time is a newly established government department gathering 'expats' from across history in an experiment to test the viability of time-travel," reads the logline for the six-part series.

"Our heroine Sophy (Hinds) achieves a hard-fought promotion in the civil service, only to learn that her role as a 'bridge' is to help a time traveller acclimatise to the modern world as part of a top-secret Ministry programme."

"Commander Graham Gore (Howle) is a Victorian polar explorer, and one of several 'expats' from history who are now part of the Ministry's extraordinary experiment," continues the synopsis.

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"The professional friendship between Sophy and Graham develops into an intense forbidden romance that reveals the transporting power of love across centuries, just as the sinister nature of the Ministry's true intentions increasingly puts them in danger."

The drama is being directed by Aneil Karia, who has previously helmed episodes of Top Boy and The Gold. Filming is already taking place around London, with a release likely to come next year.

The Ministry of Time will air on BBC One and stream on BBC iPlayer.

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Reporter, Digital Spy George is a freelance writer who specialises in Movies and TV. After graduating with a degree in Film Studies and Journalism from De Montfort University, in which he analysed the early works of Richard Linklater for his dissertation, he wrote for several websites for GRV Media.  His film tastes vary from blockbusters like Mission: Impossible and John Wick to international directors such as Paolo Sorrentino and Hirokazu Kore-eda, and has attended both the London and Berlin film festivals.