"Unsettling" period thriller with Martin Clunes gets first-look images

The first images have been released for upcoming period thriller Black Palace, starring Martin Clunes. The film, from BAFTA winning director Nick Hamm (William Tell), is set during Jack the Ripper's reign of terror in London and tells the story from inside Buckingham Palace.

Alongside Clunes, the cast is led by Freya Allan (The Witcher) and Kodi Smit-McPhee (Elvis). Joe Anders, Raffey Cassidy, Iain Glen and Juliet Stevenson also star.

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The film's synopsis reads: "In the Autumn of 1888, as the emerging tabloid media terrify the public with lurid stories of Jack the Ripper, a young woman is sent to work at the heart of Queen Victoria’s British Empire: Buckingham Palace.

"Her task is to spy on Victoria’s wayward grandson who keeps disappearing at night. As she grows closer to the prince, traversing a maze of privilege and poverty, she uncovers secrets which threaten both the Crown and her own survival."

Black Palace is currently in post-production, with production company New Regency handling worldwide sales.

Director Nick Hamm said of the project: "Directing Black Palace has been both a privilege and a unique challenge. The film is constantly shifting between question and answer, tone and perspective, and that demanded a similarly fluid approach to genre.

"One moment needing to thrill, the next to enchant; extreme fear had to sit alongside extreme passion. Much like the play within the story, the film itself becomes a kind of Jekyll & Hyde experience: romantic and terrifying, seductive and unsettling in equal measure. I can’t wait to share it with audiences."

Meanwhile, since his role in Wuthering Heights earlier this year, Clunes has been very busy. Earlier this month he was spotted filming scenes for season two of Down Cemetery Road after joining the cast alongside Emma Thompson and Ruth Wilson.

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The synopsis for season two teases: "Season two reunites Zoë Boehm (Thompson) and Sarah Trafford (Wilson) chasing down another twisted mystery.

"After a woman falls in front of a train, Zoë is called in to investigate, but this seemingly simple case soon upends her life as she and Sarah find themselves navigating the glamorous but ruthless world of black market antiquities.

"Matters take a deadly turn when they stumble into the path of a brutal serial killer who will stop at nothing to cover up his crimes."

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Stephanie is a freelance news writer, who previously covered WWE and AEW for Digital Spy.

After graduating with a degree in history from Queen Mary University, London, she studied journalism at Birkbeck University.

Outside of her work at Digital Spy, she writes about pop culture, with a special focus towards Irish media and how it intersects with politics.