Kingdom Coming To ITV
Stephen Fry returns to ITV1 to star in Kingdom, his first drama series since Jeeves and Wooster ten years ago.
Stephen (Tom Brown?s Schooldays, Absolute Power, Wilde) plays country solicitor Peter Kingdom, whose compassion and humility has won him huge respect in the picture postcard town of Market Shipborough.
But there?s a secret sadness for the popular lawyer. His brother, and business partner, Simon, has died but his body has never been found. Peter constantly searches for clues to the mystery surrounding Simon?s death.
Hermione Norris (Wire in the Blood, Spooks, Cold Feet) stars as Peter?s troubled and lustful younger sister Beatrice who wreaks havoc when she comes to live with him after being released from a rehabilitation clinic.
Celia Imrie (Bridget Jones: Edge of Reason, Calendar Girls, The Last Detective) stars as Gloria Millington, the faithful receptionist and confidante, Phyllida Law (Pinochet in Suburbia, Waking the Dead, Monarch of the Glen) plays Peter?s dotty Aunt Auriel, and Karl Davies (Dead Clever, Dolphins, Emmerdale) is sharp trainee solicitor Lyle Anderson, who dreams of escaping the sleepy backwater to work in the metropolis. Tony Slattery (The Crying Game, Ahead of the Class) stars as cantankerous villager Sidney Snell, who?s always seeking litigation.
A host of prestigious actors guest star in the series, including Richard Wilson, Claire Skinner. Robert Bathurst, Paul Kaye, Rory Bremner, Neil Stuke and Joss Ackland.
The series created by Simon Wheeler, and written by Alan Whiting (Wire in the Blood, Down to Earth, The Scarlet Pimpernel) and Jeff Povey (EastEnders, Blue Murder, Wire in the Blood), was filmed on location in Norfolk.
The drama follows Peter?s life in Market Shipborough as he takes on the responsibility for everyone?s welfare.
Creator and executive producer Simon Wheeler says:
?Peter Kingdom is a lawyer who thinks human issues are more important than the law. The problems he has to solve through the series are many and varied, but they rarely have much to do with the law. Peter Kingdom is a man who is full of humility and vulnerability who genuinely wants to help people.
?Kingdom is about three families: Peter?s own dysfunctional family: Simon, his dead brother, his recently out of rehab sister Beatrice, and his dotty Aunt Auriel; his family in the office with trainee solicitor Lyle and receptionist Gloria; and the family of Market Shipborough. Peter feels he has a personal responsibility for all of them. He wants to look after the people in his town.
?Kingdom is witty, charming and soulful. Through Peter we see life in a market town in today?s Norfolk that represents in microcosm the problems of modern living.?
The beauty of the Norfolk landscape, known as the land of the big skies, lured the production company to set the drama in the county. Stephen has lived in Norfolk for many years, and his passion for the area was a major reason for playing the role.
Stephen Fry says: ?Kingdom does promise viewers a glimpse of the locations I love, and an hour in front of the television that will wash them in colours, textures, landscapes and characters that delight.?
Kingdom Airs On ITV1, Sunday 22nd April 9PM
.