Sean Bean Leads 'Broken' Cast

Sean Bean has been named in the lead role of new drama series 'Broken' (working title).

The six-part primetime series will be produced by Colin McKeown and Donna Molloy for LA Productions for BBC One. Ashley Pearce and Noreen Kershaw will direct, and it will be executive produced by Sean Bean. Lucy Richer will executive produce for the BBC.

Broken sees Bean in the role of Father Michael Kerrigan, a Catholic priest presiding over a Northern urban parish. He is modern, maverick, and flawed, but he must be confidante, counsellor and confessor to a conflicted congregation who, like himself, struggles to reconcile its beliefs with the hypocrisies demanded by contemporary Britain.

Commenting on the role, Sean Bean said: "I was very excited at the prospect of working with Jimmy McGovern again. His scripts are raw and real and he creates fantastic and interesting characters that resonate with society today. I'm also thrilled to have Ashley Pearce on board as director."

Jimmy McGovern added: "It's fantastic, because I've been trying to work with Sean again ever since he played Tracie Tremarco in Accused, which was astonishing stuff, so I'm over the moon he's jumped on board with Broken."

"It's fantastic to do a state-of-the-nation piece in Liverpool," commented Colin McKeown, LA Productions.

Lucy Richer, Acting Controller of BBC Drama and Executive Producer, said: "Jimmy McGovern is a masterful storyteller whose characters truly strike a chord, and I am thrilled that the brilliant Sean Bean is taking on the lead role in his fantastic new series for BBC One."

www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre

(JP/LM)