Gillian Anderson to star in Channel 4 series Trespasses

Gillian Anderson is set to star in a Channel 4 drama adaptation of Louise Kennedy's novel Trespasses.Sex Education and The Crown actress Anderson (pictured below) will play Gina, the mother of lead character Cushla. Gina is a 'glorious wreck' who is constantly sparring with her daughter. Cushla is played by Lola Petticrew, and Tom Cullen plays Michael, her love interest.



The novel, nominated for a Women's Prize for Fiction, is set in 1975 near Belfast, when Catholic schoolteacher Cushla the meets an older Protestant married man, who often defends IRA suspects.

Trespasses is produced by Wildgaze Films, which has been crowned with the BAFTA and two Oscar nominations. It will be adapted for the screen for the first time by Ailbhe Keogan. All3Media International will distribute. Filming begins in Belfast in the autumn.

Anderson said: "I fell in love with Louise's beautiful book when I read it in proof, I was immediately drawn to the tragicomic creation that is Gina and couldn't resist when Louise asked me to play her. Reading Ailbhe's brilliant scripts confirmed how vividly this story could translate to the screen and with Dawn at the helm and Lola and Tom alongside, I'm delighted to be part of the Trespasses family." Anderson's star power is evidence that Channel 4 is targeting top talent under Ollie Madden, the new director of film and television drama, whose first assignment was a series about Margaret Thatcher starring Harriet Walter and Steve Coogan. Madden told Broadcast Magazine that his budget for drama has doubled and he will now produce about ten scripts a year.

Today, Madden also gave the green light to Summerwater, another film adaptation of Sarah Moss's best-selling novel. The series, adapted by John Donnelly, directed by Robert McKillop and produced by Freedom Scripted, is set against the backdrop of a remote Scottish lakeside holiday park and unfolds over the course of a single rainy summer day.