Monday 25 April 2022

Filming for Alibi's new UKTV Original drama, The Diplomat (6x60'), begins today in Barcelona and sees Sophie Rundle (Gentleman Jack, Peaky Blinders) take the lead as Laura Simmonds.

Further cast joining the series produced by World Productions, part of ITV Studios, include Danny Sapani (Killing Eve, MotherFatherSon) as Colin Sutherland, Steven Cree (A Discovery of Witches, Outlander) as Sam Henderson and Serena Manteghi (Mrs Wilson) as Alba Ortiz. Plus, Isak Férriz (Libertad, Giants) joins the cast as Inspector Castells and Laia Costa (Soulmates, Devils) as Mariana Cabell.

The Diplomat follows Laura Simmonds (Rundle) and her Barcelona Consul colleague and friend Alba Ortiz (Manteghi) as they fight to protect British nationals who find themselves in trouble in the Catalan city. Mixing the roles of lawyer, counsellor and cop, Laura and Alba's diplomatic skills are stretched to the limit by the stream of cases that walk through the Consul's doors.

The series opens with the unexplained death of a young British barman working on a yacht in Barcelona's notorious marina. While the Spanish police believe that the death was a tragic accident, Laura supports the boy's grieving father, Colin (Sapani) who is convinced something more sinister took place that night. As new evidence emerges and a murder enquiry is opened, Laura and Alba find links between the barman's death, organised crime and the British security services. Laura's quest for justice places her in real jeopardy, as she threatens to expose secrets that the British and Spanish will go to any lengths to keep hidden.

UKTV Original series The Diplomat has been commissioned by drama commissioner Philippa Collie Cousins with head of scripted Pete Thornton. The series is ordered by Alibi channel director Emma Ayech. Richard Watsham is director of commissioning for UKTV, and Adrian Wills is genre general manager for drama and lifestyle. World Productions' Simon Heath (Line of Duty, Save Me) will exec produce. Philippa Collie Cousins will exec produce for UKTV alongside BBC Studios director of drama Martin Rakusen. The series is created and written by Ben Richards (Showtrial, Cobra, The Tunnel) with episodes from Lauren Klee (Tina & Bobby) directed by Jill Robertson (Dalgleish, Harlots, Pennyworth) and Jennie Paddon (Sanditon) and produced by Ken Horn (Line of Duty, The Devil's Hour).

The Diplomat follows a strong line-up of UKTV Original dramas for Alibi, including the hit-series Annika, starring Nicola Walker, and Ragdoll, co-commissioned with AMC and produced by Sid Gentle Ltd. Traces also returned for a second series earlier this year and the new series of We Hunt Together is set to air on 5th May. BBC Studios is handling distribution internationally.

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For more information, please contact:

Kelly Phelps, Senior Publicist, UKTV
Gem Pinkey, Head of Consumer Comms, UKTV

Notes for Editors:

About Alibi

Sky 109/826, Virgin 126/200, BT 312/382, TalkTalk 312, TV Player On demand on Sky, Virgin, BT and TalkTalk

Alibi is the only TV channel dedicated to crime drama, investigating the best selection from the genre and premiering hit series from around the world such as Harrow, Evil, Briarpatch and Tommy.

Alibi stepped into UKTV Original crime drama series with guaranteed thrills, twists and turns including hit series Traces, starring Molly Windsor and Martin Compston and We Hunt Together starring Eve Myles and Babou Ceesay.

Now in its 15th series, Murdoch Mysteries has found a safe space on the channel while newcomers Hudson and Rex have become hugely popular additions. British crime dramas including Death in Paradise, Father Brown and Silent Witness give the viewers another chance to catch their favourite shows.

@alibi_channel

About UKTV

UKTV has been at the forefront of branded television for over 25 years, entertaining the nation with programmes they love. Its leading brands - Dave, Gold, W, Drama, Alibi, Eden and Yesterday - span comedy, entertainment, natural history, factual and drama, and are delivered to audiences through UKTV Play, Freeview, Sky, Virgin Media, BT, TalkTalk, YouView, Freesat and Amazon Fire. The broadcaster is a significant investor in British creativity and is committed to working with new and established writers, directors and programme-makers.

UKTV is part of BBC Studios, the UK's most-awarded production company, a world-class distributor with international branded services, and a commercial subsidiary of the world's leading public service broadcaster, the BBC.

corporate.uktv.co.uk | press.uktv.co.uk | @uktvpress

About World Productions

World Productions is one of the UK's leading production companies, making critically-acclaimed, ratings-winning dramas since 1990. It's multi-award-winning slate includes recent hit shows Line of Duty, Save Me, The Pembrokeshire Murders, the Emmy-nominated Bodyguard, Showtrial, Anne and Vigil, which last year became the UK's most watched new drama since Bodyguard in 2018 and has been commissioned for a second series for BBC One.

In 2021, Save Me Too was awarded the BAFTA for Best Drama Series and in 2022 World was named Production Company of the Year at the Broadcast Awards for the second time in three years. Upcoming shows include The Suspect and Karen Pirie for ITV and The Diplomat for Alibi. World has offices in London, Glasgow & Cardiff and is part of ITV Studios.