Ben Miles has landed a part in ITV’s upcoming six-part space thriller First Woman
Ben Miles is to star in a new ITV series(Image: BBC screengrab)
The Crown’s Ben Miles is set to appear in ITV‘s “suspenseful” new space thriller centred on a woman who goes missing during a lunar mission.
The actor, known for portraying British Royal Air Force officer Peter Townsend in the royal drama, joins Adolescence star Ashley Walters in six-part series First Woman, reports Wales Online.
Ashley takes on the role of Ben Reith, who awakens one morning to find his wife Claire (Andrea Riseborough) has vanished. This sparks a global media sensation “because Claire is an astronaut crewing the UK’s first moonbase and she’s disappeared into the long lunar night”, the broadcaster’s synopsis reveals.
It continues: “Claire is the first woman to set foot on the moon.
“A biologist taking part in a groundbreaking research project, her disappearance throws suspicion on her fellow astronauts and China’s rival base.
“With hundreds of thousands of miles between them, can Ben uncover the truth behind his wife’s disappearance?”
The ensemble also features Pride and Prejudice star Jennifer Ehle and Alex Hassell, who will shortly return as Rupert Campbell-Black in the second series of racy Disney+ sensation Rivals.
Ben, who also starred in conspiracy thriller The Capture, joins First Woman’s cast alongside The Tower’s Jimmy Akingbola, Fra Fee from Unchosen, You’s Kathryn Gallagher, Nautilus’ Shazad Latif and Neuromancer’s Christian Ochoa Lavernia.
Teasing the casting news on Instagram, ITV revealed: “A groundbreaking project. A missing biologist. A mystery that reaches across the stars.”
Polly Hill, ITV’s director of drama, promised the series would transport audiences on “an incredible journey”, saying: “I wanted ITV to make this the moment I read it.
“The team that has come on board on and off screen is incredible, and a testament to the wonderful and original scripts.”
When the project was first unveiled, creator Lydia Yeoman explained: “Set in the exciting (and as-yet-unexplored) world of private space travel, First Woman is a thriller unlike anything else we’ve seen.
“This is the story of a marriage put through the ultimate test. It’s rare that you get given the opportunity to tell a story with such ambition and scope, and we’re eternally grateful to Polly at ITV and Alcon for allowing us to do that.”