Rising young star
Milo Parker is set to star as 11 year old Gerald Durrell alongside
Keeley Hawes and
Leslie Carron in a brand new ITV series
The Durrells, based upon naturalist
Gerald Durrell’s classic trilogy of Corfu memoirs including the much loved ‘
My Family and Other Animals’.
Milo Parker (represented by
BWH) has just wrapped on
Tim Burton's latest feature
Peregrine's Home for Peculiars, and starred as Roger opposite Sir Ian McKellan in
Mr Holmes. Milo was also seen as Conner in sci-fi action adventure
Robot Overlords. In
The Durrells he plays young Gerry who is obsessed with animals and about to be thrown out of school. Happy to spend hours staring at beetles on a wall, he can go missing for days on epic nature trails and turns the house in Corfu into a zoo.
The story focuses upon Louisa Durrell, played by
Keeley Hawes, whose life is in meltdown. Her husband died years ago and his money has all but run out and she four unruly children who appeared to be going off the rails. It is the 1930s, and a woman’s options are limited; Louisa realises she can carry on struggling, marry someone comfortably off but oppressive, or make a radical change and escape... from a domestic pressure-cooker, British weather, uptight Englishness and narrow horizons. This is a rescue mission to somewhere her family can heal itself before it’s too late. So, they uproot and move to Corfu!
Josh O'Connor plays Gerry's eldest brother 21 year old Larry, a budding writer who hasn’t stepped up to be the man of the house and his cutting sense of humour and lack of filter often creates havoc. Josh (represented by
Independent Talent) has appeared in
Ripper Street and
Peaky Blinders amongst other TV credits, and stars alongside
Hannah Murray in upcoming dark teen feature
Bridgend.
21 year old TV newcomer
Callum Woodhouse from Stockton (represented by by
Conway Van Gelder Grant), who has just graduated from LAMDA, plays 18 year old Leslie. Leslie, with a mother complex, is fascinated by guns almost as much as he learns he is fascinated by girls.
21 year old
Daisy Waterstone (represented by
Hatton McEwan Penford) completes the young siblings, as Margo, described as a walking bundle of neuroses until feminism stirs and she is employed by the shrewd and exotic Countess Mavrodaki (played by
Leslie Caron). Daisy previously appeared in feature film
Testament of Youth and Channel 4 drama
Cyber Bully.
The six episode series
The Durrells is written by
Simon Nye, directed by
Steve Barron and produced by
Sid Gentle Films Ltd. Filming will take place in Corfu from September 2015.
