Star studded cast for Shane Meadow’s new Yorkshire drama is announced

The Gallows Pole stars Michael Socha, who plays protagonist David Hartley, Thomas Turgoose (This Is England, Looted), George MacKay (1917, Captain Fantastic) and Sophie McShera (Cinderella, Downton Abbey).

Tom Burke (Mank, The Souvenir), Cara Theobold (Downton Abbey, Crazyhead), Yusra Warsama (Castle Rock) and Eve Burley (Secret State) also perform in the production, which is being filmed in Yorkshire and Nottinghamshire.

The six-part series, which is an adaptation of Benjamin Myers’s novel The Gallows Pole, is based on the true story of a gang of 18th Century counterfeiters, known as the Cragg Vale Coiners.

Led by ironworker ‘King’ David Hartley Turvin, they used melted down shavings from real coins to produce counterfeits as part of a scheme that became so successful it almost brought down the national economy.

Mr Meadows, who wrote and directed the series, said he has enjoyed working with critically acclaimed actors and “oodles of incredible as yet undiscovered Yorkshire-based talent”.

“I’ve not been this passionate about shooting a project in years,” he said.

"After some initial rehearsals back in spring, me and the team went on an open-casting odyssey, watching over 6,500 self-tapes from unrepresented actors and actresses, and were blown away by the quality of tapes that were submitted.

“We went from hoping to find one or two new faces, to making up half of the entire cast from those tapes and I believe it’s going to create a series quite unlike anything else I’ve ever worked on.

"This is the 18th century yes, but viewed through a slightly more anarchic lens and will - like my previous work - have a soundtrack that fits the mood like a psychedelic glove, rather than historical expectations.”