Bodyguard’s Keeley Hawes reunites with show writer for ‘nail-biting’ new drama starring This Life and Neighbours stars

BODYGUARD star Keeley Hawes is being reunited with the writers of one of her biggest hits, The Missing, in a new thriller set to air on Prime Video.

I can reveal that the actress will top the bill in The Assassin, written by JACK and HARRY WILLIAMS who also gave us Liar and The Tourist.

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It will also echo another of her most famous shows, The Durrells which was set on Corfu, as it revolves around family ties on a Greek island.

But the six-parter, which will drop next year, couldn’t be further from a cosy Sunday night drama.

A TV insider said: “This is a real nail-biter that sees Keeley take on more of an action role, which she’s rarely done in her career.

“The combination of the writing team and the huge stars on the cast mean The Assassin is likely to be one of the biggest dramas of next year.”

The drama, which has just started filming, revolves around Keeley’s character, Julie.

She has a difficult reunion in Greece with her estranged son, Edward, who’s played by Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and The Good Doctor star FREDDIE HIGHMORE.

But things quickly turn when her dangerous past catches up with her and they are forced to flee the island and go on the run together, testing their relationship to its limits as a dark conspiracy emerges that threatens their lives.

The drama also stars Line of Duty actress SHALOM BRUNE-FRANKLIN, and This Life star JACK DAVENPORT as well as ALAN DALE, who’s best known for playing Jim Robinson in Aussie soap Neighbours.

The second series of BBC One’s The Missing, which aired in 2014, saw Keeley star opposite DAVID MORRISSEY in an acclaimed thriller that saw a couple go in search of their missing daughter in Germany.

No doubt her casting combined with the Williams brilliance will make The Assassin a similarly epic drama…

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You’re fired, chaps

AFTER seeing Rob Beckett and Romesh Ranganathan in ballet outfits, I didn’t think their Rob & Romesh Vs series could get any more outrageous.

But the comedy duo have turned up the heat – with the pair set on FIRE for the seventh season of their Sky Max & NOW series, which lands on August 28.

@ Sky UK

@ Sky UK

My exclusive pictures show them ablaze, and having a laugh, as they throw themselves into the world of Hollywood stuntmen.

After flying out to La La Land, our heroes meet up with The Fall Guy stars Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt for a piece of the action.

Then, a little closer to home, they get set to perform a genuine stunt on, erm, Hollyoaks. At least it wasn’t Eldorado, lads.

Colin in tragedy

SKY has given a first glimpse of Oscar winner Colin Firth, in one of his most challenging roles – a grieving father in drama Lockerbie.

The actor will play Dr Jim Swire, whose daughter Flora was among 270 killed in the 1988 bombing of Pan Am flight 103.

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In the trailer screened at the Edinburgh TV Festival, Colin’s character commits his life to finding the truth, at great cost to family relationships.

In one scene, he tearfully howls, “I will never stop.”

I reckon more gongs will follow for his moving acting.

It’s bad fellers

CHANNEL 4 is making a “true-crime thriller” . . . about a tree.

Slaying At Sycamore Gap examines the controversial felling of a 300-year-old tree in Northumberland last year and the complex police investigation that followed.

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The producers of the two-part documentary say: “There was no CCTV, no witnesses. This is a gripping true crime thriller.”

Two men, Daniel Graham and Adam Carruthers, have been charged but are pleading not guilty. The trial is in December.