CAST ANNOUNCED FOR BBC AMERICA'S NEW DRAMA SERIES "THE MUSKETEERS" FROM ADRIAN HODGES

New York - February 26, 2013 - Casting has been announced for BBC AMERICA's new drama series, The Musketeers, premiering in 2014. Luke Pasqualino (Skins, The Borgias) will star as D'Artagnan alongside Musketeers Tom Burke (Great Expectations, The Hour) as Athos, Santiago Cabrera (Merlin, Heroes) as Aramis and Howard Charles (Royal Shakespeare Company) as Porthos. Together they are a crack-team of highly trained soldiers. The Musketeers is a BBC Drama Production for BBC One, co-produced by BBC America and BBC WorldWide.

Peter Capaldi (The Hour, The Thick of It), Tamla Kari (Cuckoo, The Inbetweeners Movie), Maimie McCoy (Loving Miss Hatto), and Hugo Speer (Bedlam) will also star in this thrilling ten-part, fresh and contemporary take on the classic characters created by Alexandre Dumas in his much-loved novel.

Creator Adrian Hodges (My Week with Marilyn) says: "I'm thrilled to be working with such a dynamic, talented and attractive ensemble cast on our new version of The Musketeers. This series is all about passion, romance, heroism and action, and I can't think of a better group of actors to embody those diverse qualities. I'm thrilled by their ability and commitment and honored they've chosen to come on board to help us create what we hope will be our modern and original take on this great story and its classic characters."

Perry Simon, General Manager, BBC AMERICA says: "We can't wait for Adrian Hodges, Jessica Pope and this great cast to transport us to a world of vivid escapism and heroic action. We welcome Peter Capaldi, Luke Pasqualino, Tom Burke and Hugo Speer back to BBC AMERICA to join the rest of this young and exciting cast."

Set on the streets of seventeenth century Paris, where law and order is more an idea than reality, the series follows Musketeers Athos, Aramis and Porthos. They are far more than King Louis XIII's personal bodyguards. They stand resolutely for social justice, for honor, for valor, for love - and for the thrill of it.

D'Artagnan, a skilled fighter from rural Gascony, meets the three Musketeers while on a mission to right the wrong of his father's death. Although he meets the men in unfortunate circumstances, he finds kindred spirits in the other soldiers. Athos, who has rejected his noble roots to become a Musketeer, has a past shrouded in mystery. He quickly befriends D'Artagnan, but is prone to getting in trouble.

Porthos is a larger than life character, who has come from humble beginnings to become a soldier in the most elite regiment in the land, finding a family in the other Musketeers. Never short of admirers, Aramis has an effortless charm which leads him in and out of love. Despite this, he is a shrewd pragmatist who is ferocious in battle and commands a key place in the brotherhood.

Constance Bonacieux (Kari) leads a dull but comfortable life married to a cloth merchant, but her life is turned upside down when D'Artagnan tumbles into her life, and she becomes involved with The Musketeers.

Cardinal Richlieu (Capaldi), while striving to achieve his vision of a thoroughly modern France, is a shadowy character who will stop at nothing to achieve his objectives. Milady (McCoy) is the Cardinal's secret weapon, the most mysterious and beautiful of villains whose motives are often concealed.

The King relies on the advice of The Cardinal, his shrewd wife Queen Anne and also Captain Treville (Speer), the brave and respected commander of The Musketeers who keeps an eye on the soldiers to ensure they stay out of trouble. The series bursts with escapism, adventure and romance and is set to thrill audiences with cracking stories.

Jessica Pope (Burton & Taylor, The State Within) is the BBC Executive Producer, Adrian Hodges is an Executive Producer and Lead Writer, and Colin Wratten (Inside Men) is Producer.

Filming will commence in March 2013.

BBC AMERICA delivers U.S. audiences high-quality, innovative and intelligent programming. Established in 1998, it has been the launch pad for talent embraced by American mainstream pop culture, including Ricky Gervais, Gordon Ramsay, Graham Norton, and successful programming formats including ground-breaking non-scripted television like Top Gear and top-rated science-fiction like Doctor Who. Owned by BBC Worldwide, the commercial arm of the BBC, BBC AMERICA has attracted both critical acclaim and major awards including an Emmy(R), five Golden Globes(R) and ten Peabody Awards. The channel attracts one of cable's most affluent and educated audiences and is available on cable and satellite TV in more than 80.7 million homes. It broadcasts in both standard and high-definition, with content available On Demand across all major digital platforms. Online, www.bbcamerica.com is the place to go to dig deeper into pop culture with a British twist.