Casting announced for epic new event drama Troy: Fall Of A City

David Threlfall, Frances O'Connor, Jonas Armstrong, Joseph Mawle, Tom Weston-Jones, David Gyasi, Johnny Harris, and Chloe Pirrie will star in David Farr's (The Night Manager) visceral eight-part retelling of the fall of Troy.

Louis Hunter (The Fosters, Jack Goes Home) and Bella Dayne (Guerrilla, Humans) will star as Paris and Helen, the two lovers whose passionate affair plunges Greece and Troy into war, threatening to bring both empires to their knees. David Threlfall (Shameless, Tommy Cooper: Not Like That, Like This) plays Paris' father, King Priam of Troy, alongside Frances O'Connor (The Missing, Mr Selfridge) as Hecuba, Queen of Troy, and Tom Weston-Jones (Dickensian, Copper) as their eldest son Hector.

They are joined by a cast including Joseph Mawle (Game Of Thrones, Ripper Street) as Odysseus, Chloe Pirrie (To Walk Invisible, War & Peace) as Andromache, Johnny Harris (This Is England 86-90, Jawbone) as Agamemnon, David Gyasi (Man In An Orange Shirt, Interstellar) as Achilles, and Jonas Armstrong (Dark Angel, Ripper Street) as Menelaos, the King of Sparta whose marriage to Helen is destroyed when Paris arrives in his city.

Further casting includes Alfred Enoch (How To Get Away With Murder, Harry Potter) as the Trojan general Aeneas, and Aimee-Ffion Edwards (Luther, The Detectorists) as Priam and Hecuba's daughter, Cassandra.

An epic tale of mortals and gods, David Farr's psychologically rich and sweeping narrative goes back to the story's origins: to the judgement of Paris, his scandalous love affair with Helen, and the ill-starred prophecy surrounding his birth.

Told from the perspective of the Trojan royal family at the heart of the siege, Troy: Fall Of A City is a rich story of love, intrigue, betrayal and belonging. Combining thrilling adventure with heart-breaking intimacy, it conveys the big themes of human existence and identity; of people battling to retain their sense of humanity and compassion amid the devastation and destruction of war.

Piers Wenger, Controller BBC Drama Commissioning, says: "We now have the perfect cast to bring David Farr's extraordinary scripts to life, including, in Louis Hunter and Bella Dayne, two of the most exciting upcoming actors cast as two of mythology's most iconic figures. Troy: Fall Of A City will be like nothing broadcast before; a 3,000 year old tale crafted on a huge scale, ready to enthral and capture the imaginations of BBC One viewers as if it were being told for the very first time."

David Farr says: "I'm delighted we've assembled such a high-quality ensemble cast, mixing some exciting new faces with experienced actors whom I have long coveted and admired. The story we're telling has an epic and political sweep but is also deeply human and intimate. I look forward to seeing these actors take you on the journey."

Derek Wax, Executive Producer for Wild Mercury, adds: "These myths may be 3,000 years old but they still have an elemental grip on our imagination, resonating through history as current conflicts bring Homer closer to us than ever. I am thrilled that David Farr's wonderful scripts have attracted such a brilliant cast, breathing new life into these characters, finding the human intimacy within the epic sweep. Wild Mercury is thrilled to have the creative support of the BBC and Netflix, both true champions of this project, and the prospect of working together to deliver a drama of genuine scale and originality to the screen is enormously exciting."

Produced by Wild Mercury in association with Kudos for BBC One and Netflix, the series will be Executive Produced by Derek Wax (Capital, Humans) and David Farr for Wild Mercury, and Christopher Aird (Clique, Call The Midwife) for the BBC. It is written by David Farr, Nancy Harris (Our New Girl, Good Karma Hospital), Mika Watkins (Lucky Man, Dixi), and Joe Barton (Humans, Our World War), and will be directed by Owen Harris (Kill Your Friends, Black Mirror) and Mark Brozel (Humans, Dickensian), and produced by Barney Reisz (Black Mirror, Elizabeth I).

Troy: Fall Of A City is filming on location in Cape Town and will premiere in the UK on BBC One and globally outside of the UK on Netflix. The 8x60' series was commissioned for the BBC by Charlotte Moore, Director of BBC Content, and commissioned as a co-production for Netflix by Elizabeth Bradley and Alex Sapot. International distribution will be handled by Endemol Shine International.