BRITBOX ANNOUNCES CASTING, START OF PRODUCTION FOR NEW PERIOD DRAMA SERIES, "THE CADBURYS" (fka "Chocolate Wars")

Toby Regbo, Harry Gilby and Jessica Barden lead the six-part drama series

The Cadburys, inspired by Deborah Cadbury's book, Chocolate Wars, has begun filming in Birmingham

· Today, BritBox announced casting for The Cadburys, a new six-part drama series inspired by Deborah Cadbury's book, Chocolate Wars, as production begins in Birmingham.

· The series will be led by Harry Gilby (Boarders, The Last Kingdom) as George Cadbury, Toby Regbo (Outrageous, A Woman of Substance) as Richard Cadbury, Jessica Barden (Dune: Prophecy, You & Me) as Maria Cadbury, Pearce Quigley (Small Prophets,The Gentlemen) as John Cadbury, Ben Hardy (The Conjuring: Last Rites, Unicorns) as Francis Fry, Joanna Scanlan (Riot Women, Missed Call), and Poppy Gilbert (The Other Bennett Sister, My Oxford Year) as Elizabeth Adlington.

· The Cadburys (previously announced under the working title of Chocolate Wars) is a warm-hearted family drama following the visionary Cadbury family, the underdogs of the cocoa world, on their journey towards creating the world-famous Cadbury's chocolate bar. In 1860s Birmingham, when chocolate as we know it doesn't yet exist, two very different brothers, Richard (Regbo) and George Cadbury (Gilby), find themselves in charge of their family's failing cocoa business. Together, they have the radical genius and burning ambition to turn Cadbury's into one of the world's most beloved confectioners - if they can only learn to trust and rely on each other. Their sister Maria (Barden) is navigating her own role within the family and the business, but things become even more complicated when she falls in love with Cadbury's biggest rival, Francis Fry (Hardy) and is forced to question where her true loyalties really lie. Infused with historical delights and magical invention, The Cadburys is about how we build, break and rebuild the bonds of family - and how the sweetest things in life are rarely simple.

· Additional cast include Felicity Montagu (Beyond Paradise, I'm Alan Partridge) as Mary Brown, Mathew Baynton (Ghosts, A Good Girl's Guide to Murder) as Joseph Rowntree, Adam Hashmi (Joseph of Egypt, Bridgerton) as William Singh, Oli Green (The Gray House, Lift) as Howard Lloyd and Alexander Butler (Fackham Hall, Piglet) as Frank Sheldon. The series also introduces Leah Swain-Heath as Mabel Froggatt, Maisie Britton as Aoife Fitzpatrick and Emma Montrochet as Winnie Smith.

· The Cadburys is a commission with UKTV and Sony Pictures Television. The series is produced by Fable Pictures, in association with Alfresco Pictures, and written by Chloë Mi Lin Ewart (Curfew, All Creatures Great and Small, Beyond Paradise). The Cadburys is executive produced by Faye Ward, Freddie Highmore, Hannah Price and Claire Londy with Helen Perry for UKTV and Jess O'Riordan and Jon Farrar for BritBox. The series will be directed by Tom McKay (After the Flood, Ten Pound Poms, There She Goes) and Jill Robertson (The Good Girl's Guide to Murder, Ludwig, Dalgleish), with Hannah Farrell, co-creative director from Fable Pictures, as series producer and Jo Farrugia as casting director. Chloë Mi Lin Ewart leads the writing team, alongside Eve Hedderwick Turner and Karim Khan.

· Sony Pictures Television will handle worldwide sales as international distributor, with Creative UK providing regional support through the ERDF funded West Midlands Production Fund.

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BritBox is the leading streaming destination for the best of British television, offering an unmatched collection of expertly curated entertainment. From critically acclaimed dramas and mysteries to comedies, documentaries, and lifestyle programming, BritBox invites audiences to step out of their everyday and into a world of exceptional British storytelling. Launched in 2017 and now owned by BBC Studios, BritBox is available in the US, Canada, Australia, and the Nordics. For more, visit britbox.com, or find the BritBox app on most mobile and connected TV devices.