Bridget Jones’s Diary star Sally Phillips is set to lead a new BBC crime drama, The Hairdresser Mysteries.
Created and written by Jim Cartwright (The Rise & Fall of Little Voice, The Afternoon Play), the six-episode show is described as “a nostalgic nod to the ’70s” where high-end hairdresser Lily Petal (Phillips) opts out of the competitive city scene to buy a small village salon at the top of a cobbled street.
“Everyone tells their hairdresser everything and soon she becomes the hub of her new village’s secrets and revelations,” a plot synopsis reads. “Using her own brand of uncannily developed hairdressing intuition, empathy and understanding, Lily begins to solve the mysteries of the village.”
Filming is set to commence this month with further casting announcements coming in due course.
Will Trotter and Oliver Kent, executive producers for Mill Bay Media said: “We are thrilled to be making The Hairdresser Mysteries and working with renowned writer, Jim Cartwright, who has created a joyful world packed with colourful characters. None more so than hairdresser, Lily Petal, and we are delighted to have much-loved actor, Sally Phillips bring her to life.”
Night Train Media-owned Eccho Rights will be handling international sales for the title, adding it to their slate of Western European drama series ahead of MIPCOM this October.
Herbert L. Kloiber, CEO Night Train Media and Eccho Rights said: “We are delighted to bring The Hairdresser Mysteries to the international stage. The unique world that Jim Cartwright has created — modern but joyfully retro — and Sally Philips’ irresistible charm, create a fun drama that is both clever and comforting. It is exactly the kind of premium yet accessible series that we are looking to develop, offering buyers a fresh spin on the cosy crime genre that they have been crying out for.”
Trotter (Father Brown, Sister Boniface Mysteries) and Kent (Sanditon, The Burning Girls) act as executive producers for Mill Bay Media, with Kloiber (The Bombing of Pan Am 103, Fallen) and James Copp (Catch Me A Killer, This Time Next Year) for Night Train Media. Jim Cartwright, Mark Catley and David Semple serve as writers on the series with Paul Gibson, Jermain Julien and Tracey Larcombe directing. Grainne
O’Boyle (Doctors) will produce.