BBC One confirms Emily Mortimer’s adaptation of The Pursuit Of Love, starring Lily James, Dominic West, Emily Beecham and Andrew Scott

The all-star cast includes Dolly Wells, Assaad Bouab, Shazad Latif, Freddie Fox, Emily Mortimer and Beattie Edmondson

Filming has begun on Emily Mortimer’s adaptation of Nancy Mitford’s celebrated novel The Pursuit Of Love, from executive producers Charles Collier, Matthew Read and Frith Tiplady for Open Book and Moonage Pictures. The show has been commissioned for BBC One by Charlotte Moore, BBC Director of Content and Piers Wenger, Controller of BBC Drama. Amazon Studios is co-producing within the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand and the series will be produced by Rhonda Smith.

Written and directed by Mortimer, The Pursuit Of Love is a romantic comedy-drama about love and friendship. Set in Europe between the two World Wars, the story follows the adventures and misadventures of the charismatic and fearless Linda Radlett, played by Lily James (Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again, Rebecca, Cinderella, Baby Driver) and her best friend and cousin Fanny Logan, played by Emily Beecham (Little Joe, Cruella).

Consumed by a desire for love and marriage, the two women are on the hunt for the ideal husband. Their friendship is put to the test as Fanny settles for a steady life and Linda decides to follow her heart, to increasingly wild and outrageous places. As social and political divisions split the nation, their diverging choices raise personal questions that remain intensely relevant today – questions about freedom, about love and sex, and the mystery of the human heart.

Further cast includes Dominic West (The Wire, The Affair, Les Misérables) and Dolly Wells (Dracula, Doll & Em) as Linda’s parents, Uncle Matthew and Aunt Sadie Radlett, Andrew Scott (Fleabag, Sherlock) as Lord Merlin, the Radlett’s wealthy and eccentric neighbour, Emily Mortimer (Mary Poppins Returns, The Sense of an Ending) as Fanny’s mother, The Bolter and Beattie Edmondson (Josh, Patrick) as Louisa Radlett.

Linda and Fanny’s suitors include Assaad Bouab (Messiah, Call My Agent) as Fabrice de Sauveterre, Shazad Latif (Penny Dreadful, Star Trek: Discovery) as Alfred Wincham and Freddie Fox (White House Farm, The Crown) as Tony Kroesig.

Emily Mortimer, says: 
“I’ve always loved Nancy Mitford so when I was asked to adapt The Pursuit Of Love it was impossible to say no. It’s an outrageously funny and honest story, whose central character - the wild, love-addicted Linda Radlett - still reads as a radical. I feel privileged to be directing this show and working with the brilliant teams at Open Book, Moonage Pictures, Amazon and the BBC.”

Lily James, says; 
“It’s great to be working with Emily. Her brilliant scripts bring new life to this story - full of love, full of friendship, very moving and sad in places, but also funny and true to life."