Down Doubles For Devon In BBC TV Drama 'Desperados'

'Desperados', a new comedy drama series by William Ivory is currently filming in Ballywalter, Portaferry and Bangor - doubling for Devon - where the story is set.

Boasting an impressive cast line up of Warren Clarke, Anthony Head and Jenny Agutter, the series is being produced by Company Pictures for BBC One with support of Northern Ireland Screen.

Richard Williams, Chief Executive of Northern Ireland Screen said: "We are delighted to welcome Company Pictures and their remarkable cast to Northern Ireland to film Desperados. This is the third BBC Network drama to come to Northern Ireland this year; first we had Fairy Tales and then Messiah.

"This is further vindication that our strategy is working and the hard work is paying off. Northern Ireland’s television production sector is on the rise and we will continue to lobby for even more productions to come and film in Northern Ireland."

Desperado's follows a pair of aging criminals, Maurice Riley (Anthony Head) and Syd Woolsey (Warren Clarke) - old friends who return from the good life on the 'Costa del Crime', where they have spent their ill-gotten gains, to a quiet Devon fishing village, where they plan to eke out their retirement fishing while availing themselves of the NHS.

However, the quiet life is not for them and, with money running short, they quickly find themselves drawn back into a life of crime, only to find that crime has moved on and they've got new things to learn.

Script writer William Ivory said: "It's a dream of a cast. And what's especially brilliant is the breadth of the talent on board. Desperados is an ensemble piece which means every character relies on the one next to them to give full value in terms of what the script is trying to achieve.

"That means, in an ideal world, you're looking to fill every role with a heavy hitter – but in truth you seldom achieve that. This time, I think we have," he concluded.

(DS/BMcC)