Contents Press Release 3 Foreword by Sharon Hughff (execu:ve producer) 4 – 5 Character Biographies 6 – 7 Cast and Produc:on Interviews 8 – 40 Episode Synopses 41 – 42 Cast and Produc:on Credits 43 – 45 Back Page 46 Steven Mackintosh and Olivia Williams star in major new drama series The Halcyon Two of the UK’s most acclaimed actors, Steven Mackintosh (Luther, The Sweeney, Inside Men) and Olivia Williams (Anna Karenina, Hyde Park On Hudson, The Sixth Sense) join forces in a brand new ITV drama series, The Halcyon, produced by award-winning independent produc:on company Le\ Bank Pictures. The Halcyon tells the story of a bustling and glamorous five star hotel at the centre of London society and a world at war. The eight-part drama series also features Kara Tointon (Mr Selfridge, Sound Of Music Live), Alex Jennings (The Lady In The Van, The Queen), Ma Ryan (ConstanDne, Arrow), Hermione Corfield (Knights Of The Roundtable: King Arthur, Pride and Prejudice And Zombies) and Mark Benton (Eddie The Eagle, Waterloo Road). The drama, set in 1940, shows London life through the prism of war and the impact it has on families, poli:cs, relaonships and work across every social strata with a soundtrack of music from the era. Mul: award-winning singer-songwriter Jamie Cullum has specially wriaen two songs and top UK recording ar:st and celebrated singer Beverley Knight will make a special guest appearance in The Halcyon when she performs at the Café de Paris. Created by Charloae Jones (Trust Me) and lead series writer Jack Lothian (Doc MarDn, Harry Price: Ghosthunters), The Halcyon reveals how war permeates everyone’s lives from the glamorous guests to its loyal, hard-working staff watched from within by American journalist Joe O’Hara (MaO Ryan). Further cast includes Sope Dirisu (Humans, Undercover, The Mill), Liz White (The Woman In Black, Pride), Charity Wakefield (Close To The Enemy, Wolf Hall), Annabelle Apsion (Call The Midwife, The Village), Jamie Blackley (If I Stay, The Borgias), Edward Bluemel (Holby City), Nick Brimble (Granchester, War & Peace), Michael Carter (The Illusionist, Casualty), Akshay Kumar (Legends, Homeland), Imogen Waterhouse (Pride and Prejudice and Zombies), Nico Rogner (Looking For Simon), Kevin Eldon (Danger Mouse) and Lauren Coe (Camelot). The Halcyon is execu:ve produced by Sharon Hughff (Strike Back, Waterloo Road) and Le\ Bank Chief Execu:ve Andy Harries (DCI Banks, The Crown) and produced by Chris Croucher (Downton Abbey). The drama was filmed in London and surrounding areas during 2016. Introduc8on Sharon Hughff, execuve producer As bombs were raining down over London during the black out, the occupants of five star hotels were inside quaffing champagne and eang foie gras, all to the beat of a big band sound. We read this fact in our early Halcyon research. That was just too irresis:ble! The party s:ll raging despite Hitler’s bombs. Talk about Blitz spirit. So, two things were obvious from the start. This show should be glamorous and opulent reflec:ng the five star experience of London hotels during the war. It should also capture the sexy night :me life that was going on behind the black out blinds. People really did feel that they could die tomorrow, so they might as well live for today. Of course this is nothing new, we’ve all heard stories of war :me London and how Blitz spirit prevailed. So, our challenge was to take these received ideas and stories and make them feel fresh. One way in which we did this was to put music front and centre. There is something very evocave and deeply emo:onal about this soundtrack as it plays in the background of our characters lives and punctuates every high and low. But first things first. We needed to create a world that felt believable and a rich tapestry of characters that we could love and want to spend :me with. Both Charloae Jones and Jack Lothian are masters of this creaon. A hotel provides a classic and simple structure for a strong and compelling drama series. All the layers of Bri:sh life are housed inside - from the wealthy hotel owners to the poorest refugee kitchen assistant. We could view the encroaching war from all of these varied perspec:ves. And so our hotel provides us with a wonderful window onto the war as it approaches Bri:sh shores and we see our various characters react to that very real threat. Lady Hamilton is such an interes:ng creaon, a woman widowed early on and with the war about to change everything, the big ques:on is what will she do? She doesn’t need to be someone’s wife, the war and widowhood emancipates her on some level and allows her to find her own voice not only as a woman, but as a woman who owns a hotel and has influence in society. This development of Lady Hamilton forms the back bone of our show and her awakening is Garland’s night mare! There is much fun to be had as these two unnatural bedfellows aempt to run a hotel together. And that is something else we aspired to with our show. We wanted it to be wiay and fast paced - definitely not poe faced. We knew that the mechanics and pace of the hotel machine should be reflected in how we shot the drama and the fluidity in which our characters moved around the set. In some ways we took our lead from Garland - the gliding swan, keeping the machine going front of house, whilst behind the scenes the aen:on to detail and five star service is second to none. We see what it costs Garland and his team to keep this show on the road, but the guests are dancing and drinking mar:nis, blissfully unaware! There is something so wonderful about walking onto a set for the first :me and seeing your dreams become a reality. Our hotel exceeded all expectaon. Ma Gant’s amazing set was an amalgamaon of every hotel we’d visited as we researched the period - a liale like the Savoy, Claridges and many more - but very dis:nc:vely The Halcyon. The double height atrium towered over us and we all stood a liale straighter and realised that we had our final piece in the puzzle. Of course Anna Robbins costumes are sublime and sumptuous and the whole effect when we see Kara Tointon, our Chanteuse take to the stage, is one of being transported back to another era, when the spectre of war hung heavy in the air and London par:ed on regardless. The idea is that each season of The Halcyon will take us on a journey through the war, year by year. We begin in May 1940 - the phoney war. But halfway through the series the blitz begins and we see our characters as the dress rehearsal becomes a reality. As the first season draws to a close, we are approaching the end of 1940 and Britain is well and truly in the fight. Character Biographies Richard Garland played by Steven Mackintosh Hotel Manager and widower, Garland is propriety itself: the smooth, silent engine of the hotel, unwavering in his sense of duty and responsibility. But don’t be fooled, behind this calm façade lies a man not afraid to get his hands dirty. Garland is fiercely intelligent and a masterful reader of people, a skill he employs :me and :me again to protect The Halcyon and to outsmart and outmanoeuvre the tricky characters who cross his path. Lady Hamilton is the excep:on, and their relaonship is characterised by antagonism from the outset. Garland has a so\er side, which we see though his love for, and devo:on to his daughter Emma. As with so many people, Garland has a past – a secret he wants to forget. Lady Hamilton played by Olivia Williams Lady Hamilton begins the series as a problem to solve: she turns up unexpectedly as her husband is otherwise (indiscreetly) engaged, and the staff must put hands to the deck to deal with her quickly. She and Lord Hamilton are in a marriage of understanding, but it’s clear that she has to be far more understanding than her husband. Lady Hamilton, in middle age, must reckon with who she is: spiky, sharp, funny and bemused, heartbroken, a champion of both sons, a scourge of Richard Garland. And it’s not an easy journey: her children at work or war, her husbands indiscre:ons and with none of her own passions to speak of, Lady Hamilton looks as though she may be at a loss for what to do, bar antagonise Garland for the rest of his days. Betsey Day played by Kara Tointon Sultry singer with The Halcyon’s Sonny Sullivan Band, Betsey is sassy, brassy, glamorous and tough. Best friend and confidante to Emma, Betsey’s straight talking charm assures she’s a hit with hotel guests and staff alike. Betsey’s on-stage chemistry with band-leader Sonny Sullivan is undeniable, but off-stage she is blind to Sonny’s total devo:on to her. Betsey knows how to have a good :me, but scratch the surface a bit and you will find an air of world-weariness about her: her looks and talent are the only things that she’s had to hustle with from a young age. And although she’s tried hard to escape her dysfunc:onal past, it’s never too far away. Emma Garland played by Hermione Corfield Recep:onist and daughter of hotel manager Garland, Emma is a spirited and mischievous young woman on the cusp of spreading her wings just as the war hits.