Airdate: Gunpowder

UK drama Gunpowder, featuring Kit Harington and Liv Tyler will debut on BBC First in May.

The three-part series dramatises the real mastermind behind the plans to blow up the Houses of Parliament, Kit’s real-life ancestor, Robert Catesby.

Tim Christlieb, BBC Worldwide ANZ Director of Branded Services, said: “Gunpowder is as uncompromising as Kit Harington is magnetic and gives a historical account of events which still resonate today. It has a fabulous cast and is as entertaining as it is fascinating.”

This premiered in the UK last October.

Gunpowder explores the events that took place in England, 1603. Elizabeth I is dead and King James of Scotland has taken the throne. With the country at war with Catholic Spain, English Catholics are persecuted and priests caught saying Mass are punished with death. Several attempts have already been made on the new King’s life. All so far have failed. But deep in the heart of the Warwickshire countryside a new plot is brewing. A plot that will become legend, and leave a mark on the country that will still be felt over 400 years later.

Kit plays Robert Catesby, Liv Tyler plays Anne Vaux, Catesby’s cousin and a devoted Catholic, Peter Mullan (Top of the Lake) plays Father Henry Garnet, Head of England’s outlawed Jesuit order and Mark Gatiss (Sherlock) is Robert Cecil, right hand man of James I and head of a ruthless spy network dedicated to rooting out Catholics and priests, ultimately uncovering the plot.

Kit is a direct descendant of Robert Catesby. Catesby was his mother’s maiden name and Kit carries the name himself – his full name is Christopher Catesby Harington. “It’s been a family curiosity for as long as I can remember,” said Kit. “Mum used to say Robert Catesby was the leader of the gunpowder plot and not many people know that.” Kit was convinced the story should be dramatized and together with friend Daniel West they developed the idea with writer Ronan Bennett, with Kit acting as an Executive Producer.

When it was screened in the UK, the series provoked some strong reactions to the gruesome depictions of the execution of catholic priests and those accused of harbouring them. While violent, the methods are grounded in historical fact and reflect what took place during the time of the gunpowder plot. “It was important for the story because right from the start we need to know why Catesby embarks upon this very, very violent act,” said Kit Harington.

8:30pm Tuesday May 1 on BBC First.