Ruth Wilson to star in new UK drama

Ruth Wilson (The Affair, Luther) is set to star as her own grandmother Mrs. Wilson for the BBC.

The three-part drama inspired by the memoir of Wilson’s grandmother and her family’s complicated history, is written by Anna Symon (Indian Summers).

Set between 1940s and 1960s London, the series follows Alison Wilson (Ruth Wilson), who thinks she is happily married until her husband dies and a woman turns up on her doorstep claiming that she is the real Mrs. Wilson. Alison is determined to prove the validity of her own marriage – and Alec’s (Iain Glen) love for her – but is instead led into a world of disturbing secrets.

Alexander Wilson was a writer, spy and secret service officer who served in the First World War before moving to India to teach as a Professor of English Literature, where he began writing spy novels. In the 1930s he enjoyed great success with his novels being reviewed in The Telegraph, Observer and the Times Literary Supplement amongst others. He passed away in 1963.

The cast also includes Keeley Hawes (The Durrells, Ashes To Ashes), Anupam Kher (Silver Linings Playbook, The Boy with The Topknot) and Fiona Shaw (Harry Potter, True Blood).

Ruth Wilson said, “I am so excited to bring to the small screen the extraordinary lives of my grandparents. Theirs is a profoundly moving story.”

Lucy Richer, Executive Producer for the BBC, says: “Anna Symon’s scripts, based on the remarkable story of Ruth Wilson’s grandparents, are full of twists and turns. It is a story of breath-taking secrets and love against the odds, and I can’t wait to see it brought to life for BBC One by such a fascinating cast, led by Ruth.”

It is yet to be confirmed for BBC First in Australia.