"....Musketeers III is locked and loaded."

A Field Not in England

That's a lock on the season finale of Musketeers III! Apart from some last minute ADR our show running duties are at an end. It's been a relentless year of making the show our own from the ground up, reinvigorating existing characters, creating new concepts and many new characters, story lining, writing, rewriting, overwriting, attending the shoots, being there on the edits, taking calls at every hour of the day and night, constantly collaborating with a massive cast and crew, giving notes, taking notes and you know what? I've loved every minute.

We have ten epic, emotional hours to share with you later in the year and we couldn't be more excited. Season III sees our heroes at the heart of a wartorn Paris that's become a crucible of unrest, injustice and inequality. And that's before they get round to dealing with our FOUR (count them) new villains - Governor Feron (Rupert Everett), leader of the Red Guards Captain Marcheaux (Matt Stokoe), mysterious black market profiteer Lucien Grimaud (Matthew McNulty) and King Louis' treacherous brother Prince Gaston (newcomer Andre Flynn). And then we have the return of Milady de Winter (Maimie McCoy) later in the season which was such a privilege to write and takes a surprising new direction.

The stakes have never been higher. The challenge has never been greater.....

Hold tight!

"....we partied like it was 1640."

Well that's a wrap for The Musketeers Series III! It's been an extraordinary eighteen months and we're very proud of the show we've made which not only pushes the existing characters to their very limits  but also introduces many exciting new ones. There are also several new elements this year, not least the slums of Paris and the sense that Paris itself is very much a character in the show.

The Musketeers Series III is due to transmit on BBC One at some point in the late Spring/early Summer so look out for clips, interviews, images and trailers nearer that time.

Until then...

".....Ed McCardie's Spotless debuts in America to amazing reviews."

Ed McCardie's brilliant 'Spotless' has launched in America to extraordinary reviews. It was such a privilege to be a part of Ed's team on this show. I wrote Episode 8 (directed by the wonderful Luke Watson) and love both it and the show dearly. Here are just a few of the things American critics are saying about the first episode: 

'Esquire finds a winner with first scripted drama 'Spotless' 

Bethonie Butler, The Washington Post

'This is memorable TV....Spotless is a story of family, how the past cements certain things and sets others adrift; we build ourselves, then, out of substance and absence.'

Mary McNamara, The LA Times

'A bloody good crime clean-up tale from Esquire'

Brian Moylan, The Guardian

'Spotless is a smart take on TV's anti-hero trend.'

Heidi Patalano, The Wrap

'Spotless is great fun. Intelligent, well-written and beautifully photographed, it has a remarkably sharp satirical edge.'

Tirdad Derakhshani, The Philadelphia Inquirer

If you're in the States, you can watch Episode One of Spotless on the Esquire Network. 

Spotless continues at 10pm, Saturday nights on Esquire.....

".....the Magic Mile turns 15!"

We'd been out of university for a couple of years when we made this award-winning short film on Camber Sands over three cold and gloomy days in November 2000. Shot on 16mm, the Magic Mile stars the brilliant Louise Dumayne and Anthony Wise - who many might recognise as the 'Get in the back of the van!' policeman from Withnail and I. Looking back at it now, the film is innocent, hopeful and yet unavoidably old and distant.  As I watch it I feel terribly proud but also a little sad at the passing of the years....

You can also catch it on VIMEO if you prefer.

"....last block of The Musketeers III begins filming and other news."

Co-creators Simon Allen, Simon J. Ashford and Executive Producer Jess Pope
- you'll never guess what we're looking at!

The final block of The Musketeers Series III is now filming in the Czech Republic and we couldn't be more excited. We started writing in November of last year and every single day since has been the most extraordinary adventure. Series III has attracted a truly incredible guest cast to star alongside our brilliant regulars and will air sometime in 2016. We hope people enjoy watching it as much as much as we've loved making it. I've seen the first six episodes and couldn't be prouder....

In other news, Ed McCardie's stunning series Spotless (for which I wrote Episode 8) starts transmitting in America on the Esquire network this November. You can see the full trailer here, visit the official Esquire website here or scroll down this page to watch a behind the scenes video in which Ed talks about the show (which I LOVE)...

Finally, as Hallowe'en creeps ever closer our short horror film Breathe continues to draw hundreds of thousands of views on the VIMEO Staff Pick Channel. For a small project that was only ever meant as a private exercise it's fair to say Breathe's phenomenal reception has exceeded our expectations. A deal for the feature version has been struck so watch this space...

Jack North and Josef Altin see dead people in 'Breathe'

".......filming is well underway on The Musketeers Series III!"

Together with my co-showrunner the amazing Simon J. Ashford, we've been having criminal amounts of fun working on Series III of the Musketeers. Some casting announcements have already been made including Rupert Everett as Governor Feron and Matthew McNulty as Lucien Grimaud but there will be more to come as we move into the Summer.  In the meantime, here's the two of us on the set plotting all sorts of mayhem, adventure and heartbreak over our  ten episode season. 17th century Paris will never be quite the same...