ITV Orders 2-Part Drama ‘Honour’ Starring Keeley Hawes
ITV has ordered ‘Honour’, a two-part drama from Gwyneth Hughes (‘Vanity Fair’, ‘Dark Angel’, ‘Remember Me’), starring Keeley Hawes the broadcaster has announced today.
Hawes is to star as the real-life detective who brought five killers to justice in the heartbreaking true story of Banaz Mahmod, the young Londoner murdered by her own family for falling in love with the wrong man.
DCI Goode, played by Keeley Hawes, discovered that Banaz had been to the police five times to report threats to her life from members of her own family. Appalled that her own colleagues had missed multiple chances to save a young woman’s life and prevent a so-called “honour” killing, Caroline vowed that she would not rest until she finally got justice for Banaz. It was a promise that quickly became personally consuming. This tense and emotionally vivid drama brings Caroline’s long and unwavering quest to life.
“Banaz Mahmod met her brutish death on the orders of her own father and uncle, which I find profoundly unsettling,” commented writer Hughes. “That this story is ultimately so uplifting is down to the sheer heroism and dedication of the police officers who hunted down her killers. Caroline Goode and her team felt real love for this girl they’d never met. I found their unusual warmth and humanity deeply moving.”
Honour is a 2 x 60 factual drama which has been commissioned for ITV by Head of Drama, Polly Hill. Richard Laxton (‘Mrs Wilson’, ‘Burton and Taylor’, ‘An Englishman in New York’) will direct both episodes and Alliea Nazar will produce. Liza Marshall, Gwyneth Hughes, Peter Kosminsky and Keeley Hawes will executive produce, and the drama will be produced by Hera Pictures in association with Keeley’s company Buddy Club.
“At Hera Pictures we are committed to telling stories about remarkable women, so I feel privileged to bring Gwyneth’s sensitive and skilful script to screen and to shine a light on the bravery of Banaz and Caroline’s dedication to achieving justice for her,” adds exec producer Liza Marshall. “I am delighted that Polly and the team at ITV share our passion for this story and we couldn’t have hoped for a better actress than Keeley to take on this role.”
Keeley Hawes seems to be in everything at the moment. Along with the massively successful ‘Bodyguard’, she also starred in mini-series ‘Summer of Rockets’, Channel 4 drama ‘Traitors’, and ITV’s ‘The Durrells’. She is currently appearing on Channel 4 in comedy ‘Year of the Rabbit’.
Filming begins on ‘Honour’ in September, so will presumably be released in 2020. We’ll let you know when we hear more.
