BBC commissions Harry Evans drama Dragon Slayers starring Matthew Rhys

The BBC has commissioned Dragon Slayers, a factual drama about Eccles-born Sir Harry Evans, who edited The Sunday Times and whose Insight team was behind some of the most important stories in UK history.

Emmy winner Matthew Rhys (The Americans, The Beast in Me, Widow’s Bay) takes the lead role in the six-part series, which will air on BBC One and BBC iPlayer. It is made by AC Chapter One and Universal International Studios and written by BAFTA winner Peter Bowker (The A Word, Marvellous).

The Insight team challenged powerful companies, the legal establishment and frequently the government. Its loyalty was to the paper’s readers and to the truth, which was often hidden and sometimes dangerous to uncover.

The team campaigned for victims of Thalidomide, uncovering cover-ups that had kept the scandal hidden from the public. It looked into the DC-10 crash, at the time the deadliest air disaster in the world, and faced treason charges after revealing Kim Philby as one of the 20th century’s most successful spies.

The series is set in the 1970s and draws on extensive research, published accounts and interviews with people who knew and worked with Evans. They include the Evans family and his widow, the editor, author and journalist Tina Brown CBE.

Cast and crew

Bowker said: “Telling the story of Harry Evans and the work of his Insight team is both a privilege and a joy. And having Matthew leading the cast is more than we could have hoped for. All of us are now united by a desire to honour the passion, doggedness and humour of this remarkable group of people. I hope the drama will make us take a fresh look at both journalism and that much maligned decade – the 1970s.”

Rhys said: “At a time when stories of this nature are imperative, I am thrilled to be a part of this show.”

Lindsay Salt, director of BBC Drama, said: “Dragon Slayers is a rollercoaster story, each episode gripping and powerful, written with Pete Bowker’s signature wit and sense of purpose. The investigative stories which were broken by Harry and his team carry as much power and purpose today as they did at the time. It’s a real coup that the wonderful Matthew Rhys will star as the iconic Harry Evans.”

Brown said: “I could not be more thrilled that such a talented and creative team has come together to bring to the screen some of Harry’s most inspiring journalistic achievements at the Sunday Times, and that the brilliant and versatile Matthew Rhys will be playing him.”

The series runs to one 90-minute and five 60-minute episodes and was commissioned by Salt. AC Chapter One produces, with Universal International Studios as co-producer. Bowker is also an executive producer, and Annalisa Dinnella (Sex Education, The Hack) is co-writer.

Al Mackay (The Cage, Kidnapped: The Chloe Ayling Story) directs. The other executive producers are Patrick Spence (Mr Bates vs The Post Office, A Spy Among Friends), Rhys and Joe Williams (Mr Bates vs The Post Office). Natasha Romaniuk (The Split, Outrageous) is producer and Shaheen Baig (Adolescence, Peaky Blinders) is casting director. NBCUniversal Global TV Distribution is handling distribution.