The Turn of the Screw

Look out for two child actors set to star in a new BBC drama adaptation of The Turn of the Screw. 12 year old Eva Sayer (represented by A&J Management) plays the mercurial 9 year old Flora, Eva was seen last year as Miranda in Tom Shankland's horror feature "The Children".
10 year old Josef Lindsay from Buckinghamshire (represented by Jackie Palmer) plays her brother Miles.

The Turn Of The Screw tells the story of a young governess, Ann (Michelle Dockery), who is sent to a country house to take care of two orphans, Miles (Josef Lindsay) and Flora (Eva Sayer).

Shortly after Ann begins her duties, Miles is expelled from boarding school for being "a threat to the other boys" and Ann fears that there is something else behind the expulsion. She is, however, too charmed by the adorable young boy to want to press the issue.

Ann starts to see the figures of a man and woman around the grounds of the estate. The figures come and go at will without ever being seen or challenged by other members of the household, and they seem to Ann to be supernatural.

She learns that her predecessor, Miss Jessel (Katie Lightfoot) and her illicit lover Peter Quint (Edward MacLiam), another former servant of the household, a clever but abusive man, both died under curious circumstances. Prior to their death, they spent most of their time with Flora and Miles, and this fact takes on a grim significance for Ann when she becomes convinced that the two children are secretly aware of the presence of the ghosts.

Ann soon becomes obsessed with the belief that malevolent forces are stalking the children in her care, manipulating Miles and Flora and even using them to continue their relationship from beyond the grave. Ann determines to save her charges from these supernatural beings, but this comes at huge cost to herself and her sanity.

Ben Stephenson, Controller of Drama Commissioning, says: "Christmas wouldn't be Christmas without a ghost story for the adults to watch in front of the fire when the children are in bed, and they don't get more chilling than this bold reimagining of the classic Henry James tale."

Filming begins in August on location in Bristol and the West Country, including Brympton D'Evercy near Yeovil in Somerset.