Dawn French to star in new ITV drama Glass Houses

She'll star alongside Mark Heap, Julie Hesmondhalgh, Vicki Pepperdine and Patrick Robinson in the new six-part drama created and written by Mark Brotherhood.

Filming will begin on location in South Devon this Spring and further casting is due to be announced closer to transmission.

The series is set in a picturesque small coastal town with a close-knit community and follows the stories and fall out for Maggie Connors (played by Dawn French) who doesn’t pay attention to the cautionary adage that ‘those in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones’.

Maggie is a central character in town who makes it her business to know a bit about everyone’s lives. When a radio journalist interviews her for a small reportage piece about local life she gives him far more detail (and embellishment) about the locals and their personal lives than he was counting on. In the days and weeks following the show’s broadcast, Maggie sees the butterfly effect of how her very public gossip-fest affects various figures around the town and disrupts their lives.

Maggie has been happily married to headmaster Peter (played by Mark Heap) for nearly 40 years, and their son Jamie and his wife Becka live nearby. Other notable residents include Maggie’s best friend Jill (played by Julie Hesmondhalgh), Brian the publican, school secretary Karen (played by Vicki Pepperdine), the town’s GP Carol, local shopkeepers Emil and Roxanna, and Kelly who works in the hair salon. Also part-time resident is the handsome Marcus (played by Patrick Robinson), who rents a cottage to write his best-selling novels.

Speaking about the series, Dawn French said "Dawn French said “Sophie and I have been developing Glass Houses for some time and I can’t wait to finally get started in front of the camera. It’s such a good story with a fantastic funny, touching script by Mark Brotherhood. Let me at it!”

The series has been commissioned by ITV’s Comedy Controller Saskia Schuster who said “Glass Houses is a new drama in the tradition of Doc Martin and The Darling Buds Of May, full of warmth and intriguing characters. This new series will embrace its beautiful idyllic South Devon setting as we meet the villagers of Thurlbury and find out how an innocent afternoon spent indiscreetly gossiping has a domino effect on the whole village.“

Glass Houses will air on ITV