Hayley Squires and Bel Powley to lead BBC One's new drama Shy & Lola

An unlikely duo who turn out to have a talent for crime!

BBC One has announced Shy & Lola, a new six-part darkly comic drama from Amanda Coe, starring Hayley Squires and Bel Powley as Shy and Lola, two very different women who are forced to become allies when a murder entangles them in the criminal underworld operating in Shy’s small coastal town in the North of England.

Beginning as exploited novices, the unlikely duo turn out to have a talent for crime. As they build an operation that threatens to blow the local bad guys out of the water, opposing futures beckon, using their earnings to fund a fresh start, or becoming the new bosses in town.

Hayley Squires stars as Shy, a cleaner scraping by and dreaming of a new life in Portugal, whilst Bel Powley plays Lola, an ex-model-turned-grifter who arrives in town with trouble at her heels. Further cast will be announced in due course.

Filming is set to begin this spring in and around Hull and Leeds, and speaking about the new series, screenwriter Amanda Coe said "With such a rich and spiky central relationship at its core, Shy & Lola is a dream of a show to write, full of fun, action and emotion. I can’t wait to see our hugely exciting cast and director bring it to life."

To which the BBC's Director of Drama, Lindsay Salt, added "Shy and Lola are an unlikely duo, the classic odd couple, who get caught up in a murder - and that’s just the start of it. Amanda Coe’s superb scripts will surprise and amuse viewers in equal measure, and with Clerkenwell producing and Hayley and Bel leading the cast, BBC viewers are in for a real treat."

Made by Clerkenwell Films, part of BBC Studios, Shy & Lola is written by Amanda Coe, with additional episodes written by Emilie Robson and Alys Metcalf, both alumni of BBC Writers. It'll be produced by Nadia Jaynes, with Sam Donovan as lead director.

Executive producers are Amanda Coe, Rachelle Constant and Petra Fried for Clerkenwell Films, Jo McClellan for the BBC and Rachael Stephenson as associate executive producer.

The executive producers are Amanda Coe and, for Clerkenwell Films, Rachelle Constant and Petra Fried. Rachael Stephenson is associate executive producer, and the executive producer for the BBC is Jo McClellan. The show was commissioned by Lindsay Salt, BBC Director of Drama. BBC Studios is handling global sales.

Speaking about Shy & Lola, Executive Producer Rachelle Constant said, "Amanda has written a brilliantly bold series centred on a dynamic female duo, which blends dark comedy with propulsive storytelling. We’re thrilled to have Hayley and Bel as our leads, alongside an exceptional cast and crew."

The series is based on the French television drama Cheyenne and Lola, which was written by Virginie Brac, produced by Lincoln TV and STUDIOCANAL and distributed internationally by Federation International.

Shy & Lola will air on BBC One