The five-part drama has been adapted for television by Bryony Kimmings from Liz Jensen’s bestselling 2009 novel of the same name.
Based on Liz Jensen’s bestselling 2009 novel The Rapture and adapted by Bryony Kimmings with Rebecca Manley writing episode four, The Rapture stars Ruth Madeley as forensic psychologist Gabrielle Fox who is recovering from a car crash which has left her paralysed.
Gabs takes a job working in a maximum security facility for juvenile patients where she meets 16-year-old inmate Bethany Krall who was found guilty of brutally murdering her mother. When Bethany tells her that she has psychic powers, is she a highly manipulative psychopath? Or is she telling the truth when she says she can foretell a natural disaster linked to climate catastrophe?
Speaking about taking on the role, Ruth Madeley said "I am thrilled to be teaming up with the BBC and Mammoth Screen to lead such an epic series. I loved Liz Jensen’s novel and Bryony Kimmings' scripts are brilliantly inventive and funny and scary. Gabs is such a rich and complex character and I cannot wait to play her."
To which writer Bryony Kimmings added "When I read The Rapture I fell immediately in love with its fallible, weird, potty mouthed, struggling female leads. The gift of the book is its reluctant protagonists with too much on their plate to think about the climate. That’s me – that’s most of us! I can’t wait to bring them to the screen so you can fall in love with them too."
The five-part drama will be produced by Mammoth Screen and Bryony Arnold, directed by Chanya Button, with executive producers Tom Leggett and Damien Timmer for Mammoth Screen and Rebecca Ferguson for the BBC.
Speaking about The Rapture, Lindsay Salt, Director of Drama BBC, said "We’re thrilled to be bringing Liz Jensen’s truly compelling novel to life with the fantastic Ruth Madeley at the forefront."
"The Rapture blends a vitally important story of climate change with the gripping narrative rooted by two complicated and captivating women. It’s fantastic to be working with Mammoth Screen again and we can't wait for audiences to be hooked in by this emotional rollercoaster of a drama."
To which executive producers Tom Leggett and Damien Timmer from Mammoth Screen added "The Rapture is a dream project for us – Liz Jensen’s novel and Bryony’s scripts crackle with wit and danger and feature two outstanding female lead characters, all set against a genuinely urgent story about climate catastrophe. Having Ruth Madeley as Gabs is the icing on the cake!"
The Rapture will air on BBC One