They'll be joined by Eva Morgan and Sadie Soverall in the six-part drama written by Helen Walsh in her first original script for television.
Produced by World Productions, The Gathering centres around a violent attack on a teenage girl during a rave on a tidal islet and promises to be a multi-layered story that's a drama for our times.
Set on Merseyside, the drama focuses on a group of teens from disparate backgrounds, each of whom could have committed the crime, along with their parents who give equal cause for suspicion.
Newcomer Eva Morgan will star as Kelly, the victim of the attack, who straddles the very different worlds of two groups of teens. She's an accomplished gymnast, on the pathway to world-class competitions, but at odds with her teammates and their ultra-competitive parents.
By contrast, Kelly also rolls with a group of urban free-runners, whose reckless lifestyle and exuberant free spirit conflict with the discipline and restrictions Kelly experiences in the tightly controlled world of competitive sport.
Starring alongside Eva Morgan will be Sadie Soverall as Jessica, Vinette Robinson as Jessica’s aggressively pushy mother Natalie and Warren Brown as Kelly’s hard-working single parent Paul and Richard Coyle as successful solicitor Jules.
It also stars Sonny Walker as Adam and newcomers Luca Kamleh-Chapman as Bazi and Hebron Tedros as Dessie.
Written by Helen Walsh in her first original script for television, The Gathering interrogates how today’s parents impose their agendas and issues upon their teenagers. It explores the balance between allowing teens their freedom while ensuring their safety in a world where social media can create fame and notoriety overnight and cancel it, and our children, at the flick of a thumb. Asking whether it’s responsible to be overly invested in our kids, or irresponsible not to know what they’re up to.
Speaking about the cast announcement, writer Helen Walsh said I’m thrilled to have a brilliant cast on board led by such established talent. Our young actors, many of whom are newcomers, have wowed us with their raw and heartfelt depictions of teenagers having to navigate adult problems in morally ambiguous worlds."
Commissioned by Channel 4's Head of Drama, Caroline Hollick and Commissioning Editor for Drama, Gwawr Lloyd, the series will be produced by Graham Drover and executive produced by Simon Heath, Laura Cotton, Helen Walsh and Gareth Bryn for World Productions. Episodes 1, 2, 5 and 6 will be directed by Gareth Bryn with Amanda Blue directing episodes 3 and 4.
The Gathering will air on Channel 4