BBC Three’s brand new short-form drama series Overshadowed, from Kay Mellor’s production company Rollem, will air on the channel this autumn as a box set.

Based on Eva O’Connor’s award winning play, Overshadowed tells the story of a young Irish vlogger called Imogene (Michelle Fox - Doctors) whose life spirals out of control when she meets the monster of anorexia personified.

Starring a host of fresh new talent, this compelling, haunting and funny series has been written by Irish television newcomers Eva O’Connor and Hildegard Ryan.

Shot in an innovative new format, Overshadowed tells Imogene’s story through a series of vlogs. All eight episodes are told from Imo’s point of view, giving a unique documentary-style insight into teenage life and her increasingly fragile mental state.

Imo used to be sparkly, vivacious and outgoing. Recently however she’s becoming withdrawn, gaunt and obsessed with exercise. The reason? Her new “best friend” Anna (Eva O’Connor). She's casting a dark shadow over Imo’s life and won’t rest until Imo is a shadow of her former self.

Kay Mellor, Rollem Productions Executive Producer, says: “I am so excited and thrilled that Overshadowed has been commissioned for BBC Three. It is such an important, modern story of our times, told in an innovative and exciting way by two young people. It has long been a dream of mine to be able to help give a voice to new writers and I am delighted to be championing Eva O'Connor and Hildegard Ryan, who have something really important to say.”

Eva O’Connor and Hildegard Ryan say: “We are delighted to be working with Kay, her amazing team at Rollem Productions and BBC Three to bring this story, which is very close to our hearts, to life. We hope Overshadowed will be a fresh and innovative take on eating disorders and the way they can take over young people’s lives. We feel the YouTube style episodes are the perfect way to chart Imogene’s journey and capture the minds of young audiences.”

Elizabeth Kilgarriff, Senior Commissioning Editor for BBC Drama, says: “Overshadowed is an incredibly exciting piece that showcases BBC Three's ambition to support young talent telling stories that matter. This is an important subject told from a compelling and unflinchingly honest perspective by the brilliant Eva and Hildegard and, with the support and experience of the wonderful Kay Mellor and Sian Palfrey, this is going to be a very special piece for the BBC Three audience.”

Overshadowed is an 8 x 10’ drama series and has been commissioned by Damian Kavanagh and Piers Wenger for BBC Three. It will be directed by Hildegard Ryan and produced by Sian Palfrey. The series will be produced by Rollem Productions. The Executive Producers are Kay Mellor for Rollem and Elizabeth Kilgarriff for the BBC.

Characters
Imogene (Michelle Fox)
Imo is sparkling, vivacious and outgoing. She’s never been the most popular girl at school but she doesn’t care - she’s got her good friends Rosa and Sky, and she’s got too much going on at the moment anyway to worry about not having a boyfriend.

Imo started her vlog a while ago - she always used to watch other people’s and so decided to try doing one of her own. It’s been going well so far; she’s got a lot of new followers and she’s been able to ignore the mean comments everyone gets on their videos.

Imo has a lot on her plate right now, with her looming exams and her dad’s upcoming wedding to his horrible new girlfriend. Not to mention her sister’s fast approaching 16th birthday… but she’s not going to let any of it get on top of her. In fact she’s decided to start a new health kick and she’s ordered a new camera so she can shoot and edit a video every single day to document it for her vlog. She’s excited to see what happens…

Tara (Emma Willis)
Tara is Imo’s younger sister. She’s bubbly and funny and loves hanging out with her big sister. They’ve always got on well and would spend hours attempting to perfect the latest dance craze or trying to bake cupcakes with a record-breaking amount of chocolate in them!

Tara would love to be a trendsetter but is not quite confident enough to dive into new looks and styles with abandon. She values her sister’s opinion and looks up to her for advice on everything from clothes and hairstyles, to how to pass exams without spending all her time revising.

Tara enjoys taking part in her sister’s vlog and performing for the camera, but Imo’s constant filming does get on her nerves every now and then!

Mum (Aislin McGuckin)
Imo’s mum is kind but under strain. Her husband, Imo’s father, had an affair about a year ago and moved out, and she suddenly found herself as a single parent. She’s trying to be brave faced for Imo and Tara and to not let them see how angry and hurt she is. She still wants them to love their father and she just wants her daughters to be happy.

Imo’s mum has always worried unnecessarily about her weight and has been on every diet under the sun in order to maintain her figure, particularly as she started to get older. When her husband cheated on her with a younger model she joined Weightloss Zone to help her self-esteem.

Wayne (Oliver Clayton)
Wayne goes to Imo’s school. He’s cheeky, wired and misunderstood - people call him ‘Wacko Wayne’ but he isn’t bothered about what other people think. He’s always in trouble with teachers and in and out of detention, but he doesn’t care. He doesn’t see the point in school anyway and he knows the Head is just counting the days until he leaves.

Wayne lives at home with his mum whom he’s fiercely protective about - she’s an alcoholic and Wayne feels responsible for her and he won’t take anyone badmouthing her. He’s not bothered about breaking rules or even laws in order to get by, but he’s got a good heart hidden beneath his bad-boy veneer and cheeky banter.