ITV and Silverprint Pictures today announce that Imelda Staunton (Maleficent, Paddington, Harry Potter, Vera Drake), Francesca Annis (Home Fires, The Little House, Cranford), Russell Tovey (Years and Years, Quantico) and Stephen Rea (Dickensian, War & Peace, The Honourable Woman) have begun filming Flesh and Blood - a darkly witty and gripping four-part drama created and written by Sarah Williams (The Long Song, Case Sensitive, Poppy Shakespeare), which explores family dynamics and modern relationships as they spiral towards a tragedy and possible crime.

Joining the ensemble cast are Claudie Blakley (Manhunt, Grantchester, Lark Rise To Candleford), Lydia Leonard (Gentleman Jack, Absentia, Apple Tree Yard), Sharon Small (London Kills, Trust Me, Born to Kill), Lara Rossi (Cheat, Crossing Lines), Keir Charles (Man Up, Love Actually, Green Wing), Vincent Regan (Victoria, The Royals, Atlantis), David Bamber (Valkyrie, Doctors, The Bourne Identity), Stephanie Langton (Ransom, Law & Order UK) and Clara Indrani (Vera, The Rebel, EastEnders).

Directed by BAFTA nominee and Grierson award winner Louise Hooper (Cheat, Vera, Cold Feet), Flesh and Blood is a modern story of three adult siblings - Helen (Claudie Blakley), Jake (Russell Tovey) and Natalie (Lydia Leonard) - who are thrown into disarray when their recently widowed mother Vivien (Francesca Annis) declares she’s in love with a new man, Mark (Stephen Rea).

As she nears her 70th birthday, the siblings’ suspicions are heightened when retired GP Mark sweeps their mother off her feet, shifting her priorities away from her children. The happiness of her 45-year marriage to their father, Terry, is called into question, which sends a seismic shock through the lives of the siblings. Years of secrets, lies, rivalries and betrayals come to the surface and threaten to blow apart everything they’ve held dear.

With their large family home overlooking the Sussex coast, their inheritance and the happy memories of their childhood all suddenly threatened by the arrival of Mark, the siblings attempt to find out more about him. But will their long-buried grudges and complicated personal lives allow them to pull together?

Then there’s Mary (Imelda Staunton), who has lived next door to Vivien for 40 years. Despite not being family, Mary appears unhealthily attached to Vivien and her family’s unfolding drama.

Filmed on location in London and along the Sussex coast, Flesh and Blood is produced by Letitia Knight (Dark Heart, Vera). Silverprint Pictures’ Creative Director Kate Bartlett (Dark Heart, Shetland, Vera) executive produces the series with Sarah Williams.

Silverprint Pictures is part of ITV Studios. ITV Studios Global Entertainment distributes Flesh and Blood internationally.

Silverprint Pictures is the label behind multi-award winning international hit dramas Vera, Mr Selfridge, Shetland and the recent crime thriller, Dark Heart, starring Tom Riley and written by Chris Lang. Producing high quality scripted content for the UK and international markets, Silverprint Pictures creates distinctive and ambitious dramas for all channels.