Take a first look at The Castaways (2025)

I’m so excited to be working with Céline Buckens and to be part of this amazing production bringing Lucy Clarke’s best selling novel to life.”

Brimming with spine-chilling suspense, the first shots released from the hotly anticipated Lucy Clarke adaptation offer a glimpse of Sheridan Smith and Céline Buckens in the lead roles as sisters Lori and Erin Holme.

The captivating series of images also reveal the wider cast for the first time. Brendan Cowell (Avatar: The Way of the Water, Game of Thrones, The Twelve) will portray the plane’s pilot, Mike Brass, Lasarus Ratuere (Ghost in the Shell, The Leftovers, The Tourist), as Felix Vatabua and Dominic Tighe (The Boys In The Boat, The New Look, A Confession), as Daniel Eldridge. The thriller will also feature Charlotte Vega (Wrong Turn, The Lodgers, Burial) as Amber Gordon.

THE CASTAWAYS (5 x 60”) sees Lori and Erin embark on the holiday of a lifetime in Fiji. After a huge fight, however, Erin never boards the island-hopping flight to their resort – and the plane, with Lori on board, never arrives at its destination. Months later, with no plane or survivors having been found, Lori’s credit card is suddenly used in a corner shop in a remote village in Fiji, and on CCTV Erin recognises the plane’s pilot. She sets out on a journey to find him and discover the mystery of what happened to her sister. Jumping between the two sisters’ perspectives, Erin undertakes a perilous mission to uncover the truth of the crash, while Lori struggles for survival among her fellow castaways. Each shocking twist helps to reveal the truth about what happened to Lori and the other passengers – a truth that someone on the island will kill to keep secret…

Sheridan Smith said: “I’m so excited to be working with Céline Buckens and to be part of this amazing production bringing Lucy Clarke’s best selling novel to life.”

Céline Buckens added: “I’m really thrilled to bring Erin to life - she’s a firecracker and the scripts bring layers and darkness to such an arresting premise. I hope audiences will be as hooked watching it as I was reading it.”

Sheridan Smith is an award-winning stage and screen actress. Amongst her prolific screen roles, Sheridan was Emmy nominated and won a BAFTA for the role as Chairman Biggs in Mrs Biggs and further BAFTA nominated for The C Word and her titular role in Cilla, for which she was also Emmy nominated. Sheridan also recently finished a stint playing Shirley Valentine in the West End, to huge critical acclaim.

Céline Buckens is a Belgian-British actress, writer and director, best known for her role as Talitha Campbell in BBC mini-series Showtrial. Her performance saw her nominated for Best Supporting Actress at the 2022 BAFTAs and Best Performance by an Actress at the 2022 International Emmy’s.

THE CASTAWAYS is produced and adapted by Clapperboard Studios and BlackBox Multimedia. International distribution for the series will be handled by BBC Studios.

THE CASTAWAYS is the second Lucy Clarke adaptation commissioned by Paramount+, following NO ESCAPE, which premiered on Paramount+ UK in May of this year.

THE CASTAWAYS will be available exclusively on Paramount+ later this year.

ENDS

About Paramount+

Paramount+ is a global digital subscription video streaming service from Paramount that features a mountain of premium entertainment for audiences of all ages. Internationally, the streaming service features an expansive library of original series, hit shows and popular movies across every genre from world-renowned brands and production studios, including SHOWTIME®, CBS, Comedy Central, MTV, Nickelodeon, Paramount Pictures and the Smithsonian Channel™, in addition to a robust offering of premier local content. The service is currently live in the U.S., Canada, the U.K., Australia, Latin America, the Caribbean, Austria, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Switzerland and South Korea.

About Clapperboard:

Clapperboard Studios is a drama production company established in 2020 by executive producer and managing director Mike Benson.

Since launch, Clapperboard has delivered 14 series and 65 hours of television, including critically acclaimed ratings winners The Teacher, The Holiday, The Ex Wife and Maxine, and was shortlisted for Best Production Company in the Edinburgh TV Awards 2022. The studio also co-produces hit comedy drama The Madame Blanc Mysteries, created and co-written by Sally Lindsay.

Clapperboard along with its partner companies, Chalkboard and Storyboard Studios, are part of iZen, the producer-led content group comprising a network of independent production companies in Spain, the Middle East and the UK.

About BBC Studios

BBC Studios is a commercial subsidiary of the BBC Group with sales of £2.1 billion (2021/22: £1,630 million). Able to take an idea seamlessly from thought to screen and beyond, the business is built on two operating areas: the global Content Studio, which produces, invests and distributes content globally and Channels & Streaming, with BBC branded channels, services and joint ventures in the UK and internationally. Around 2,500 hours of award-winning British programmes are made by the business every year, with over 80% of total BBC Studios revenues coming from non-BBC customers including Discovery, Apple and Netflix. Its content is internationally recognised across a broad range of genres and specialisms, with brands like Strictly Come Dancing/Dancing with the Stars, Top Gear, the Planet series, Bluey and Doctor Who. BBC.com is BBC Studios’ global digital news platform, offering up-to-the-minute international news, in-depth analysis and features.

BBC Studios | Website | Press Office | Twitter | LinkedIn | Instagram |

Take a first look at The Castaways (2025)

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