Quote:
ITV has unveiled an impressive British cast for its remake of the long-running US crime show Law & Order including Coronation Street's Bradley Walsh and Battlestar Galactica actor Jamie Bamber.
The UK version of Law & Order, which follows the work of police on the street through to legal action by the Crown Prosecution Service, starts filming this month.
ITV1's 13-part series stars Walsh, who has also featured in Torn and The Old Curiosity Shop, as Ronnie Brooks, "a real East End copper's copper".
He is partnered by Bamber, perhaps best-known as Apollo from Battlestar Galactica, as Matt Devlin, who tackles crime using "part seduction, part force".
The pair report to Detective Inspector Natalie Chandler, played by Harriet Walter, whose credits include Atonement.
Law & Order's legal side, featuring the workings of the CPS, is led by the Doctor Who and Torchwood actor Freema Agyeman as the "hard-working, strong-willed" prosecutor Alesha Phillips.
Senior crown prosecutor James Steel, a "man on a mission for justice", is played by Ben Daniels, who has starred in the BBC dramas The State Within and The Passion.
Bill Paterson, who has appeared in Little Dorrit and Criminal Justice, takes the role of CPS director George Castle, "a man trying to balance his ideals with the bigger picture".
The lead writer on the UK show, Chris Chibnall, has credits including Life on Mars and Torchwood.
ITV1's Law & Order is based on the highly successful US version, created by Dick Wolf, who has also worked on Hill Street Blues, and will be co-produced by the UK company Kudos, Wolf Films and NBC Universal.
"Kudos have put together the perfect cast to deliver a quintessentially modern British take on a highly successful crime format," said Laura Mackie, the director of drama at ITV.
Law & Order UK will be produced by Richard Stokes, who has worked on Torchwood and The Inspector Lynley Mysteries.
