Another wave of stars to set sail in SINBAD

Thursday 28 June 2012

Dougray Scott, Evanna Lynch, Mathew Horne and Lee Ingleby to guest star

 

SINBAD, Sunday 8 July at 7pm on Sky 1 HD

Sky 1 HD’s epic fantasy drama about the iconic mythological character is coming to Sky 1 HD on Sunday 8 July. SINBAD a new production from the Emmy and BAFTA winning Impossible Productions, promises a 21st century take on the classic 8th century hero.

 

Dougray Scott (Mission Impossible II, My Week with Marilyn), Evanna Lynch (Harry Potter), Mathew Horne (Gavin & Stacey) and Lee Ingleby (Inspector George Gently) are joining a host of well-known faces, including LOST’s Naveen Andrews, Oscar® nominee Sophie Okonedo (Hotel Rwanda) and Timothy Spall (Secrets and Lies, Harry Potter) in Sky 1 HD’s blockbuster adventure series.

 

Scott plays Father La Stessa who relishes his power over the people, manipulating and often killing them with his fire.Father La Stressa is a deeply deceptive and self-serving man who makes promises to Philippe (Horne) which SINBAD reveals to be untrue. As SINBAD tries to help Philippe, his crew discover that Father La Stressa has powers they’ve never seen before.

 

SINBAD’s adventures will also include an encounter with Alehna (Lynch), Taryn’s (Orla Brady) fourteen-year-old daughter whom she believed had died several years ago from an illness. Alehna has had a lonely existence and when SINBAD’s crew find her, she will reveal a story that will make SINBAD think twice about who he can trust.

 

Evanna Lynch comments on her role: “I would say there is more to Alehna than meets the eye. Her seeming innocence and youth, and her quiet, reticent manner cause people to underestimate her wisdom, knowledge and intuition.”

 

SINBAD is portrayed by newcomer Elliot Knight leading an all-star cast in this gritty, high-octane adventure retelling of the classic Arabian Night hero. Following his role in the death of his much-loved brother, the streetwise SINBAD finds himself on the run from his home town of Basra and cast out to sea on The Providence owing to a curse placed on him by his own grandmother (Dame Janet Suzman, Nicholas and Alexander). On board The Providence, an intriguing band of travellers are thrown together, including taciturn Norwegian sailor Gunnar (Elliot Cowan, Marchlands), the lithe and agile jewel-thief Rina (Marama Corlett, The Devil’s Double), and haughty and aristocratic Nala (Estella Daniels, Thorne). Completing the ship’s complement are the Cook (Junix Inocian, The 51st State), an odd-ball and eccentric character and the ship’s cerebral doctor Anwar (Dimitri Leonidas, Tormented).

 

SINBAD is an Impossible Pictures production for Sky and BBC Worldwide produced with the assistance of Nine Network Australia. BBC Worldwide hold the international distribution rights. The series is produced by Tim Haines, Sophie Gardiner and Andrew Woodhead for Impossible Pictures and Elwen Rowlands for Sky.

 

SINBAD is part of Sky’s commitment to increase its investment in original British content by 50% over the next three years. By 2014, Sky expects to invest £600 million a year in British programmes across its portfolio of channels.  

 

This commitment follows the success of home-grown content such as entertainment hits GOT TO DANCE, AN IDIOT ABROAD and A LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN, dramas such as STRIKE BACK and MAD DOGS, comedies such as TROLLIED and THIS IS JINSY, and factual shows such as ROSS KEMP EXTREME WORLD and the BAFTA-winning documentary FLYING MONSTERS 3D.   Other forthcoming highlights include SPY starring Darren Boyd and Robert Lindsay; Craig Cash’s THE CAFE; Ruth Jones’ STELLA; Charlie Brooker’s A TOUCH OF CLOTH starring Suranne Jones and John Hannah; and STARLINGS starring Lesley Sharpe and Brendan Coyle.

 

SINBAD will launch on Sunday 8 July at 7pm on Sky 1 HD and will be available on the move with Sky Go.

For further information please contact

Chris Aylott - Head of PR, Sky 1 HD
T: 020 7032 2893
E: chris.aylott@bskyb.com

Annabel Rudden - Junior Publicist, Sky 1 HD
T:
E: annabel.rudden@bskyb.com

Notes to editor

About Sky

Sky entertains and excites more than 10.4 million homes through the most comprehensive multichannel, multi-platform television service in the UK and Ireland. Sky continues to break new ground with its own portfolio of channels: Sky 1 combines its commitment to UK production with the best of the US; Sky Living pushes ahead with fresh and innovative entertainment formats; Sky Arts is the UK's only dedicated arts channel brand; Sky Atlantic is the home to HBO and other iconic drama and comedy, Sky Sports is still raising the bar in sports broadcasting; Sky News remains a pioneer in television news; and Sky Movies is leading the way in High Definition and on-demand.

 

Sky also works with dozens of other broadcasters on the satellite platform, as well as online and on mobile through the ground-breaking Sky Go service.  Sky has also led the UK into the age of high definition television, launched Europe's first 3DTV channel, Sky 3D, and offers customer even more flexibility and choice through Sky Anytime+, its internet-delivered video on demand service.   Since launching Sky Broadband and Sky Talk in 2006, the company has also been the UK's fastest-growing home communications provider.

 

Sky believes in making a wider contribution to the communities in which it operates, not least by increasing participation in, and access to, the arts, supporting grassroots sports, and taking positive action on the environment.

 

About Sky 1 HD:

Sky 1 HD is the most watched non-terrestrial channel in Sky homes, attracting more than 20m unique viewers every month and, according to the latest tracker results (October – December, 2011), was the third highest valued channel amongst all Sky subscribers behind only BBC1 and ITV1.

Sky 1 HD distinguishes itself from rival networks with original drama and comedy, talked about entertainment formats, distinctive factual programming and award-winning exclusive US drama.

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