Bestselling book The Essex Serpent made waves when it was published in 2016, and now Apple TV has released new pictures of its TV adaptation.
Starring Claire Danes and Tom Hiddleston, the book follows the newly widowed Cora Seaborne, who swaps Victorian high society for a quieter life in the small Essex village of Aldwinter following the death of her abusive husband. A keen amateur naturalist, she is intrigued by the rumours of a mysterious beast, the Essex Serpent, which begin to plague Aldwinter.
Hiddleston plays Will Ransome, the local vicar who befriends Cora, with Clémence Poésy starring as his wife Stella.
The role is Hiddleston’s first since rumours surfaced of his engagement to Fresh Meat star Zawe Ashton. At the Bafta Awards last week, the pair appeared together, with Ashton wearing a stunning oval-cut ring with her pink caftan cape dress.
The pair, who starred together in Broadway play Betrayal, are thought to have been together for three years but didn’t make their red carpet debut together until the 2021 Tony Awards.
Danes, who is married to British actor Hugh Dancy and is best known for her starring roles in Homeland and Romeo + Juliet, took the part of Cora after Keira Knightley withdrew due to family commitments.
With her two daughters, six-year-old Edie and two-year-old Delilah, Knightley didn’t feel that she could take on the filming schedule required to make The Essex Serpent. A spokesperson told the Daily Mail at the time: “There wasn’t a comfortable scenario for Keira that could be put in place for an extended period of childcare required for the four-and-a-half-month production.”
The book itself received rave reviews when it was published in 2016, winning the Overall and Fiction Book of the Year prizes at the British Book Awards, being longlisted for the Baileys Women’s Prize for Fiction and shortlisted the Costa Novel Award.
The series will also star Frank Dillane, Jamael Westman and Hayley Squires, with filming taking place in Maldon.
“We are delighted that the production company has chosen the Maldon District as one of their locations for a new six-part drama,” Maldon District Council told Essex Live at the time of filming.
“They have a sizeable base on Promenade Park, and they will minimise any disruption during their filming and ensure safety can be maintained at all times.”
