ird series of Mr Selfridge from ITV Studios gs into production

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Third series of Mr Selfridge from ITV Studios goes into production

Zo Wanamaker, Kara Tointon, Hannah Tointon and Leon Ockenden to star alongside lead actor Jeremy Piven in the new series of Mr Selfridge.

Ten new episodes of ITV Studios' lavish period drama Mr Selfridge, starring Emmy award-winning American actor, Jeremy Piven, will start filming in London this week following the ratings success with British, US and international audiences.

The drama is inspired by the life of charismatic American entrepreneur, Harry Gordon Selfridge, whose business in London's Oxford Street has become a much-loved institution.

This new series is the third instalment in the fascinating rise and fall of this colourful but troubled man and picks up in 1919 just after the end of World War I.

Zo Wanamaker (My Family, Harry Potter films, Agatha Christie: Poirot) joins the series cast to play trouble-making Russian Princess, Marie de Bolotoff. Though the shadow of World War I hangs over every-one, the first episode opens with the joyous occasion of a wedding. Harry's eldest daughter, Rosalie, marries Princess Marie's handsome son Serge, played by Leon Ockenden (Waterloo Road, Casualty, Heartbeat).

Rosalie Selfridge will be played by Kara Tointon (EastEnders, Strictly Come Dancing) and Kara's real-life sister, Hannah Tointon, plays her rebellious sister, Violette, in a move that sees the sisters acting together for the first time.

Sacha Parkinson (Coronation Street, The Mill) also joins the cast to play Kitty Hawkins' ambitious younger sister, along with Kelly Adams (Bluestone 42, Hustle, Holby City) who plays Harry's new love interest, Nancy Webb.

Series two recently screened on ITV on Sunday nights with the opening episode enjoyed by 6.8 million viewers with a 22.4% share of available viewing. The series averaged 6.4 million viewers (21.6% share).

Kate Brooke (Ice Cream Girls, Making of a Lady) returns as the lead writer working alongside Kate O'Riordan (The Bad Mother's Handbook, The Kindness of Strangers) and Helen Raynor (Baker Boys, Doctor Who).

Lindy Woodhead, author of Shopping Seduction and Mr Selfridge, the book that inspired the series, continues in her role as advisor on retail history.

Filming is taking place on location in Greater London with a lavish replica of the 1919 Selfridge's shop floor being recreated in a former carpet warehouse. The exterior of the store will be filmed in the historic Dockyard Chatham in Kent.

The series will be produced by Dominic Barlow (The Mill, The Crash, Garrow's Law), and executive produced by Kate Lewis (Lightfields, Vera, Marchlands) for ITV Studios alongside Kate Brooke and Kate O'Riordan.

The new series has been commissioned for ITV by Director of Drama Steve November and Controller of Drama Victoria Fea.

We're delighted to commission a third series of Mr Selfridge, said Steve. It's been very pleasing to see how the audience have reacted to Mr Selfridge and the vibrant and inspirational world the production team have created.

Kate Lewis, executive producer for ITV Studios said: We have some surprises in store for an audience in this third series. You only have to walk down Oxford St today to know that Selfridges Department Store continued to be successful, but for its founder, Harry Selfridge, things were very different. His story was a rollercoaster ride that ended rather tragically. We pick up Series 3 in 1919, the point at which his life really begins to unravel.

Mr Selfridge is distributed internationally by ITV Studios Global Entertainment. The second series premiered in the US on Sunday, March 30, on MASTERPIECE on PBS.

LINK:	http://www.itv.com/presscentre/press-releases/third-series-mr-selfridg...
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