First look at new BBC drama This Town from Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight

The BBC has revealed a first look at brand new drama This Town from Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight.

Michelle Dockery (Downton Abbey, Anatomy of a Scandal), Nicholas Pinnock (Life, Marcella) and David Dawson (My Policeman, The Last Kingdom) star in the six-part series from Academy Award-nominee and Bafta Award-winning writer Steven Knight (Peaky Blinders, SAS Rogue Heroes, Great Expectations.

A teaser shares: “Both a high octane thriller and a family saga, This Town opens in 1981 at a moment of huge social tensions and unrest. Against this backdrop, it tells the story of a group of young people fighting to choose their own paths in life, and each in need of the second chance that music offers.”

Also on the cast are Levi Brown (Loss and Return), Jordan Bolger (The Woman King, The Book of Boba Fett), Ben Rose (Line of Duty, The Innocents) and Eve Austin (You, Our Ladies) as its four young leads.

They’re joined by Geraldine James (Back To Life, Anne with an E), Peter McDonald (The Batman, Dublin Murders), Freya Parks (The School of Good and Evil, Here We Go), Shyvonne Ahmmad (Annika, Karen Pirie), John Heffernan (Dracula, The Pursuit of Love), Stefan Asante-Boateng (Coronation Street, Suffering), Séainín Brennan (The Fall, Hidden), George Somner (This Is Going To Hurt, Sex Education) and Brendan Gibson (Peaky Blinders, Mr Selfridge).

Acclaimed producer Dan Carey, and Brit and Mercury nominated musician, novelist and poet Kae Tempest, have written the songs performed by the band in the series.

Steven Knight said: “This is a project that’s literally very close to home and I’m developing characters and themes that are set in the early 80s but hopefully are very contemporary.

“Of course, the soundtrack will be sensational.”

A release date for This Town is to be announced.