Doctor Who and The Serpent star Jenna Coleman is set to portray Joan Bright, one of the real-life inspirations for Miss Moneypenny in Ian Fleming’s James Bond novels, in a new TV drama series entitled The War Rooms.
As revealed by THR, the series has been created by David Childlow and will tell the untold story of the women who worked in Winston Churchill’s Whitehall bunker during World War II. Each season “is set to cover 12-18 months of World War II – from the shock of the war’s outbreak to sustaining the fight to the final push for victory and the battle to shape modern Britain.”
“Joan Bright was never going to live a conventional life – a young woman who lived her war days under the official secrets act, undercover and underground in the war rooms,” said Coleman. “This story is so compelling not only because of her unique and liberal mind, wryness of spirit and curiosity to live, but because of the opportunity to examine this endlessly fascinating period of time through an intimate and human lens. The closeness and proximity of days and nights lived within this small space, the carriers of the truth amidst the oblivion of propaganda above. The beauty and fragility of human connection when living through a time when no one knows what tomorrow will bring.”
“Jenna is one of the U.K.’s most loved and lauded actresses, whose career has seen her constantly stretch and redefine herself. As our lead actor and executive producer, she has been instrumental in bringing The War Rooms to life,” said producer David Parfitt (Shakespeare in Love, The Father). “Our intention is to build a series that takes a truly fresh view on a significant part of our collective history. A show that isn’t polite or reverential, but raw, confronting and offers fresh experiences, perspectives, narratives and faces. Ones that speak directly to our current, turbulent times and, critically, to an audience thirsty for tales of hope that help frame and make sense of today and tomorrow.”
