ALEX KINGSTON - NEW FEMALE EX-CONS DRAMA SET FOR BBC

NEW FEMALE EX-CONS DRAMA SET FOR BBC

A new drama about four female ex-cons starring Alex Kingston is set to begin filming this summer before hitting screens next year.

Kingston, best known for her roles in Doctor Who, ER and Moll Flanders, will appear alongside Annette Crosbie of One Foot in the Grave fame in the eight-part show Hope Springs.

The show is being made by the producers behind Waterloo Road, Bad Girls Footballers' Wives - hinting at the kind of drama to be expected.

Kingston stars as the leader of the gang, which finds itself forced to hide in a remote Scottish village called Hope Springs after their plans to start a new life in Barbados fall through.

The BBC, which is set to screen the show, says it is "about losing millions, falling in love in unlikely places, making a home and chasing your dream".

"I rather like the idea of working on a project where there are so many good, strong female roles," said Kingston.

"These girls are ex-cons, so they're not necessarily role models, at least not to start with – they're four women with murky pasts stuck in a remote village in Scotland."

Filming will take place at Wanlockhead in Dumfries and Galloway and Hope Springs is set to be screened in 2009.