Newberry, 22, played Teddy Lupin in the epilogue to
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2, but his scene was later cut from the film. Earlier this year, he appeared in an episode of the Steven Moffat/Mark Gatiss drama series
Sherlock and with Keira Knightly and Aaron Taylor-Johnson in the Joe Wright-directed
Anna Karenina.
Ricky Tomlinson, 73 – who made a name for himself playing Bobby Grant in Phil Redmond’s Channel 4 soap opera
Brookside – is also well known for playing Jim Royle in Caroline Aherne and Craig Cash’s
The Royle Family and DCI Charlie Wise in Jimmy McGovern’s
Cracker.
The new drama series,
In the Flesh – which began filming last Sunday – is written by Dominic Mitchell and directed by Jonny Campbell (
Eric and Ernie).
According to the BBC, “
In The Flesh is the story of [a] teenager, Kieren Walker, and his reintegration back into both the local community and the heart of his family. After his death four years ago, his friends and family thought they’d never see Kieren again …”
Speaking about his starring role in
In the Flesh, the 22-year-old actor told
Unreality TV that his character, Kieren, “[Is] an amazingly complex character […] on an unthinkable rollercoaster of a journey, one in which he has been given a second chance at life and he has to come to terms with how to deal with that. The characters may look like zombies but this is a very human story about people trying to survive.”
The series was commissioned through one of the British public broadcaster’s new-talent schemes – Mitchell having been chosen through BBC Writersroom Northern Voices.
The drama’s director has nothing but praise for the writer. “From the moment I read the opening scene I was hooked. Dominic is an utterly fearless and instinctive young writer with an uncanny ability to tell a great story full of humour and humanity in a most original way,”
Campbell confided to TV Wise.
Other actors joining the show include Alex Arnold – who played Rich Hardbeck in
Skins, and most recently starred in the ITV drama
A Mother’s Son – and Kenneth Cranham, the well-known Scottish film, television and stage actor.
In the Flesh will premiere on BBC 3, at a date to be announced.
