Bring the Drama: BBC Bill Bailey series features Bridgerton, Ghosts, Broadchurch, and Fleabag casting director

Bill Bailey hosts new BBC reality series Bring the Drama, which follows aspiring actors hoping to impress Bridgerton casting director Kelly Valentine Hendry.

Eight hopeful amateur actors, selected from a pool of 2,000 applicants, will have the chance to hone their craft as they get experience on the sets of major BBC TV productions including Peaky Blinders, Silent Witness, and EastEnders. 

Hendry will mentor the actors as they are tasked with recreating iconic scenes from some of the BBC’s most popular shows - they will be using the real scripts, sets, and cameras to give them the best opportunity to bring their roles to life.

The contestants will also meet successful actors to gain practical advice from those who have been where they are now, at the very start of their screen careers. EastEnders star Natalie Cassidy, Genesis Lynea from Silent Witness and Champion, and Casualty’s Charles Venn are among the actors taking part in the series.

Who is Bill Bailey?

Bailey is a stand-up comedian, best known for his role as Manny in sitcom Black Books, and for being a panellist on comedy music quiz show Never Mind the Buzzcocks. He recently hosted travel show Bill Bailey's Australian Adventure, and surprised many fans in 2020 when he won season 18 of Strictly Come Dancing.

He will host the new series Bring the Drama - as a comedian and actor himself, he will be no stranger to the pressures of performing for casting directors, hoping to secure a dream part, and can empathise with the contestants.

Who is  Kelly Valentine Hendry?

Kelly Valentine Hendry is a prolific casting director who has worked on more than 100 productions since 2005. The biggest shows she has helped to cast include dramas Law & Order: UK, Broadchurch, Grantchester, period drama Bridgerton and the Queen Charlotte spin-off, and sitcoms including Fleabag and Ghosts. Most recently she was casting director for Amazon Prime fantasy series Wheel of Time, and Netflix mystery film Locked In. 

Casting directors are an important part of pre production on film and TV projects - their job is to find the best actors to match to roles in the project. Henry was nominated for a Primetime Emmy for her casting on Bridgerton, and a Royal Television Society Award for Gangs of London.

What is the Bring the Drama prize?

The tough competition aims to test the actors in a real professional environment, but not everyone can be a winner. In the series finale, Hendry will be tasked with selecting the three actors that have impressed her the most and give them a boost in the next step of their career.

Their prize will be to present their showreel at a major industry showcase, where they will have the opportunity to be picked up by a leading talent agent.

Bring the Drama will air on BBC iPlayer and BBC Two. The release date has not yet been confirmed.