ITV Press Office Press Release

Sean Bean returns to ITV as hero of the hour Richard Sharpe in a new adventure set in the heat and dust of 19th century India.

In 2006 after a gap of eight years the award-winning drama SHARPE returned to ITV for two feature length episodes of Sharpe's Challenge, attracting more than seven million viewers. Now our hero returns for Sharpe's Peril, another epic adventure starring Sean Bean (Outlaw, North Country, Lord of the Rings, Troy) and written by Russell Lewis (Sharpe's Challenge, Murphy's Law, Inspector Morse).

Sean Bean is joined once again by Daragh O'Malley (Waking the Dead, Wire in the Blood) as Sharpe's best friend Sgt Patrick Harper in this bloody enterprise filmed entirely in India.

Sharpe's Peril takes up where Sharpe's Challenge left off. Sharpe and Harper are on their way to Calcutta, when they come upon an East India Company baggage train. The party travels warily through enemy territory. Its leaders fear Chitu, the legendary bandit leader who controls the area. When the attack happens, Sharpe has to take over and lead the party 300 miles through enemy territory, training up the ill assorted group into proper soldiers.

Says Sean: "I am very much looking forward to the prospect of returning to India to film Sharpe's Peril. Russell Lewis has created a fascinating tale of conflict and pathos, with the panoramic backdrop of this intriguing land as our canvas."

ITV's Director of Drama, Laura Mackie says: "It's a great coup for ITV to welcome Sean Bean back to the channel. Sharpe is hugely popular with both our male and female viewers because it offers adventure, romance and the sort of escapism usually limited to the big screen." Sharpe's Peril is a Celtic Films Entertainment / Picture Palace Films production for ITV1.

For further information please contact:
Lisa Vanoli ITV Press Office | 08448 813033 | lisa.vanoli@itv.com
Pictures Patrick Smith ITV Picture Desk | 08448 813044 | patrick.smith@itv.com