The Sheridan Smith BBC drama is expected to be one of the biggest UK TV shows of the year
The BBC’s new drama The Cage is finally here, with parts of the series filmed in Greater Manchester.
Looking to become the BBC’s next big crime drama, in a similar vein to the likes of Happy Valley and Line of Duty, The Cage premieres on Sunday night (April 26). Leading the cast is none other than Sheridan Smith.
Written and created by BAFTA award-nominated Tony Schumacher, best known for his work on Martin Freeman series The Responder, the five-part drama promises to be one of the biggest series of the year.
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Boasting ‘high-stakes and high energy’, its synopsis reads: “When Leanne and Matty discover they are both robbing from the safe at the inner-city casino they work in, their lives are set on a collision course; with each other, the local gangster they’re stealing from, and the police.”
Teasing why she wanted to work on the show, I Fought the Law’s Sheridan said: “Tony Schumacher and I met about three years ago and he told me about this idea. He’d written The Responder and I knew he was an amazing writer. I was like, ‘oh my God, what a gift to work with him’.
“He told me about The Cage, and I thought that sounded incredible. I thought he’d forget about it because he’s so in demand, then he did another series of The Responder because it was such a success.
“So, I thought maybe The Cage won’t be made. Then he came to see me in a show, and he said, ‘Hey girl, it’s been greenlit’. I have to pinch myself that I’m doing it now. He’s an amazing scriptwriter, he’s done it all and he’s been an actor as well, so he gets all the layers of people.”
Also starring in The Cage are his Is England’s Michael Socha, House of the Dragons’ Barry Sloane, Anne with an E’s Geraldine James, Brookside’s Sue Jenkins and Hollyoaks Sophie Mensah.
Despite the majority of the series being shot in and around Liverpool and Merseyside, the show’s production team did head to Greater Manchester for some portions of filming. At one stage, the cameras took to Le Mans Crescent.
For those unaware of the historic Bolton building, Le Mans Crescent is the go to location for many producers of hit television dramas. It was previously seen in the acclaimed BBC series Peaky Blinders.
On top of this, some scenes of The Cage were also filmed as the picturesque village of Tockholes in Lancashire. Tockholes forms part of the Blackburn with Darwen unitary authority.
When filming was underway in Tockholes last year, the public had to deal with some road closures. The Tockholes Road shut between the Royal Arms and Belmont Road during evening and overnight shoots.
Staying in the area for two days, the show’s production crew are said to have used a pub car park for equipment. Additionally, locals were warned to be weary of potential disruptions while the cameras were rolling.
The Cage starts on Sunday, April 26, from 6am on BBC iPlayer and 9pm on BBC One
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