Kit Harington has swapped Winterfell for 17th century London in BBC One's upcoming historical drama, Gunpowder. The story will focus on the Gunpowder Plot of 1605, and Kit will play the mastermind behind the conspiracy, Robert Catesby. A trailer has been released in which Kit can be heard saying: "My wife is dead. My name disgraced. My friends and family tortured and hanged. We must strike at the root. Fawkes will light the fuse. And I, Robert Catesby, will blow the King and all his men to hell."
READ: Kit Harington pretends to be dragon on Game of Thrones set – watch the hilarious video
Gunpowder will air in autumn
The show will also star Liv Tyler as Robert's cousin, Lady Anne Vaux, Mark Gatiss as Robert Cecil and Tom Cullen as Guy Fawkes. The three-part drama will air this autumn over consecutive Saturday nights. People have been quick to discuss the upcoming series, with one writing: "Well, this should briefly satiate my Kit Harington addiction until #GameOfThrones next year," while another added: "Yeah, okay, I'm intrigued."
Speaking about the show, Chief Executive Officer of Kudos, Diederick Santer, said: "The Gunpowder Plot is one of the best known stories in Britain and most people are aware of the basic facts. But what Ronan has achieved with his page-turning script, and what I hope Kit and Peter and the rest of the magnificent cast will do, is to take the BBC One audience behind the story, into the people, the passion and the politics. This will be a hugely engaging drama with a fascinating contemporary resonance, showing the consequences of what can happen when a religious minority is persecuted."
Kit will star as Robert Catesby
Piers Wenger, BBC Controller Drama Commissioning, added: "Ronan Bennett's powerful scripts tells the visceral and resonant story behind the Gunpowder Plot and I couldn't be more delighted that J Blakeson is on board to direct and that Kit Harington, Peter Mullan, Mark Gatiss and Liv Tyler will star. Gunpowder will be unmissable event television."
