BBC's new drama, Picnic at Hanging Rock, is due to air on Wednesday evening on BBC2, and we have put together everything you need to know about the eerie drama. The series, which has been adapted from the 1967 book of the same name, was also made into a critically acclaimed film in 1975. However, this is the first TV adaptation of the tale.
© Photo: BBCNatalie stars as Mrs Hester Appleyard
What is Picnic at Hanging Rock about?
Set in 1900, the story follows a group of schoolgirls who take a day trip to the strange Hanging Rock to get away from their school, Appleyard College, on Valentine's Day. However, tragedy strikes when three girls and their governess inexplicably go missing during their picnic, rocking the town and unravelling lives. Speaking about the show, Natalie Dormer told Radio Times: "People's imaginations run wild when they think a group of three young girls and a teacher going missing. 'Is it murder? Is it abuse? Is it dying of malnutrition in the middle of the outback? Have they run away?' Your imagination just takes you there."
Who stars in the miniseries?
Natalie Dormer plays the headmistress, Mrs Hester Appleyard, and spoke about her character, telling Radio Times: "It doesn't matter whether it's Blanche Dubois or Hamlet, an actor getting to play a psychological unravelling is fun. But it also comes at a cost. Picnic is dark; residue does get left because Hester doesn't like herself and she has a lot of unanswered pain and trauma." The star is best known for her previous roles as Anne Boleyn in The Tudors and Margaery Tyrell in Game of Thrones. The show also stars Orange is the New Black actress Yael Stone as Miss Dora Lumley, and The Babysitter actress Samara Weaving as Irma Leopold.
