Jacob Elordi's new BBC drama

Jacob Elordi set for 'heart-wrenching' new BBC drama amid total image transformation

Ciarán Hinds is also set to star in the BBC series

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TV & Film Editor
4 hours ago

Saltburn star Jacob Elordi - who is also known for his starring roles in Euphoria and Priscilla - is heading to the BBC with his new drama, The Narrow Road to the Deep North, and it looks simply incredible. 

Based on Richard Flanagan's Booker Prize-winning novel, the five-part series is set to air on BBC One and iPlayer, and follows a young man, Dorrigo, as he embarks on a passionate love affair before being trapped in a World War II POW camp. 

© Variety

Jacob Elordi, at the Toronto International Film Festival 2024

While Jacob will play the young version of Dorrigo, Harry Potter and Game of Thrones star Ciarán Hinds will play the older version reflecting on his life. The Stand star Odessa Young will play Dorrigo's lover, Amy Mulvaney. 

The show promises to be "an intimate character study of a complex man," and will look at "the courage and cruelty of war, and a timeless love story that sustains one through the darkest of times".

Speaking about the project, Sue Deeks, Head of BBC Programme Acquisition, said that the show was "a complex, beautiful, and heart-wrenching series" which weaves the stages of the surgeon's life to "the unflinching depiction of life as a prisoner of war in occupied Burma". She added: "We are so very pleased to bring this truly exceptional adaptation to BBC viewers." 

© Chiabella James, Prime Video

Emerald Fennell, Barry Keoghan and Jacob Elordi behind-the-scenes in Saltburn

Executive producers Jo Porter and Rachel Gardner of Curio Pictures added: “The Narrow Road to the Deep North is an epic tale of the sustaining power of love under the harshest of circumstances. Curio is honoured to help bring this spectacular story to life with creators Shaun Grant and Justin Kurzel, novelist Richard Flanagan, and our brilliant cast and crew. We can’t wait for audiences to see it." 

© Chiabella James, Prime Video

Barry Keoghan, Jacob Elordi and Emerald Fennell in Saltburn

The show was filmed in Jacob's homeland of Australia, but has yet to confirm a release date, so watch this space! In the meantime, the book has a 4.2 star rating with over 20,000 reviews on Amazon, with the synopsis reading: "In the despair of a Japanese POW camp on the Burma Death Railway, surgeon Dorrigo Evans is haunted by his love affair with his uncle’s young wife two years earlier. 

"Struggling to save the men under his command from starvation, from cholera, from beatings, he receives a letter that will change his life forever." 

Margot Robbie & Jacob Elordi are set to star in Wuthering Heights

It is a very busy time for Jacob, who is also set to star in the upcoming Emerald Fennell movie Wuthering Heights alongside Margot Robbie, and is thought to be returning for the third season of Euphoria. 

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