Anthony Head

BBC Two have announced the cast for their new major drama series, Dancing on the Edge, written and directed by Stephen Poliakoff.

The five-part series will star Angel Coulby (Merlin), Anthony Head (Merlin), Chiwetel Ejiofor (The Shadow Line), Matthew Goode (Watchmen), Jacqueline Bisset (The Deep), Janet Montgomery (Black Swan), Joanna Vanderham (Young Herriot), Tom Hughes (Silk), Caroline Quentin (Life Of Riley), Jane Asher (Holby City) and Wunmi Mosaku (The Body Farm).

Set in the early 1930s, Dancing on the Edge follows black jazz musicians, the Louis Lester Band, as they find fame amongst the parties and performances of London’s upper class society.

The official synopsis reads: "Although many recoil at the performance of black musicians in polite society, the city’s more progressive socialites, including members of the Royal Household, take the band under their wing. But when the band becomes entangled in their shadowy world, it results in a suspected murder. The walls begin to close in on Louis and the band."

Dancing on the Edge is filming in London and Birmingham for 16 weeks.