The Spies of War For Bbc 4

David Tennant and Janet Montgomery will star in Alan Furst’s novel, The Spies Of Warsaw, adapted by Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais. The story is set in the inter-war period of the 1930s, and is set in Poland, Paris, London and Berlin. Intelligence operatives from France and Germany battle it out on the intelligence war front.

Tennant plays Colonel Jean-Francois Mercier, a newly appointed military attaché to the French embassy in Poland. Here he is drawn into a world of abduction, betrayal and intrigue in diplomatic Warsaw.

Montgomery plays Anna a Parisian lawyer for the League of Nations, finds herself in a passionate love affair with Jean-Francois, as German tanks drive through the Black Forest their affair become more and more complicated.

The adaptation of the novel is spread over two 90-minute films. It will air on BBC 4. Richard Klein, Controller of BBC Four, says: “Spies Of Warsaw is Alan Furst at his best - a tense, passionate and sexy love story set against the increasingly strident clang of coming war. I think David Tennant playing Mercier and Janet Montgomery as Anna is such an exciting way to explore Furst's hugely convincing central characters, and I am delighted that Ian and Dick have produced such an enthralling script."

The Spies of Warsaw will be produced by Richard Fell of Fresh Pictures, and he says “We are thrilled and delighted that David and Janet are going to be in Spies Of Warsaw. They are both actors of such great range and quality they will light up the screen as the star crossed lovers Jean Francois and Anna. As Europe is dragged into the nightmare that will be the Second World War, their illicit love affair gets ever more complicated, and the chemistry between these two extraordinary actors becomes irresistible.”

The story spans from 1933 until 1943, as Germany seek to consolidate their political power on Europe.

The supporting cast including: Ludger Pistor (Casino Royale) as Edvard Uhl, Ann Eleonora Jørgensen (The Killing) as Olga Musser, Jan Pohl (Captain America: The First Avenger) as Zoller, Rad Kaim (Harry Brown) as August Voss, Piotr Baumann (The Street) as Maxim Mostov, Burn Gorman (The Dark Knight Rises) as Jourdain, Ellie Haddington (Creation) as Mme Dupin, Viktor Rosen (Gladiator) as Alan Corduner, Linda Bassett (The Hours) as Malka Rosen, Anton Lesser (The Hour) as Doctor Lapp, Richard Lintern (White Heat) as Colonel Lessard, Richard Teverson (Upstairs Downstairs) as Roddy Fitzware, Nicholas Blane (The Tudors) as Papa Heininger, Adam Godley (Charlie And The Chocolate Factory) as Halbach, Kenneth Collard (Albert Nobbs) as Johannes Elter, Dan Fredenburgh (The Bourne Ultimatum) as Armand, Tuppence Middleton (New Tricks) as Gabrielle, Tusse Silberg (Drop The Dead Donkey) as Helena and Julian Harries (EastEnders) as Duff Cooper.

Shooting of the drama will begin next month on location in Poland. It is a British/Polish/French co-production with Apple Film for TV Poland in association with ARTE FRANCE and BBC Worldwide.