Hannah Waddingham joins leads Solly McLeod and Sophie Wilde in Masterpiece and ITV’s literary classic adaptation, Tom Jones

Hannah Waddingham joins leads Solly McLeod and Sophie Wilde in Masterpiece and ITV’s literary classic adaptation, Tom Jones, written by Gwyneth Hughes and produced by leading independent production company, Mammoth Screen 

Emmy® award-winner Hannah Waddingham has been cast as the seductive and vengeful Lady Bellaston in Tom Jones, a Masterpiece, ITV and Mammoth Screen (Victoria, Poldark) miniseries currently filming in Northern Ireland. 

Waddingham won Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for her role as Rebecca Welton in Ted Lasso at this year’s Emmys®. 

This follows the announcement that Solly McLeod (The Rising) is playing the hero Tom, alongside Sophie Wilde (You Don’t Know Me) as the heroine Sophia Western and Pearl Mackie (Doctor Who) as Sophia’s trusted maid, Honour, in this adaptation of The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling based on Henry Fielding’s classic novel. 

A rollercoaster story of the title character’s complicated journey to find real love, Tom Jones has delighted and scandalised readers since it was originally published in 1749. 

Also starring are James Fleet (Bridgerton) as Squire Allworthy, Tom’s warm-hearted adoptive father; Alun Armstrong (Breeders) as Squire Western, Sophia’s hard drinking, but loving grandfather, and Olivier-winner Shirley Henderson (Happy Valley) as Sophia’s Aunt Western. 

Tamzin Merchant (Carnival Row) is Sophia’s Aunt Harriet, with Julian Rhind-Tutt (Britannia) as her bellicose husband Fitzpatrick. Susannah Fielding (This Time With Alan Partridge) is Mrs. Waters. 

BAFTA-winner Daniel Rigby (Black Mirror) is the disgraced schoolteacher Partridge, who befriends Tom on his journey; James Wilbraham (In My Skin) is Tom’s bitter cousin Blifil; Felicity Montagu (The Durrells) plays Blifil's mother Bridget Allworthy, a devoted aunt to Tom, and Janine Duvitski (Benidorm) is Mrs. Wilkins, Allworthy’s testy housekeeper. 

Dean Lennox Kelly (Jamestown) is poacher-turned-gamekeeper Black George and NTA winner Lucy Fallon (Coronation Street) is his daughter Molly, who charms young Tom. 

Written by Gwyneth Hughes (Vanity Fair, Miss Austen Regrets), Tom Jones is directed by Georgia Parris (Mari) and produced by Benjamin Greenacre. The executive producers are James Gandhi, Gwyneth Hughes, Damien Timmer and Helen Ziegler for Mammoth Screen, Susanne Simpson and Rebecca Eaton for Masterpiece, and Polly Hill for ITV. 

Tom Jones is a co-production of Mammoth Screen and MASTERPIECE in association with ITV Studios.

Global distribution for the series is being handled by ITV Studios. 

Mammoth Screen is part of ITV Studios.