Emmett J. Scanlan, Tahirah Sharif and Jimmy Akingbola join the cast of ITV crime thriller, The Tower

[Credit: Emmett J. Scanlan – Photographer: Rio-Romaine / Tahirah Sharif – Photographer: Osy Ikhile / Jimmy Akingbola – Photographer: Joseph Sinclair]

Emmett J. Scanlan, Tahirah Sharif and Jimmy Akingbola join the cast of ITV crime thriller, The Tower, written by Patrick Harbinson and produced by Windhover Films and Mammoth Screen.

Emmett J. Scanlan, Tahirah Sharif and Jimmy Akingbola have joined the cast of ITV’s The Tower, the three-part series adapted by Homeland writer and executive producer Patrick Harbinson and produced by Windhover Films and Mammoth Screen in association with ITV Studios. 

Emmett, Tahirah and Jimmy join Gemma Whelan announced recently as playing the character of Detective Sergeant Sarah Collins. 

Filming commences early May on the series which is based on Post Mortem, the first in Kate London’s Metropolitan series of novels.

Tahirah plays rookie cop Lizzie Adama, while Emmett takes the role of uniformed police inspector Kieran Shaw and Jimmy is DC Steve Bradshaw.  Also joining the cast are Nick Holder as PC Hadley Matthews and Lola Elsokari as Farah.

Harbinson (Fearless, 24, ER) executive produces the drama alongside Mammoth Screen’s founder and CEO Damien Timmer (The Serpent, Endeavour) and Karen Thrussell (Poldark, And Then There Were None).

Emmett J. Scanlan is known for his role of Lobo in Krypton and ITV’s Butterfly in which he starred alongside Anna Friel. His other credits include Peaky Blinders, Gangs of London, Safe, The Fall and Guardians of the Galaxy.  He has recently finished filming a series lead in Kin. 

Tahirah Sharif trained at the Identity School of Acting. She recently starred as Rebecca Jessel in the gothic romance limited series, The Haunting of Bly Manor and in The First Team and Waterloo Road. Her film roles include the Christmas Prince, The Invisible Woman, and See Me, whilst her theatre credits the National Theatre’s production of Moon on a Rainbow Shawl, Arabian Nights and Firebird.

Jimmy Akingbola is best known for his leading role in Kate and Koji for ITV and BritBox.  His credits also include three series of the comedy In The Long Run in which he plays Valentine alongside Idris Elba, Emmy nominated Most Dangerous Game, Ted Lasso, Rev, Arrow and ITV drama, Cheat. 

The Tower has been commissioned for ITV by Head of Drama Polly Hill, who will oversee the three-part drama for the channel.

Kate London is a former Met Police Officer who finished her career working as part of a Major Investigation Team on the Homicide and Serious Crime Command. 

Paul Testar (The Serpent) is producer, Sherie Myers (I May Destroy You) is co-producer, and Jim Loach (Save Me Too) is director.
 
In The Tower’s breath-taking opening sequence, a veteran beat cop and a teenage girl fall to their deaths from a tower block in south-east London. Left alive on the roof are a five-year-old boy and rookie police officer Lizzie Adama. Within hours, Lizzie has disappeared, and Detective Sergeant Sarah Collins is charged with leading the investigation. She not only has to track down Lizzie before she comes to serious harm, but also to uncover the truth behind the grisly deaths. What chain of events took two police officers and two children to the roof of that tower block - why did two of them die? Why did two of them survive? 

The antagonistic relationship between the experienced Sergeant Sarah Collins and the novice cop Lizzie is at the heart of London’s novels and The Tower.  What happened on the roof of the tower is the mystery that Sarah must uncover. When it’s finally revealed, the truth will cast its shadow over Sarah and Lizzie’s relationship and their lives.  

Windhover Films was formed by Patrick Harbinson in January 2021. Its principals have worked in the film and TV business in London and LA for nearly thirty years. Mammoth Screen, one of the UK’s leading independent production companies, is an ITV Studios label.

The book deal to sell Kate London’s novels for TV was brokered by Luke Speed on behalf of Alice Lutyens of Curtis Brown Group.

Emmett J. Scanlan is represented by Daphne Waring at Waring and McKenna, The Gersh Agency and Think Tank Management.

Jimmy Akingbola is represented by Hamilton Hodell, A3 Artists Agency and Personal PR. 

Tahirah Sharif is represented by the Identity Agency Group.

The Tower is distributed internationally by ITV Studios.