BBC period drama ‘The Gallows Pole’ reveals trailer and release date

A trailer has been unveiled for The Gallows Pole ahead of its upcoming UK premiere.

Set in 18th Century Yorkshire, the BBC’s new three-part period drama has been adapted from Benjamin Myers’ novel by Shane Meadows (This is England).

The Gallows Pole is a fictionalised telling of the remarkable true story of the rise and fall of the Cragg Vale Coiners.

Michael Socha (Being Human) heads up the cast as the enigmatic David Hartley, who assembles a gang of weavers and land-workers to embark upon a revolutionary criminal enterprise that becomes the biggest fraud in British history.

He’s joined by two familiar faces from Downton Abbey, Sophie McShera and Cara Theobold, who played Daisy and Ivy in ITV’s iconic series.

Watch the trailer here:

The cast also includes Thomas Turgoose (This Is England), Yusra Warsama (Castle Rock), Anthony Welsh (The Flatshare), Samuel Edward-Cook (Peaky Blinders), Joe Sproulle (The A Word), Adam Fogerty (Legend), Nicole Barber-Lane (Hollyoaks), Fine Time Fontayne (Peterloo), and Ralph Ineson (Peaky Blinders).

When’s the release date?

The Gallows Pole will premiere in the UK on Wednesday 31 May on BBC Two, airing weekly.

All three episodes will be available to stream on BBC iPlayer from the same day.

We’re not yet sure who’ll be showing the series outside the UK, but we’ll let you know when we hear any news.

International sales are being handled by A24, the company responsible for some of the most acclaimed movies of the past decade.

“To be working with actors I’ve grown up with and/or have been desperate to work with, alongside oodles of incredible ‘as yet’ undiscovered Yorkshire-based talent, is an absolute honour and I’ve not been this passionate about shooting a project in years,” Shane Meadows commented when the project was announced in 2021.

“This is the 18th century, yes, but viewed through a slightly more anarchic lens and will – like my previous work – have a soundtrack that fits the mood like a psychedelic glove, rather than historical expectations,” the writer and director teased.

Benjamin Myers’ novel The Gallows Pole is available on Amazon.