Chloe Ayling kidnapping drama casts Nadia Parkes as British model
Parkes is best known for her role in Netflix series The Bastard Son & The Devil Himself.
Nadia Parkes has been cast as the lead in upcoming BBC drama Kidnapped – a factual account of the 2017 abduction of British model Chloe Ayling in Italy.
Parkes – who is best known for her role in Netflix series The Bastard Son & The Devil Himself – said she was "honoured" to be playing Ayling and called the drama "a timely and important story about how we perceive trauma in the media."
Written by Killing Eve's Georgia Lester, the six-parter has now begun filming and is based on detailed research, extensive interviews, documented legal proceedings and Ayling's own book, Kidnapped.
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Ayling was abducted in Italy in 2017 after travelling there for a photoshoot, and the series promises to tell the personal story of both the kidnap itself and the subsequent court case that put the perpetrators in jail.
It is being made in full cooperation with Ayling and promises to tell her "personal story in full for the first time, going behind the headlines to shine a light on the emotional truth."
According to the synopsis, the series also asks "why Chloe was blamed for her kidnappers’ crimes. How do we relate to survivors of crime who make the front pages? And how does it feel to be an ordinary person, caught up in events so extraordinary that you aren’t believed?"
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In addition to Parkes, the cast also includes Adrian Edmondson (Rain Dogs), Nigel Lindsay (The Capture), Olive Gray (Rose), Eleonora Romandini (The White Lotus), Julian Swiezewski (The Passing Bells) and Christine Tremarco (The Responder.)
Meanwhile, further casting will be announced in due course.
Speaking about the casting, executive producer Michael Parke said: “We are delighted that the incredibly talented Nadia Parkes will portray Chloe Ayling in our drama.
"She has immersed herself in research and is passionate about bringing the truth about Chloe’s story to the screen.”
And Fiona Campbell, controller of youth audience for BBC iPlayer and BBC Three, added: “We’re so pleased that filming has now begun on Kidnapped and that the hugely talented Nadia Parkes will lead the drama as Chloe Ayling, alongside such a fantastic and impressive cast.”
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Authors
Patrick Cremona is the Senior Film Writer at Radio Times, and looks after all the latest film releases both in cinemas and on streaming. He has been with the website since October 2019, and in that time has interviewed a host of big name stars and reviewed a diverse range of movies.
