Harriet Walter and Frances O’Connor to star in new Sky Atlantic euthanasia drama The End

Mr Selfridge star O’Connor plays Dr Kate Brennan, an Australian-based specialist in palliative care and a passionate opponent of euthanasia.

Walter plays her mother Edie Henley who believes strongly in her right to die but finds herself shipped out from her native England by her daughter and reluctantly deposited in a nearby retirement village on the Gold Coast. The drama is to be filmed in Queensland later this year.

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“While Kate struggles with her own problems, her children are trying to work out who they are, and who they want to be,” said a statement from Sky. "What follows is a story about parents and children, ethics and emotion, and mostly how it’s never too late to start again.”

Harriet Walter said: “This is a really original project and I can’t wait to get stuck in to the character of Edie who is not quite like any other part I’ve played. Exciting.”

Frances O’Connor added: “It’s thrilling to be returning home to Australia to be part of such an original series and to be playing a character as complex, interesting and conflicted as Dr Kate Brennan.”

Creator and writer Samantha Strauss said that the drama will address key questions that are all too often ignored by the modern world.

“So often we shy away from death and try to sanitise it, pretend it’s never going to happen. This series aims to do the opposite. As our characters figure out how to die, they’re really grappling with how they’ve lived and what they’re going to do with the time they have left. No one’s perfect in this family but they love each other for their flaws and hopefully audiences will too.”

The End will air on Sky Atlantic and streaming service NOW TV in 2019