The BBC has announced the cast for its upcoming adaptation of Caleb Azumah Nelson’s debut novel Open Water, with Emmy-nominated Ted Lasso star Toheeb Jimoh and Snow White star Dujonna Gift leading the way.
Penned by Nelson, the eight-part series – filming on which is now underway in Birmingham and London – tells the “tender, intimate and deeply romantic” love story between retail worker and budding photographer Marcus and dance student Effie.
“From the moment they meet, they feel an immediate, undeniable connection,” reads the synopsis. “But, as Marcus soon learns, Effie is in a relationship with Marcus’s friend Samuel. It’s a boundary that Marcus is unwilling to cross. A shared project, photographing and documenting Black creatives in London, draws them into each other’s orbit, but can their burgeoning friendship resist the pull of desire?”
Jimoh, who alongside Ted Lasso is also known for starring in the BBC’s Jimmy McGovern-penned drama Anthony, stars as Marcus.
Dujonna, meanwhile, makes her lead television debut as Effie. As well as Disney’s 2025 live-action Snow White, the actress has previously appeared on stage in the original West End production of Two Strangers, and is set to appear in the upcoming second series of the BBC’s Ludwig.
Caleb Azumah Nelson said in a statement: “We rarely see love stories like this and everyone, from crew to cast, has put their whole heart into this production to make it happen. I can’t wait to share what we’ve been working on.”
Toheeb Jimoh added that it’s such a “sensitive, character rich, love story, delicately told and full of all the details of the South London I grew up in.”
Gift said: “To be able to step into Effie’s shoes and to bring a South London love story to screen, a story that many people already have been able to fall in love with, that is deeply rooted in the communities that shaped me is such an honour.”
Also set to star are Rhianna Dorris (Lockwood & Co.), Lamar Waves (The Tower), Nadine Marshall (Random), Henrietta Pearl Quartey, Hope Ikpoku Jnr (Top Boy), Sekou Diaby (Animol, Boarders), Tara Tijani (Death in Paradise) and Enva Lewis (How To Have Sex).
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Rounding out the cast are Nash Nørgaard (Death of Ivan Ilyich), Stevie Odu (Boiling Point), Renee Bailey (Call The Midwife), Jayden Fowora-Knight (The Nutcracker and the Four Realms), Janina Elkin (The Queen’s Gambit), Sherise Blackman (Bridgerton), Matthew Dunster (Coronation Street), Neve McDonnell (G’wed), Javier Bonaparte, Beaux Bryant (Stolen Dreams Redemption) and Mo Sesay (The Diplomat).
Open Water will air on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.
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