Jo Joyner, Angela Griffin, and Tamzin Outhwaite Set to Star in new Channel 5 Thriller ‘The Wives’ from Gaumont

LONDON, Wednesday 28th February 2024: Channel 5 today announces Jo Joyner, Angela Griffin, and Tamzin Outhwaite to lead cast in new drama, The Wives (6x60’), a domestic thriller produced by Gaumont, in association with Banijay Rights for international distribution.

The Wives is a six-part mystery drama that follows the unraveling of one family in a summer that changes all their lives. Last year, four sisters-in-law and their families escaped to their Maltese holiday apartments, as they’ve done every summer for fifteen years. Sylvie Morgan, played by Tamzin Outhwaite (The Tower, Ridley Road, New Tricks), was happily married, Natasha Morgan, played by Angela Griffin (White Lines, The Serial Killers Wife, Waterloo Road), was swimming in wealth, and Beth Morgan, played by Jo Joyner (For Her Sins, Shakespeare & Hathaway, Stay Close), and Annabelle Morgan, played by Christine Bottomley (Sherwood 2, Back to Life, End of the F***ing World), were thick as thieves. But this year, as they come together again, everything is different. Sylvie’s now single and loving life, Natasha’s hiding a desperate financial situation, Beth is barely keeping her life together and Annabelle is, well... dead.

When Annabelle’s widower Charlie, played by Jamie Bamber (Strike Back, Cannes Confidential, Battlestar Galactica), arrives with a new woman in tow, Beth tries to be happy for them, but something doesn’t sit right. Charlie’s new girlfriend Jade, played by Katie Clarkson-Hill (Trust Me, Grace, Hanna), looks exactly like Annabelle. Beth’s plans to have a great summer are quickly scuppered by Charlie’s odd behavior, and her suspicion that there is more to Annabelle’s death is heightened. With lies coming to light and evidence building, the women work together and against each other to unravel the mystery and bring the culprit to justice. But with corrupt officials, drug cartels, and career criminals closer to home than ever expected, have they bitten off more than they can chew?

Further cast announced are Ben Willbond (Ghosts, There She Goes, Good Omens), as the eldest Morgan brother and Beth’s husband Frankie Morgan, Jonathan Forbes (Catastrophe, Fearless, Dublin Murders) will play Natasha’s loving husband Sean Morgan, Catriona Chandler (The Rivals, Enola Holmes 2, Pistol) as Annabelle and Charlie’s daughter Sky Morgan, Louis Boyer (Shadow and Bone, Wreck, The Ledge) as charming local businessman Luca Vella and Ajay Chhabra (Phoenix Rise, This England, Rough Diamonds) as consulate official Vinay Taneja.

The Wives has been ordered for Channel 5 by Sebastian Cardwell, Deputy Chief Content Officer, Paramount UK and Paul Testar, Commissioning Editor, Drama, Channel 5 and Paramount+. Executive producers for Gaumont are Jess Connell and Alison Jackson. Produced by Margot Gavan Duffy, The Wives was written and created by Helen Black (Time S2, Life and Death in the Warehouse), with episodes by Ciara Conway (Screw, Holby City) and Jamie Jackson. The series will be directed by Claire Tailyour (Phoenix Rise, Deceit) and Paulette Randall (Waterloo Road, Tin Star).

On filming the new series, Jo Joyner comments: “I’m so pleased to be working with Gaumont and in Malta again on The Wives, an exciting female-led thriller. I’ve become so fond of Malta and its warm and welcoming people, coupled with working with this great cast, not least of all Angela Griffin and Tamzin Outhwaite, this is going to be a fantastic piece. I can’t wait to get started.”

Angela Griffin says: “What a dream to work on The Wives. With Tamzin Outhwaite and Jo Joyner on screen, and Helen Black, Claire Tailyour and Paulette Randall part of the creative force, the incredible female presence in front and behind the camera was a huge draw. The scripts are full of warmth, female friendship, humour, with a huge whodunnit in the middle…. And on top of all of that it’s set in Malta. I feel really lucky to be a part of this project and to be playing Natasha, who has found herself carrying a secret she’s desperately trying to hide.”

Tamzin Outhwaite adds: “I am thrilled to be playing Sylvie alongside the rest of this brilliant cast! The Wives is set to be filled with lots of drama and even more beautiful Malta scenery, I can’t wait for Channel 5 audiences to be swept away on the adventure.”

A compulsive drama, full of guilty pleasures, The Wives has started filming in Malta and is set to air on Channel 5 later in 2024.