Reputation Begins Filming For BBC One And iPlayer

Naomie Harris and Christina Hendricks (Images via BBC Press: NH - Bex Aston / CH - David Roemer)

By Jon Donnis

Filming is now underway on Reputation, a new six-part legal drama heading to BBC One and BBC iPlayer from writer Anya Reiss and production company The Forge. Built around celebrity culture, media manipulation and courtroom warfare, the series looks set to dive headfirst into the chaos that follows when private scandals become public entertainment.

Leading the cast is Academy Award nominee Naomie Harris, playing high-powered lawyer Lena, a woman drawn into what quickly becomes the most explosive celebrity case in the country. Her client is global pop icon Davina Knight, played by Christina Hendricks, whose latest song triggers a bitter and deeply public legal battle with her former husband Billy, played by Kyle Soller.

The drama begins after Davina releases a provocative track accusing Billy of abusive behaviour. He responds publicly with accusations of his own, pushing the collapse of their marriage into the spotlight and sparking a fierce libel case. What follows stretches far beyond the courtroom itself. Public relations teams move into overdrive, social media becomes a battlefield and every detail is picked apart in real time by strangers online chasing outrage, attention and clicks.

While the series centres on the legal fight between the former couple, Lena finds herself increasingly exposed as the pressure surrounding the case intensifies. Her professional reputation, private life and personal limits are all tested as the battle spirals further out of control. The story raises difficult questions about truth, influence and the cost of winning when public opinion can shift in seconds.

Alongside Harris, Hendricks and Soller, the cast includes Alex Jennings, David Gyasi, Emily Atack, Marli Siu, Alex Heath, Tilly Keeper, Corey Johnson, Aidan McArdle, Ernest Kingsley Jnr, Jodie Campbell, Kayla Meikle, Mike Noble, Enzo Cilenti and Kat Ronney.

Reputation appears to be aiming for something slick, modern and sharply cynical about the relationship between fame and justice. Courtroom dramas are nothing new for television, but placing celebrity culture and online outrage at the centre of the story gives this one a distinctly current edge.

Naomie Harris says: “I was hooked from page one of Reputation. It's so rare to read scripts with the wit and flair of Anya's writing and I knew straight away that I wanted to play Lena.”

Christina Hendricks says: “Davina's a fantastic, fierce character. I'm so looking forward to working with Naomie and I'm delighted to be working again with the Forge.”