Alex Kingston to lead BBC One drama

Former ER actress Alex Kingston is to star in a new BBC One series about a group of female ex-convicts attempting to start a new life Barbados.

Annette Crosbie (One Foot In The Grave) and Christine Bottomley (The Street) have also been cast in the eight-part drama set in the Scottish Highlands.

Hope Springs follows the group as they try to leave the country with £5 million in crime proceeds, but end up hiding out in the fictional village which gives the series its name.

"I rather like the idea of working on a project where there are so many good, strong female roles," said Kingston, who also appeared in the recent series of Doctor Who.

"These girls are ex-cons, so they're not necessarily role models, at least not to start with - they're four women with murky pasts stuck in a remote village in Scotland. Anything can happen."

Filming is due to begin soon and the show is expected to air next year.