CHANNEL 5 COMMISSIONS BRAND NEW THRILLER ‘THE RUMOUR’ FROM CUBA PICTURES AND CLAPPERBOARD 

NEW SERIES SET TO STAR RACHEL SHENTON, JOANNE WHALLEY, EMILY ATACK, SAMUEL ANDERSON, ELLIE HADDINGTON, LUCY SPEED, LIZA SADOVY & CARRYL THOMAS. 

London, Wednesday 4th December: Channel 5 has today announced it has greenlit brand-new thriller The Rumour (5x60’), a co-production from Cuba Pictures and Clapperboard in association with Fremantle, who will distribute the series internationally.  y text of the printing and typesetting industry. Lorem Ipsum has been the industry's standard dummy text ever since the 1500s, when an unknown printer took a galley of type and scrambled it to make a type specimen book.

Casting for this new series has also been revealed with Rachel Shenton (All Creatures Great and Small, For Her Sins, The Strangers Part 1 & Part 2) starring as Joanna, a young mother in need of a new beginning. Also joining the cast is Joanne Whalley (Willow, Wolf Hall, Scandal), Emily Atack (Rivals), Samuel Anderson (Doctor Who, Another Life), Ellie Haddington (Enola Holmes, Motherland), Lucy Speed (Unforgotten, Afterlife), Liza Sadovy (A Real Pain, Patience, A Small Light) and Carryl Thomas (Emmerdale, Silo, Silent Witness, Eastenders).  Rounding out the ensemble cast are Tamzin Griffin, Alex Waldmann and Okezie Morro. 

Joanna moves with her young son, Alfie, to the quiet town of Flinstead, seeking a fresh start. However, she quickly becomes entangled in the lives of local mothers and the unsettling dynamics of the community. When Joanna stumbles upon an online rumour about a child killer living in the town, she uses it to win over the mums at the school gate. As gossip spreads, suspicions build, and Joanna finds herself drawn into a web of secrets and paranoia. Balancing her efforts to protect her son with the growing unease in town, Joanna struggles to distinguish between truth and hearsay. With relationships strained and emotions running high, the boundaries between trust and fear blur. 

The Rumour explores how quickly small-town gossip can spiral out of control, forcing Joanna to confront the unforeseen consequences of curiosity and mistrust in her search for answers. The story is based on the Sunday Times bestselling book by Lesley Kara, following a deal negotiated by Emily Hayward Whitlock at The Artists Partnership in association with Amanda Preston at LBA Books. 

The series was ordered by Paul Testar, Commissioning Editor, Drama, Channel 5, who will executive produce with Sebastian Cardwell, Deputy Chief Content Officer, Paramount UK for Channel 5. Dixie Linder (Chemistry of Death, McMafia) and Nick Marston (Chemistry of Death, McMafia) will executive produce alongside Rachel Gesua (The Teacher, The Catch, The Holiday, Kidnap & Ransom) and Suzi McIntosh (Silent Witness, The Teacher, The Catch, Peaky Blinders). 

Richard Clark (Doctor Who, Chemistry of Death, War of the Worlds) will direct the series with Giula Sandler (The House Across the Street, White House Farm) as writer and executive producer, and Dominic Barlow (The Mallorca Files, Mr Selfridge) is on board as producer.

Rachel Shenton said “I’m really excited to play Joanna. The Rumour is a story of a woman unravelling as she relentlessly pursues the truth. She’s very relatable and the cast are amazing. It’s lovely to work with so many women.”   

Paul Testar, Commissioning Editor, Drama, Channel 5 commented: “The Rumour is a gripping drama about the dangerous power of secrets and gossip in a small town. With Lesley Kara’s captivating story and a stellar cast, this series promises edge-of-your-seat suspense and a fascinating exploration of the thin line between trust and fear.”   

Dixie Linder, Executive Producer for Cuba Pictures, comments: “We’re thrilled to bring Lesley Kara’s compelling thriller to the screen. The Rumour delves into the unsettling impact of gossip, paranoia, and suspicion in a close-knit community. With a brilliant cast and a fantastic creative team, we can’t wait for audiences to see it.”   

Rebecca Dundon, SVP, Head of Scripted Commercial, Global Drama and Fremantle International, said: “The Rumour is a razor-sharp psychological drama that turns everyday gossip into a weapon, exposing the dangerous fault lines in trust, community, and the lengths we go to protect our own. What would you do if a rumour about a killer landed on your doorstep?”   

The series is currently filming and is expected to air on Channel 5 in 2025. 

ENDS  

For more information please contact: Hannah Allan |hannah.allan@paramount.com

Notes to Editors 

About Channel 5   

Channel 5 is a multi-award-winning public service broadcaster and the UK’s third largest commercial TV station. Launched in March 1997, Channel 5 has been part of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS) since its acquisition in September 2014. Its portfolio includes digital channels 5STAR, 5USA, 5SELECT, 5ACTION.   

Channel 5 and on-demand platform My5 offer a diverse range of critically acclaimed, original programmes featuring well-known faces and fresh new talent – from issue-led documentaries, popular factual series and accessible history shows to premium drama and agenda-setting news & current affairs. Channel 5 is the only PSB to air children’s content daily through its much-loved programming strand Milkshake!, home to some of the world’s favourite pre-school characters. The free to air channel’s distinctive British programming aims to tell the story of modern Britain by reflecting the lives of people across the UK.   

This year Channel 5 has continued to attract industry acclaim for documentary White Nanny Black Child, winning both a BAFTA Television Award (specialist factual) and an RTS Award, whilst Endurance Race to the Pole received a BAFTA nomination in the factual entertainment category. In 2023, Who Killed Billie Jo? won best documentary series at the inaugural True Crime Awards and home-grown drama All Creatures Great and Small took home the Stress Buster Award at the Radio Times’ Screen Test Awards. 

About Clapperboard   

Since launch, Clapperboard has delivered over 20 series and 100 hours of television, including critically acclaimed ratings winners The Teacher, The Holiday, The Ex Wife, The Cuckoo, and Maxine for Channel 5 and The Castaways and The Serial Killer's Wife for Paramount+. It was shortlisted for Best Production Company in the Edinburgh TV Awards 2022 and Best Independent Production Company at the Broadcast Awards 2024.     

Returning dramas currently in production include The Ex Wife for Paramount+ and The Good Ship Murder for Channel 5, which recently announced a double commission for series 2 and 3. The studio also co-produces hit comedy drama The Madame Blanc Mysteries, created and co-written by Sally Lindsay, currently in production with series 4.  

Clapperboard along with its partner companies, Chalkboard and Storyboard Studios, are part of iZen, the producer-led content group comprising a network of independent production companies in Spain, the Middle East and the UK.  

About Cuba Pictures   

Cuba Pictures is a BAFTA, Emmy, RTA, and BIFA-winning production company celebrated for high-profile TV and film projects. TV highlights include McMAFIA (BBC One/AMC), based on Misha Glenny’s bestseller and winner of the 2019 International Emmy for Best Drama, Coalition (RTS Award for Best Single Drama), Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell (BAFTA-winning), and Paula (BBC Two/RTE).   

Film credits include Boy A with Andrew Garfield (BAFTA-winning), Broken with Tim Roth and Cillian Murphy (BIFA-winning), The Ones Below with David Morrissey, and London Road with Olivia Colman and Tom Hardy. In collaboration with The National Theatre, Cuba produced Romeo and Juliet (RTS-nominated) and Death of England: Face to Face (BAFTA-nominated). Most recently, Cuba produced The Chemistry of Death, an adaptation of Simon Beckett’s crime novels, which premiered independently on Paramount+ in 2023.   

About Fremantle 

Fremantle is a leading global creator, producer and distributor of some of the world’s most successful content across Entertainment, Drama & Film, and Documentaries.    

Amplifying local stories on a global scale, Fremantle produces and delivers premium, multi-genre IP across the 27 territories it operates in. Fremantle is a proudly independent group of content creators, and home to some of the biggest entertainment formats, compelling international dramas, award winning films and high quality documentaries. 

From Got Talent to Neighbours, Password to Poor Things, Alice & Jack to America the Beautiful, The Lost Ones to Big Mood and Priscilla to House of Kardashian our focus is simple – Fremantle creates and delivers irresistible entertainment.     

Fremantle also represents world-leading digital business, with more than 495 million fans and 300 billion views for its standout content across all platforms.   Fremantle is part of RTL Group, a global leader across broadcast, streaming, content and digital, itself a division of the international media, services, and education company Bertelsmann.     

For more information, please visit www.fremantle.com, follow Fremantle on Twitter @FremantleHQ and Instagram @fremantle or visit Fremantle’s LinkedIn page.