Jenna Coleman is heading to Whitehall. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the “Victoria” star will topline and executive produce TV drama “The War Rooms,” “telling the untold story of the women that worked in Winston Churchill’s secret Whitehall bunker during World War II.” Coleman will portray Joan Bright, the woman rumored to be the inspiration for Miss Moneypenny, the iconic James Bond character.
At the beginning of the war, Bright worked as a secretary. By its end, she was organizing the great Allied conferences. A friend of intelligence officer and Bond author Ian Fleming, “she lived life with passion and integrity. Professionally, she was indispensable,” the source describes.
“The War Rooms” will draw from Bright’s memoir, “The Inner Circle: A View of War at the Top,” and Britain’s Imperial War Museums will serve as consultant. Each season will span 12-18 months of the war.
“Joan Bright was never going to live a conventional life — a young woman who lived her war days under the official secrets act, undercover, and underground in the war rooms,” said Coleman. “This story is so compelling not only because of her unique and liberal mind, wryness of spirit, and curiosity to live, but because of the opportunity to examine this endlessly fascinating period of time through an intimate and human lens,” she explained. “The closeness and proximity of days and nights lived within this small space, the carriers of the truth amidst the oblivion of propaganda above. The beauty and fragility of human connection when living through a time when no one knows what tomorrow will bring.”
Producers David Parfitt and Jamie Carmichael commented, “Jenna is one of the U.K.’s most loved and lauded actresses, whose career has seen her constantly stretch and redefine herself. As our lead actor and executive producer, she has been instrumental in bringing ‘The War Rooms’ to life. Our intention is to build a series that takes a truly fresh view on a significant part of our collective history. A show that isn’t polite or reverential, but raw, confronting, and offers fresh experiences, perspectives, narratives, and faces. Ones that speak directly to our current, turbulent times and, critically, to an audience thirsty for tales of hope that help frame and make sense of today and tomorrow.”
You can catch Coleman in Netflix/BBC’s serial killer drama “The Serpent.” “The Cry,” “Doctor Who,” and “Me Before You” are among her best-known credits.
