The Girl Before cast BBC One
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BBC One’s The Girl Before: Cast, start date, and book adaptation details

Jessica Plummer and Ben Hardy have been cast in thriller

If you enjoy having your heart in your mouth – think Line of Duty and Vigil-style twists – then you’ll love BBC One’s upcoming thriller The Girl Before.

BBC One have just released a sneak peek at the impressive cast in brand new pictures.

But who is in the cast? When does it start and is it based on a book?

Here’s everything we know so far!

Jessica Plummer David Oyelowo The Girl Before
Jessica Plummer stars as Emma, opposite David Oyelowo’s Edward in The Girl Before (Credit: BBC One)

Read more: Ex-EastEnders stars Jessica Plummer and Ben Hardy spotted ‘on a date’

The Girl Before on BBC One – what’s it about?

Viewers meet Jane, who stumbles on the rental opportunity of a lifetime – the chance to live in a beautiful ultra-minimalist house designed by an enigmatic architect.

The condition? That she abides by a long list of exacting rules.

After moving in, she discovers that a previous tenant, Emma, met a mysterious death there – and starts to wonder if her own story will be a re-run of the girl before.

Is life in One Folgate Street everything it seems?

That’ll be a big fat NO!

Is it based on a book?

The Girl Before is adapted from Anthony Capella’s fictional book of the same name.

The crime fiction novel came out in 2016 and has sold over one million copies.

Critics called the novel “dazzling”, “compulsive”, “riveting” and “creepy”.

The Daily Mail said: “The tension is built up subtly, leading to a devastating climax. A really clever thriller [the film] will no doubt become the third big ‘Girl’ film.”

Jessica Plummer David Oyelowo The Girl Before
The Girl Before has an all-star cast including Gugu Mbatha-Raw as Jane (Credit: BBC One)

Read more: EastEnders fans’ horror at Gray Atkins abusing his own mum

The Girl Before cast on BBC One

The BBC has revealed that there’s two former EastEnders cast members on board.

Ben Hardy and Jessica Plummer will both star in the thriller The Girl Before on BBC One.

Belle star Gugu Mbatha-Raw plays Jane, who gets the chance of a lifetime when she moves into the beautiful One Folgate Street.

However, Jane starts to feel the house changing her in unexpected ways…

Gugu is famous for her role as Hannah Shoenfeld in The Morning Show, Ravonna Renslayer in Loki and Samantha Bloom in Undercovers.

Spooks and Selma actor David Oyelowo portrays the enigmatic architect.

Meanwhile, Jessica Plummer portrays the house’s previous inhabitant – and, needless to say, her spell in the house didn’t end well.

Soap fans will recognise Jessica as Chantelle Atkins in EastEnders, as well as a contestant on I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! in 2020.

Ben Hardy stars as love interest Simon.

Ben is also a former EastEnders star.

He portrayed Peter Beale from 2013 to 2015, before appearing in X-Men: Apocalypse, Bohemian Rhapsody and The Voyeurs.

Ben Hardy
Ben Hardy attending the GQ Men of the Year Awards 2021 at the Tate Modern in London (Credit: Splash)

The Girl Before start date

BBC One has not yet confirmed the start date of The Girl Before.

However, we do know that it will be a four-part series.

Each episode will be one hour long.

Filming was shot in Bristol.

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The Girl Before will air on BBC One later this year.

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Helen Fear
TV Editor