Sheridan Smith to star in new ITV coronavirus drama

Quick off the mark with that one, they were.

Sheridan Smith is set to star in a new ITV drama series about the coronavirus pandemic. The Royale Family and Gavin & Stacey actor will join Robert Glenister and Angela Griffin in the new drama, Isolation Stories, written by Oscar nominated producer Jeff Pope. Each of the four episodes will detail how each character is experiencing lockdown and how different families are coping in different ways. The series will be shot adhering to social distancing rules and will feature stories that are "funny, sad, heartwarming and poignant." Smith, who is currently pregnant, will play a woman who has been abandoned by the father of her unborn baby when he chooses to isolate with his family instead of her. "I am heavily pregnant and have been isolating at home so I jumped at the chance to make a drama about the massive drama going on all around us right now," she said. "I think it's really important to try and reflect what's happening to us whilst it is still actually happening." Pope said that he wanted to create a series the accurately captured the mood of the public amid the Covid-19 pandemic. “Like everybody else I have been isolating at home, and in my case watching my wife suffering badly with the virus," he said. "I wanted to do something to catch the mood. I knew it would be very difficult to try and shoot dramas in these circumstances, but I felt the public would understand if things were a little rough and ready, if we at least had a go.” A release date for Isolation Stories has yet to be confirmed.