Filming has begun in Spain on the BBC and Amazon Studios’ Western series The English, starring Emily Blunt, Chaske Spencer and Irish actors Ciarán Hinds, Stephen Rea and Steve Wall.

The six-part series will air on BBC One and BBC iPlayer in the UK, and Amazon Prime Video in the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, in association with All3Media International.

Written and directed by The Honourable Woman creator Hugo Blick, the show is set in the mid-American landscape of 1890, and follows Cornelia Locke (Emily Blunt), an Englishwoman who arrives into the new and wild landscape of the West to get revenge on the man she sees as responsible for the death of her son. Upon meeting Eli Whipp (Chaske Spencer), an ex-cavalry scout and member of the Pawnee Nation by birth, they join together and discover a shared history which must be defeated at all costs, if either of them are to survive.

Recent roles for Ciarán Hinds, Stephen Rea and Steve Wall include Zack Snyder's Justice League (Hinds), The Stranger (Rea) and Raised By Wolves (Wall).

Spencer previously starred in the Twilight Saga and Banshee, while fellow cast members include Rafe Spall, Tom Hughes, Valerie Pachner, Toby Jones, Malcolm Storry, Nichola McAuliffe, Sule Rimi and Cristian Solimeno.

“The chance to make a Western with Emily Blunt and the cast is so delicious I’m still wondering if it’s one of those weird dreams we were all having during lockdown," Blick said of The English. "If not, a thrilling, romantic, epic horse-opera is heading to your screen sometime next year, and I couldn’t be more excited.”

Piers Wenger, director of BBC Drama, added:

“I’m delighted that Hugo’s beautiful scripts are finally coming to life in The English. With a cast led by the exceptional Emily Blunt and Chaske Spencer, I have no doubt that this thrilling and compelling story will be a treat for BBC audiences when it hits our screens”.