Close to the Enemy


Close to the Enemy is a British period drama miniseries set in the late 1940s in London. It is written and directed by Stephen Poliakoff, starring Jim Sturgess, Freddie Highmore, Charlotte Riley, Phoebe Fox, Alfred Molina, Ciara Charteris, Lindsay Duncan, August Diehl, Alfie Allen, Angela Bassett, Antje Traue, Lucy Ward, Sebastian Armesto, Julian Bleach, Charity Wakefield, Aleksandar Jovanovic, and Robert Glenister. It premiered in the United Kingdom on BBC Two on 10 November 2016.

Summary

Just after World War II ends, Dieter Koehler, a German engineer who specialised in jet aeroplane technology, is seized along with his young daughter Lotte by T-Force. They are taken to Great Britain and detained, where Captain Callum Ferguson is assigned the task of getting Koehler to co-operate with the British government. Ferguson is pressured to get results quickly, while Koehler resists his efforts, resentful of the treatment he and Lotte receive. Several other characters, with questionable agendas of their own, interact with the principals, but to what end?

Cast

Production

The Stephen Poliakoff-created seven-part series was announced by BBC Two in March 2015, along with an all-star cast consisting of Jim Sturgess, Freddie Highmore, Charlotte Riley, Phoebe Fox, Alfred Molina, Lindsay Duncan, Robert Glenister, August Diehl, Antje Traue, Angela Bassett and Alfie Allen. The series was acquired for the United States by Starz in September 2015.
Principal photography began in Liverpool in March 2015 with Martins Bank Building, Croxteth Hall, the Adelphi Hotel being amongst some of the locations utilised. Filming also took place at the ruins of Witley Court, Worcestershire, the University of Salford, Salford Museum and Art Gallery, Manchester Town Hall, Capesthorne Hall, London and Kent at The Historic Dockyard Chatham.
An accompanying interview with the writer, titled Know Your Enemy - Stephen Poliakoff in Conversation, was broadcast on 1 December 2016.