The Ministry of Time has added ten actors to its cast. Hong Chau, Adeel Akhtar, Tamara Lawrance and Ciarán Hinds are among the new names joining Aoife Hinds and Billy Howle in the BBC’s six-part adaptation of Kaliane Bradley’s novel.
The series follows Sophy, a civil servant who joins a secret government program that brings people from history into the present. Hinds plays Sophy, while Howle plays Commander Graham Gore, a Victorian polar explorer assigned to her care.
Who the new cast members play
Hong Chau plays Adela, the Vice-Secretary of Expatriation. Adeel Akhtar is Quentin Ackerly, Sophy’s handler inside the Ministry, and Tamara Lawrance plays Simellia, another bridge helping a historical expat adjust to modern life.
Three actors play expats brought into the present alongside Graham. Emily Fairn is Margaret Kemble, Josh Finan is Captain Arthur Reginald-Smyth, and Aisling Loftus is Anne Spencer.
Tawfeek Barhom and Nahuel Pérez Biscayart play two more mysterious figures called the Brigadier and Salese. Ciarán Hinds and Hélène Patarot complete the announced family group as Sophy’s parents, Peter and Channary.
Who’s who in The Ministry of Time
What The Ministry of Time is about
The Ministry is a new government department testing whether time travel can work safely. It calls the people taken from history “expats” and pairs each one with a modern bridge who helps with housing, language, technology and daily life.
Sophy earns a difficult promotion in the civil service before learning what the job actually requires. Graham becomes her assignment, and their professional relationship grows into a forbidden romance. At the same time, the series begins to reveal that the Ministry’s plans are more dangerous than the public experiment suggests.
The story combines workplace drama, science fiction and romance. Its central pair must deal with a large gap in culture and experience while questioning why the government selected Graham and the other expats.
The BBC and A24 production
Alice Birch adapted Bradley’s novel and writes the series. Her previous television work includes Normal People and Dead Ringers. Aneil Karia is the lead director, while Frances du Pille produces.
A24 is producing for BBC One and BBC iPlayer and will distribute the series internationally. The first season has six episodes planned at about 60 minutes each. Filming is taking place in and around London.
The BBC has not announced a premiere date. The new casting update also does not identify an international streaming service outside the BBC’s own UK platforms, so any other release plans remain unconfirmed.
The The Ministry of Time series page collects the confirmed cast, characters, story and production details in one place.
