We’re delighted that client Stuart Urban has been nominated for a BAFTA for a third time! ITV's THE SECRET has been nominated for best mini-series at the 2017 awards, alongside Channel 4's ‘National Treasure’ by Jack Thorne, BBC1 drama ‘Witness For the Prosecution’ by Sarah Phelps and BBC2’s ‘The Hollow Crown: The War of the Roses’, adapted by Dominic Cooke.

Starring James Nesbitt (who was nominated for Best Actor for the role at the 2017 national RTS awards) and Genevieve O’Reilly, THE SECRET is a chilling four part series based on the true events that occurred between 1991 and 2011, and the extreme actions taken by dentist Colin Howell and Sunday school teacher Hazel Buchanan to cover up their illicit affair.

Urban’s previous BAFTA wins include ‘An Ungentlemanly Act’ (1992 Winner Best Single Drama) and ‘Our Friends In the North’ (1997 Winner Best Drama Serial, Winner Best Actress for Gina McKee, plus a sweep of other nominations).

Praise for THE SECRET

THE TELEGRAPH ****

“The real achievement of Stuart Urban’s superb script was in capturing the weird balance of religious devotion and sexual obsession that seemed to normalise the relationship in Howell and Buchanan’s minds…‘The Secret’ was masterly, an excellent reason to say in on Friday nights to come”. Gerard O’Donovan.

@hugh_laurie The Secret is astounding. Urban, Murphy, Nesbitt, O'Reilly are just absurdly good.

THE SUNDAY TIMES

“I can’t remember a better portrayal of suburban charm hiding suburban evil…it’s hard to create suspense when you already know the ending. But in this case…it was still a nail-biter”. Matt Rudd.

RADIO TIMES “A scarily excellent dramatisation”. Jack Eagle.

THE I

“Told with passion and power...the sort of tale we’ve seen many times before, yet what made ‘The Secret’ so interesting was the way Stuart Urban’s smart script dealt with it…Urban sensitively depicted a close-knit community where religion was central”. Sarah Hughes.