Meet Sophie, Kate and James - the stars of Netflix's Anatomy of a Scandal.

Sienna Miller, Michelle Dockery, and Rupert Friend - my Sophie, Kate and James.

After months of keeping this news secret, this week I was finally able to reveal the three lead actors who’ll be starring in Netflix’s Anatomy of a Scandal. Sienna Miller will be Sophie; Michelle Dockery, Kate, and Rupert Friend, James!

Deadline and The Hollywood Reporter broke the news late on Wednesday, UK time, after Sienna Miller mentioned that she was in London waiting to film her role in an interview in Vanity Fair.

I have known about these castings for months but until they were announced I couldn’t quite believe it. Covid-19 has created such uncertainty, and though Netflix have brought in some rigorously strict protocols for protecting their cast and crew, this doesn’t feel a time in which to take anything for granted. I was, frankly, scared none of this would happen.

And yet - here is the proof, with these fabulous castings.

Here’s a link to the Deadline news story which details their impressive careers: Michelle’s most recently been seen with an impeccable US accent in Apple’s Defending Jacob; Sienna, in Showtime’s Loudest Voice, and Rupert in Strange Angel. And here are links to stories in Stylist. The Evening Standard, Hello magazine, the Daily Mail, Radio Times, and Red Online. While many female authors seem to have had the same response to me - “Ooh. Quinn in Homeland.” “I LOVE him” one stressed, perhaps unnecessarily - I’m equally excited about Sienna Miller and Michelle Dockery. I mean, just look at them. Can’t you just imagine this James and Sophie as a couple, and an intense, unnerving cross-examination by this Kate?

Filming starts before the end of this year, and, crucially for the texture of the novel which focuses on iconic English settings - Parliament, Oxford, the Old Bailey - it will all be shot in the UK. What I’m so delighted about - apart from the fact that I’ll get to meet them on set (covid tests permitting!) - is that a novel that remains so relevant - an anatomy of privilege, as much as consent - is going to reach such a wider audience.

And of course I’m delighted that actors of this calibre have engaged with it and agreed to be part of what feels like a brilliant, bold adventure. As Sienna Miller told Vanity Fair, “It feels like an important and timely story to explore. What is rape, how are women complicit in the unfolding of their lives, how well can anyone know anyone else? It’s deep and raw and is being created by an amazing team of producers and writers, and I’m a huge fan of our director, SJ Clarkson. I’m also excited to be in England in something for once!”

I could not be more excited that she, and Michelle, and Rupert are here.