The Night Manager star and new Hercule Poirot actor confirmed for "darkly comic" new BBC thriller as first look unveiled

The new show is an adaptation of a French series.

Bel Powley as Lola and Hayley Squires as Shy in Shy and Lola. They sit on a bed in a dingy room and look at each other.

Kerry Spicer / BBC

Published: Wednesday, 23 September 2026 at 11:52 am

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BBC has cast Night Manager star Hayley Squires and new Hercule Poirot actor Edward Bluemel in its upcoming show, Shy & Lola, as a first look at the new series is unveiled.

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The darkly comic story follows Shy (Hayley Squires) a cleaner scraping by and dreaming of a new life in Portugal, and Lola, played by Bel Powley, an ex-model-turned-grifter who arrives in town with trouble at her heels.

The two very different women are forced to become allies when a murder entangles them in the criminal underworld operating in Shy's small coastal town in the North of England.

A photo of two women wearing yellow aprons running away from the camera whilst looking over their right shoulders.

Bel Powley as Lola and Hayley Squires as Shy. Matt Towers / BBC

Beginning as exploited novices, the unlikely duo turn out to have a talent for crime. As they build an operation that threatens to blow the local bad guys out of the water, opposing futures beckon - using their earnings to fund a fresh start, or to become the new bosses in town.

The new series is based on the French television drama Cheyenne and Lola which ran for one season in 2020.

Alongside The Night Manager, Hayley Squires, who is a two-time BAFTA nominee, is known for Call the Midwife, I, Daniel Blake, and Adult Material.

A man on stage wearing a microphone delivering a self help speech with branding behind him that reads "Nine Steps."

Edward Bluemel as Daniel in Shy & Lola. Kerry Spicer / BBC

Bel Powley's acting debut was the CBBC action television series M.I. High when she was a teenager. More recently, she has appeared in Benidorm, The Diary of a Teenage Girl, Moominvalley, The Morning Show, and Savage House. She is married to fellow British actor Douglas Booth.

Squires and Powley have previously worked together over 10 years ago on the romantic comedy-drama film A Royal Night Out.

A woman sat by a fire in a camping chair holding a bottle of wine in her right hand mid conversation.

Amber Grappy as Toni in Shy & Lola. Kerry Spicer / BBC

Alongside Squires, Powley and Bluemel, the cast of the BBC adaption of Shy & Lola also includes Amber Grappy (One Day, The Baby), Matthew McNulty (Deadwater Fell, Domina), Elizabeth Berrington (Tip Toe, Frauds), Jordan Bolger (The Witness, This Town) Thomas Turgoose (Mickey 17, This Is England), Joseph Ayre (Hijack, Urchin) and Melanie-Joyce Bermudez, who is making her on-screen debut.

The six-part series was penned by alumni BBC writer Amanda Coe and helmed by accomplished director Sam Donovan, whose works include the hit series Severance and Widow's Bay.

Shy & Lola will be coming BBC One and BBC iPlayer next year.

Check out more of our Comedy coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.

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Authors

Phoebe Kowhai BarnesFreelance Writer

Phoebe Kowhai Barnes is a Freelance Writer who covers pop culture and entertainment programmes for the Radio Times. She previously worked as the Senior Assistant Editor at The Tab where she managed its local department. She obtained a BA (Hons) in English Literature from University of Nottingham.

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