Filming for BBC’s new Beatles drama Hamburg Days has finally started as the cast made their first appearance on set in central Liverpool on Sunday.
Hamburg Days shows the early years of the band, when they had bassist Stuart Sutcliffe and drummer Pete Best in their line-up.
Rising stars Patrick Gilmore, Harvey Brett, Rhys Mannion, Louis Landau and Ellis Murphy step into the shoes of Pete, George Harrison, John Lennon, Stuart and Paul McCartney.
Ryan Sampson will also play the role of the late Alan Williams, the Beatles’ original booking agent and first manager.
The six-part series tells the story of the band’s early days in Germany and follows their transformation from a group of teenagers from Liverpool to the world’s biggest band.
The band started playing together in Liverpool and Hamburg in 1960, where Pete was the lead drummer.
Filming for BBC’s new Beatles drama Hamburg Days has begun with the cast seen on the set in central Liverpool: Patrick Gilmore (Pete Best), Harvey Brett (George Harrison), Rhys Mannion (John Lennon), Louis Landau (Stuart Sutcliffe) and Ellis Murphy (Paul McCartney) L-R
Hamburg Days showcases the band’s early years, when they had bassist Stuart Sutcliffe and drummer Pete Best in their line-up
Ryan Sampson will also play the role of the late Alan Williams, the Beatles’ original booking agent and first manager
John, Paul and George asked Pete to leave in 1962 due to concerns about his drumming and his fit with the group, and soon went on to recruit Ringo Starr.
Ringo’s arrival completed the iconic, definitive line-up that achieved worldwide fame during Beatlemania.
The series is inspired by the memoirs of Klaus Voormann, who met the band as a young artist in Hamburg and designed the cover of their Revolver album in 1966 before later appearing on the solo albums of John, Ringo and George.
Producers said the series would see the band – which at the time included bassist Stuart and Pete – meet with Voorman and photographer Astrid Kirchherr.
The drama is written by Wirral-born Jamie Carragher, one of the writers behind HBO comedy-drama Succession.
The series will air on BBC One and BBC iPlayer with a release date yet to be announced.
As filming begins for the BBC series Paul Mescal, Barry KeoghanJoseph Quinn and Harris Dickinson have been busy filming Sam Mendes’ highly anticipated film.
The project, titled The Beatles: A Four-Film Cinematic Event, was announced last year.
The films each take the perspective of one member of The Beatles as they went from unknowns in Liverpool in the early 1960s to becoming the biggest band in the world and then breaking up in 1970.
The six-part series tells the story of the band’s early days in Germany and follows their transformation from a group of teenagers from Liverpool to the world’s biggest band.
The band started playing together in Liverpool and Hamburg in 1960, where Pete was the lead drummer
John, Paul and George asked Pete to leave in 1962 due to concerns about his drumming and his fit with the group, and soon went on to recruit Ringo Starr.
Darci Shaw (R) plays Cynthia Lennon in the upcoming BBC drama series Hamburg Days
Cynthia was the first wife of John Lennon (L) and witnessed the early rise of The Beatles firsthand
Lea Drinda (L) plays the German photographer and artist Astrid Kirchherr
Rhys came into the role of John during filming
The series will air on BBC One and BBC iPlayer with a release date yet to be announced
It is the first time that the surviving Beatles have given Paul and Ringo, and the families of the late John and George, the rights to make films about them.
Sam’s project, described as the first “bingeable theatrical experience,” also stars Aimee Lou Wood, 32, as George’s model wife Pattie Boyd, Anna Sawai, 34, as Yoko Ono and James Norton, 41, as the band’s manager, Brian Epstein.
Mia McKenna-Bruce, 29, will appear as Ringo’s first wife, Maureen Starkey, while Harry Lloyd, 42, will play George Martin, the producer who became known as the ‘fifth Beatle’.
In the ambitious anthology of four films, each part tells the story of The Beatles from the perspective of a different band member.
All four films are scheduled to be released simultaneously in 2028.
