Ashley Walters is set to star in ITV’s ambitious new six-part thriller First Woman, a high-concept series that blends space drama with grounded psychological suspense.
Produced by ITV Studios’ Mammoth Screen, Alcon Television Group (known for Blade Runner 2099), and Germany’s ZDF, the series is being positioned as a global co-production spanning the UK, Europe, and the U.S.
Directed by Philip Martin (The Crown), with Lydia Yeoman and George Oakes creating the original concept, First Woman is co-financed by Alcon Television Group and ITV Studios, with ITV handling international sales.
At the center of the story is Ben Reith (Walters), whose life is upended when he is awakened in his London home and told his wife Claire (Andrea Riseborough) has gone missing.
But Claire isn’t just missing—she’s in space.
She’s an astronaut stationed at the UK’s first moonbase, and as the first woman to set foot on the moon, her disappearance during the long lunar night sparks an international crisis. A biologist on a groundbreaking mission, Claire’s absence triggers suspicion across her fellow astronauts and even a rival Chinese base.
With hundreds of thousands of miles separating them, Ben is forced into a race against time to uncover what really happened to his wife—before Earth and the Moon spiral into something far more dangerous.
The series marks Andrea Riseborough’s first television role since HBO’s The Regime, arriving amid a busy film slate that includes Ebenezer: A Christmas Carol, Zero K, The Good Boy, and Goodbye June.
For Walters, the project continues a strong run following his Emmy- and Golden Globe-nominated performance in Netflix’s Adolescence, his directorial debut Animol, and upcoming appearances in HBO’s Dune: Prophecy.
The writing team includes Lydia Yeoman (Curfew), George Oakes, and Ben Schiffer, with Julia Stannard (War and Peace) producing. Executive producers include Damien Timmer, James Gandhi, Philip Martin, Oakes, and Yeoman, alongside Alcon’s Broderick Johnson, Andrew Kosove, Scott Parish, Diego Piasek, and Ben Roberts.
Production is supported by UNIT VFX, with virtual production and lunar environments being built at Studio Ulster, the UK’s largest virtual production facility. Filming is currently underway in Belfast, with additional support from Northern Ireland Screen.
ITV’s Polly Hill oversees the project from the broadcaster’s drama division, with ITV Studios handling global distribution.