Anthony Head to star in Devon based comedy drama

Anthony Head and Dalziel and Pascoe star Warren Clarke are to star in a new BBC comedy drama about two old-time crooks who leave Spain to move to a sleepy Devon fishing village.

BBC1 has ordered six one hour episodes of Desperados from Company Pictures. The show will follow Maurice Riley (Head) and Syd Woolsey (Clarke) as they come back to England for free NHS treatment after having spent all their ill-gotten gains in Spain. The story is based on their failure to adjust to the quiet life the west country offers, or cope with having limited disposable cash. They soon turn back to a life of crime but discover their methods are now out of date.

Other well-known cast members include The Full Monty star Paul Barber and Dean Lennox Kelly (Kev in Shameless). Kelly plays the son of a former partner of the two criminals who wants to get involved in their new schemes. Meanwhile Jenny Agutter plays Maurice's wife, Barbara, who is aware of her husband's criminal activities, but their daughter, played by Anthony Head's real-life daughter Emily, has no idea.

Desperados has been written by William Ivory (A Thing Called Love, The Sins). He said: "Desperados is an ensemble piece which means every character relies on the one next to them to give full value in terms of what the script is trying to achieve. That means, in an ideal world, you're looking to fill every role with a heavy hitter. In truth you seldom achieve that, but this time, I think we have."