Downton Abbey star teams up with famous daughter for darkly comic drama - details

Downton Abbey star Jim Carter is teaming up with his daughter Bessie in an upcoming short film, which will mark the Bridgerton actress's first prominent producing role.

Titled PIGS, the "darkly comic surrealist comedy" delves into the lives of three generations of women and their individual relationships to inheritance, desirability, and power.

Bessie, who's best known for playing Prudence Featherington in Bridgerton, leads the star-studded cast, which includes Olivia Williams (The Father, Dune: Prophecy), Marlene Sidaway (Mum), Amar Chadha-Patel (The Decameron) and, of course, her dad Jim.

The full synopsis reads: "Set on a wintery night in a London flat, the short film follows trainee solicitor Laura (Bessie Carter) as she goes for dinner at her eccentric mother’s flat (Olivia Williams). Upon arriving, the late 20-year-old discovers that for once, there is no wine left. Or, as her gran (Marlene Sidaway) lets her know, no wine left for her.

"As the dinner continues, the young woman witnesses a colossal family spat with sober eyes, unleashing a pandora's box of generational absurdity with comic, yet explosive, results."

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The film, penned by Sophia Jennings and directed by Julia Jackman (Bonus Track), is set to premiere at this year's London Film Festival. Sophie and Julia also act as producers alongside Bessie and Molly Murphy of Backscatter Productions.

Bessie, who is also starring in UKTV's new period drama Outrageous, said of the short film: "PIGS explores matters that I think are often stereotyped in film and television. We wanted to make a film that was surreal and yet deeply realistic, and Sophia Jenning’s writing was simply the perfect voice for this. With a mixture of inspirations (such as Leonora Carrington’s work and lyrical and visual aspects of Florence Welch’s music), PIGS offers the audience an opportunity to reflect on their own familial dynamics and the roles they are silently asked to play."

Praising her co-stars, the actress continued: "The cast bring such gravitas and humour to the film - it was a privilege acting alongside them. Plus - I got to hire my dad and work with him and that was just heaven!  We are beyond excited to have our premiere at the prestigious LFF and are really looking forward to sharing this film with audiences."

Jim added: "I loved working with these young, talented and enthusiastic film-makers. The energy on set was collaborative and exhilarating. Perfect."