WORLD on Fire is the highly anticipated drama coming to BBC One this Sunday, focusing on the lives of ordinary people affected by the war – and we can’t wait for the premiere!
The show has an incredible line-up attached to the project, including Julian Brown and Jonah Hauer-King, but who else stars in the show?
These are the main characters in the series:
Sean opened up to RadioTimes.com about his character on the show, explaining: “Douglas is just an ordinary man except the fact that he serves as a soldier in the First World War.”
“He was shell-shocked – the victim of a mustard gas attack. He’s a pacifist and conscientious objector, he’s very clear about that and he takes it upon himself to become an activist.
“He’s ostracised in his own community for his pacifism but those are the lengths he’s prepared to go to.”
Stan is a sergeant in the British army, who Blake describes as Harry’s right-hand man, who also holds plenty of authority in his unit.
“A lot of the members of the unit respect Stan a little bit more, so Stan works as a kind of buffer between the unit and Harry, making sure that orders are actually carried out.
“We really see Stan as the soldier – he’s kind of got walls up.”
Lois Bennett is a 21-year-old Manchester factory girl and the daughter of Douglas,
Right from the beginning of the season, we learn that she has a strong passion for singing and shares a relationship with her boyfriend Harry.
“She has a lot of responsibility, she has to look after her brother and father as her mother’s passed away and she is dealing with her relationship,” Julia expressed.
“[Lois is] a strong woman who cracks on with things no matter how tough they are. She has a real passion for music and that’s something she gets to explore when the war begins – she goes to places she never would have gone with ENSA.
Nancy is a groundbreaking US journalist who reports from the German/Polish border as she gives updates on the devastating mayhem.
You may also know the Oscar-winning actress from film such as As Good as It Gets, What Women Want, Cast Away, Soul Surfer and Made About You.
Viewers will see Harry, played by Jonah Hauer-King, working in the British embassy in Warsaw.
Harry has quite the complicated love life: although being in a relationship with Louis Bennett before he relocated to Poland, he’s started seeing a waitress named Kasia.
“When we meet him we learn that he’s fallen down the rabbit hole of falling in love with two people,” Hauer-King shared.
“It’s not so much an affair as it is being in a strange position… Harry has a lot of good intentions and a lot of love and compassion in him
“But at the beginning of the series he’s also deeply flawed so I don’t want to defend him too much!”
Kasia is a waitress in Warsaw, who makes her relationship status with Harry official on the eve of war.
Things take a toll on the couple as chaos erupts, but will the two be able to keep their romance in tact – particularly since Louis still plays a part in Harry’s life.
“Everything will change for her when the war starts,” explained. “She has an amazing and very challenging journey.”
Speaking about his character Albert, Parker Sawyers gushed: “Albert is a French jazz-saxophonist in Paris.”
“He falls for an American doctor by the name of Webster O’Connor [played by Brian J Smith]. But his day job, or rather his night job, is that he’s a leader of a band on an underground circuit.”
He added: “With the story of Albert and Webster, we see that, being a black Frenchman, he’s used to racism and bigotry.”
