Romola Garai, Dominic West and Ben Whishaw star in The Hour, a thrilling six-part drama which takes viewers behind the scenes of the launch of a topical news programme in London 1956, written and created by Bafta award-winning Abi Morgan.

The cast

Ben Whishaw plays Freddie Lyon, a brilliant and outspoken journalist, Romola Garai plays Bel Rowley, spirited and ambitious and facing the most exciting and daunting challenge of her life – running The Hour, Dominic West plays Hector Madden, charming, charismatic – and front man on The Hour.

Episode 1

June 1956. Alexandra Palace, London, and BBC reporters and soulmates Bel Rowley and Freddie Lyon have had their fill of covering dull and predictable stories in the newsreels.

When Bel is approached by Clarence Fendley to run a new weekly current affairs show called The Hour, she spots an opportunity for her and Freddie to make the kind of ground-breaking news show they’ve always yearned for. Knowing that she is to be made producer, a role Freddie covets, Bel fears she’ll have a tricky time convincing her headstrong friend that a role on the home desk is a prize worth having.

Episode 2

July 1956. The Hour is struggling; the ratings are down, the reviews are terrible and Hector and Freddie are bickering like children.

Freddie, still reeling from Ruth's death, is convinced she was murdered and desperate to understand what secret the cigarette paper holds. Meanwhile, Peter's murderer – Tom Kish – has begun working as Lix's new assistant on the foreign desk. The news that Nasser has nationalised the Suez Canal sends ripples through the newsroom.

Episode 3

September 1956. After Hector's brilliant interview with Mr Hafiz the fortunes of The Hour seem to be picking up and the ratings certainly are. The team enjoy a weekend invite to a shooting party at Hector's in-laws. Meanwhile, at the office, suspicion about Tom Kish is mounting and Isaacs on the case.

At the grand country mansion, Bel is irked by the sudden appearance of Angus McCain. It seems they can never shake off his barbed comments and constant observations. Freddie can't resist a dig at the government's ill fortunes in Suez and there's a sense that all is not well in Downing Street.

Episode 4

October 1956. It's Freddie's birthday and the effects of Tom's death are still being felt around the newsroom, as Abi Morgan's drama starring Romola Garai, Dominic West and Ben Whishaw, continues. Though publicly Tom's judged to have suffered a heart attack, MI6 have become a regular presence in the newsroom and it seems that Freddie in particular is being monitored.

Still wracked with guilt over Tom's death, Freddie visits Tom's widow, Jane Kish. On realising that Jane was the one behind the camera in Ruth's film, Freddie recognises she could hold vital information.

Episode 5

November 1956. With British troops now fighting on the ground in Egypt, the country is more divided than ever, as Abi Morgan's drama starring Romola Garai, Dominic West and Ben Whishaw continues.

As Prime Minister Eden addresses the nation on his reasons for military action, the battle lines are drawn and The Hour sits firmly in the middle. McCain steps up his pressure on The Hour to toe a pro-government line, but as a huge anti-war protest is planned for Trafalgar Square, Freddie has other ideas.

Episode 6

November 1956. The Hour is about to go live and there are tensions for all. Bel is determined that the BBC's commitment to impartiality means they cover both the arguments for and against the war in Egypt but McCain and Douglas have other ideas, as Abi Morgan's drama starring Romola Garai, Dominic West and Ben Whishaw concludes.

Freddie too seems to be on a mission – he has a mystery guest lined up for the show but there's a question mark over whether he'll turn up. Hector has been sleeping at the office and there's clearly tension between he and Bel in the aftermath of Marnie's visit. Hector and Bel have to come to a decision about their affair

Photograph shows Ben Whishaw in character as Freddie Lyn for BBC2's series The Hour