Mayflies BBC adaptation: First images of Martin Compston and Tony Curran

Tony Curran and Martin Compston in Mayflies

The first images have been released of Martin Compston and Tony Curran starring in the Mayflies BBC TV adaptation.

The pair will star as Tully and Jimmy in the dramatisation of the acclaimed novel, by Scottish author Andrew O’Hagan, described as an “intimate and devastating portrait of male friendship”.

Adapted for TV by Elizabeth Is Missing’s Andrea Gibb, further cast members include Tracy Ifeachor, Ashley Jensen, Elaine C Smith, Shauna Macdonald, Cal MacAninch, and Colin McCredie.

Iona (Tracy Ifeachor), Anna (Ashley Jensen), Tully (Tony Curran) and Jimmy (Martin Compston) in Mayflies (Pic: BBC/Synchronicity Films Limited)

Dunkirk’s Tom Glynn-Carney and Vigil star Rian Gordon will play younger versions of Compston and Curran’s characters.

Filming for the two-part drama recently took place around Glasgow and Ayrshire, with it expected to air later this year on BBC One, BBC Scotland and iPlayer.

A scene with Limbo (Matt Littleson), Young Jimmy (Rian Gordon), Young Tully (Tom Glynn-Carney), Young Hogg (Paul Gorman) and Young Tibbs (Mitchell Robertson) in Mayflies (Pic: BBC/ Synchronicity Films Limited /Jamie Simpson)

Produced by BAFTA award-winning Synchronicity Films, who previously worked on The Cry, Mayflies is directed by Peter Mackie Burns.

O’Hagan, who serves as an executive producer, said: “The story is a very personal one to me, and it’s amazing to see the characters come to life in Andrea Gibb’s wonderful adaptation. Director Peter Mackie Burns has a singular vision, and I look forward to seeing what he makes of the Ayrshire landscape and the emotional reality of this story.”