Hattie Morahan and Mad Men's Aaron Staton cast in BBC1 drama My Mother and Other Strangers

The Bletchley Circle and Outnumbered actress will play Rose Coyne, living in Northern Ireland with her family during World War II as a huge United States Army Air Force (USAAF) airfield lands in the middle of their rural parish.

Before long Rose and her husband Michael (Owen McDonnell) find themselves in a dangerous love triangle with handsome and charming USAAF liaison officer, Captain Dreyfuss (Aaron Staton – who you might recognise as Mad Men's Ken Cosgrove).

Meanwhile, the Coyne's children – Emma (Brooklyn's Eileen O'Higgins), Francis and Kate – remain blissfully unaware of the strain that's been placed on their parents' marriage.

Also among the cast are Des McAleer (Hunger), Seamus O'Hara (6 Degrees) and Ryan McParland (The Survivalist) playing the neighbouring Hanlon family who are unimpressed by being displaced from their family home.

The five-part drama – which has begun filming – is penned by Barry Devlin, known for his work on Ballykissangel and Darling Buds of May.

“I'm really excited about the casting. I wrote the series around Hattie Morahan because she somehow manages to combine a magical serenity with a capacity to be daft as a brush: and Rose, our heroine, combines those two qualities in spades," he said. "Watching Hattie work that magic onscreen is a true pleasure. Owen McDonnell, Eileen O’Higgins, Aaron Staton lead a cast who excite me more every time I see them.”