--- title: 'BritBox Announces Additional Casting, Start of Production for Season Three of Jimmy McGovern’s Award-Winning Drama Series Time' url: 'https://press.britbox.com/post/britbox-announces-additional-casting-start-of-production-for-sea' author: 'BritBox Media Room' published: '2026-03-17T14:00:00+00:00' updated: '2026-05-26T15:22:20+00:00' description: 'Headshots and pictures from S1 & 2 available to download here' image: 'https://frontend-assets.clipsource.com/6836bb16d5901/bri-6836bb207c411/2026/03/17/69b955f7bac76_thumbnail.jpeg' category: Britbox language: en --- # BritBox Announces Additional Casting, Start of Production for Season Three of Jimmy McGovern’s Award-Winning Drama Series Time ![](https://frontend-assets.clipsource.com/6836bb16d5901/bri-6836bb207c411/2026/03/17/69b955f7bac76_thumbnail.jpeg) **Headshots and pictures from S1 & 2 available to download [here ](https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/8zcbscy86vixw93y2y1a0/ACpfATMwNMuSjksaBi9MQWQ?rlkey=ixjw3leffxt8wsq7pc6skwdf8&st=2y4fbzhn&dl=0)** Today, BritBox announced additional cast joining **David Tennant** and **Siobhan Finneran** in the third season of **Jimmy McGovern**’s BAFTA-winning hit drama, *Time*, as production begins in Belfast. The three-part drama will be led by Tennant as Prison Officer Bailey (Rivals, Thursday Murder Club) with Finneran (Happy Valley, Downton Abbey) reprising her role as Marie-Louise, a prison chaplain. Joining the cast are **Vinette Robinson** (*Boiling Point, The Lazarus Project*) as Erica, **Jo Joyner** (*Little Disasters, Stay Close*) as Nicola, **Daniel Ryan** (*Such Brave Girls, The Bay*) as Custodial Manager Jennings, **Warren Brown** (*Ten Pound Poms, The Responder*) as Albie, **Louis McCartney** (*Stranger Things: The First Shadow, Hope Street*) as James, **Ollie McNulty** and **Chukwubuikem Molokwu** making their screen debuts as Peter and Christopher, and **Ethaniel Davy** (*Chicken Town, Hollyoaks*) as Jayden. Further cast members include **Victor Zhao, Paul Smith Junior, Finn Kearns** and **Jack Barnes,** who also make their screen debuts as Jietang, Toby, Mark and Chaz respectively. *Time* season three is written by multi-award-winning screenwriter **Jimmy McGovern** (*Unforgivable, Cracker, The Street*) and **Samuel Bailey** (*Shook*). It is made by BBC Studios Fiction for BBC iPlayer and BBC One, a co-production with BritBox. Set within a Young Offenders Institution, season three will explore the impact of locking up teenagers and the effects on those who look after them. Prison Chaplain Marie-Louise comes to the YOI having lost her faith. When tragedy strikes within the prison, Marie-Louise clashes with veteran officer Bailey, a man in the midst of his own crisis. Bailey knows more about the circumstances that led to this major incident – but will he come clean before the guilt gets too much? Meanwhile, two teenage young offenders, Peter and James, struggle through the terrifying first weeks and months of their incarceration. Can James ever face his broken parents after an unforgivable act of violence and will Peter tell the truth about the death of an innocent man, or does family loyalty mean more? An unlikely friendship between them looks to shift the trajectory of their futures, but in an increasingly unstable environment, is change ever possible? Series creator and writer Jimmy McGovern says: “What a wonderful cast. I am utterly delighted!” Co-writer Samuel Bailey says: “It's been an absolute honour to work with Jimmy on *Time* series 3, and with the brilliant cast put together by the team, I think this series will be just as impactful and devastating as Time 1 & 2. I'm particularly excited for audiences to meet the lads playing our young offenders, who are all remarkable actors that I know we're going to be seeing a lot more of in the future." *Time* season three (3x60’) is a BBC Studios Fiction production for BBC One and BBC iPlayer, co-produced by BritBox for North America with support from Northern Ireland Screen. The series is written by **Jimmy McGovern** and **Samuel Bailey**, directed by **Paul Whittington** (*This Town, The Crown*) and produced by **Amanda Black** (*Blue Lights, World on Fire*). The executive producers are **Josh Cole, Andrew Morrissey and Michael Parke** for BBC Studios Fiction, **Lucy Richer** for the BBC, **Jon Farrar** and **Jess O'Riordan** for BritBox, and **Jimmy McGovern**. BBC Studios is handling global sales. The first two seasons of *Time* are available to stream on BritBox. **Press Contacts **Alana McGaughey [alana.mcgaughey@britbox.com ](mailto:alana.mcgaughey@britbox.com)Natalie Speck [Natalie.Speck@BritBox.com ](mailto:Natalie.Speck@BritBox.com)Tori Chin ID Public Relations [BritBox@id-pr.com ](mailto:BritBox@id-pr.com)The TARO Group (Canada) ****