Emma Thompson returns to TV in 2019, starring in new BBC One drama series Years and Years.

Thompson plays Vivienne Rook in the six-part series which has been penned by former Doctor Who showrunner Russell T Davies and charts 15 years in the life of a nation seen through the eyes of one family.

Rook is an “outspoken celebrity turned political figure whose controversial opinions divide the nation.”

The series starts in 2019 as Britain faces unstable political, economic and technological advances and follows the Lyons family as their complex lives converge on one crucial night. The action takes place over the next 15 years.

The cast also includes Jessica Hynes, Rory Kinnear, Ruth Madeley, T’Nia Miller, Anne Reid and Russell Tovey.

Kinnear plays Stephen Lyons, a financial advisor and the family’s peacekeeper who is married to Celeste, played by T’Nia Miller, who is an ambitious and opinionated accountant.

Tovey plays Daniel Lyons, a hard-working housing officer and Stephen’s brother. Hynes plays their sister Edith, described as a “radical, dangerous and calculating with a secret life” with heavily pregnant Rosie, played by Ruth Madeley, completing the siblings.

Anne Reid presides as the Lyons family’s imperious grandmother Muriel.