Writer Hugo Blick’s seven-part drama is described as “a fast paced, labyrinthine thriller set against an international political backdrop” and “a compelling drama about family inheritance, international business and world politics”.

The official synopsis reads: “Nessa Stein’s (Gyllenhaal) father was a Zionist arms procurer, and as children, she and her brother witness his assassination. As an adult, inheriting her father’s company, she dramatically inverts its purpose from supplying arms to laying high-spec data cabling networks between Israel and the West Bank. Now in her thirties, her sudden appointment as a life peer, apparently due to her tireless promotion of projects for reconciliation between the Israelis and Palestinians, creates an international political maelstrom.”

Gyllenhaal commented: “I couldn’t put the scripts down. Nessa is such an exciting and intricate character. I can’t wait to begin filming.”

Polly Hill, Head of Independent Drama for the BBC, added: “Maggie Gyllenhaal will be a perfect Nessa Stein, and I am delighted that she has agreed to play her. Hugo Blick has created a complex character in Nessa, with an extraordinary story and the combination of Hugo’s stunning scripts and Maggie Gyllenhaal in the lead role is an exciting and powerful combination.”

Due to air on BBC Two and the Sundance Channel in 2014, The Honourable Woman is set in the UK, the Middle East and America, and will begin filming on location next month.

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