Everything We Know About The BBC Adaptation Of The Ministry Of Time

What happens when you snap five people from across history into near-future London – whisking them all from the brink of death to a government experiment called the Ministry of Time? This is the premise behind Kaliane Bradley’s novel of the same name, in which government employees are each assigned an expat, or time refugee, to rehabilitate into the present day. Now coming to the small screen, The Ministry of Time has been adapted by Normal People screenwriter Alice Bell into a six-part series for the BBC. With Aniel Karia at the helm as lead director, and A24 on as producers, here’s everything you need to know about this sci-fi romp. 

The Premise

In near-future Britain, the UK government has discovered a door that opens to the past and future. Exploring the limits of time travel, they establish the Ministry of Time – a department on a mission to bring historical figures to the present day. To avoid disrupting the past, and altering their own present for good, they are careful to only select those who were just about to die in their original timelines.

In order to adapt them to the modern world, each expat is assigned a ‘bridge’ to teach them about 21st century life. Of the time refugees, there’s Lieutenant Thomas Cardingham, rescued from the Battle of Naseby (1645), Margaret ‘Maggie’ Kemble, saved from the Great Plague (1665); Anne Spencer, who narrowly escapes the French Revolution (1793); and Captain Arthur Reginald-Smyth, relieved from the horrors of the Battle of the Somme (1916). At the centre of the story is the unavoidably handsome Victorian Arctic explorer Graham Gore (a real life figure who died on Franklin’s expedition) and his handler, the novel’s unnamed narrator – a civil servant with a strange new promotion. 

The team of bridges and their various assignees must navigate the tensions of the past and present – from gender and race attitudes, to environment and empire, and even EDM and porn. But as the professional relationship between Gore and his handler develops into something deeper, it seems something sinister is brewing beneath the surface of the Ministry’s plans. 

Aoife Hinds will be playing Sophy in The Ministry Of Time TV series

Who Will Star?

Though the protagonist and narrator of The Ministry of Time is unnamed in the novel, for the sake of the adaptation she’s been given the name of Sophy. Sophy will be played by rising British star Aoife Hinds, who has previously starred as Connell’s university girlfriend in Normal People and Sister Emeline in Dune: Prophecy.

Starring opposite Hinds, Billy Howle will be taking on the role of Commander Graham Gore. You may recognise the British actor from roles in The Serpent (2021), the BritBox thriller series The Beast Must Die (2021), and the Netflix mystery series The Perfect Couple (2024).

The rest of the cast is yet to be announced, but stay tuned for updates.

Billy Howle will be taking on the role of Commander Graham Gore in the show

Will The TV Show Stay Loyal To The Book?

Speaking to C&TH about the adaptation, author Kaliane Bradley revealed that she’s had little involvement with the show but that she ‘really trust[s]’ its screenwriter. ‘I’ve seen some of the scripts, and of course it’s for TV so it will change. But I read it and I’m like, my god, this makes so much sense. She really gets it. I feel very confident that any changes they make are in the spirit of the book, adapting it for a new medium. And I don’t have any expertise in that medium, but Alice does.’ Read our full interview with Bradley here.

Where Is It Being Filmed?

Though we don’t have any exact filming locations as of yet, we do know that the London-set story is currently being filmed in and around the capital. 

Release Date

There is currently no confirmed release date, but watch this space for more updates.