This is what a period drama hero looks like

Sopé Dìrísù, star of Mr Malcolm's List, tells Elizabeth Aubrey about the joy of seeing actors of colour in breeches at last

- Elizabeth Aubrey

THERE are two eras in period drama: PB (Pre-Bridgerton) and AB the former being overwhelmingly white, and the latter being a revolutionised landscape with a growing population of actors from all cultural backgrounds (up to a point). Or so you might think - but in fact, the forthcoming romance Mr Malcolm's List technically pipped the Netflix behemoth to the post, according to its star, Sopé Dìrísù.

His role is a far cry from the one he's best known for, as undercover cop Elliot Finch in Sky Atlantic's hit crime drama Gangs of London, who lives on a knife edge working as a trusted enforcer for the Wallace crime family.

Mr Malcolm, by some considerable contrast, is a rigid bachelor in Regency London, who puts together a list of attributes he wants in a wife. The technicality is that a short film of the same name preceded the feature in 2019, making it one of the first period films to feature colourblind casting.

Freida Pinto plays Mr Malcolm's love interest Selina Dalton, and Zawe Ashton her wealthy friend, Julia Thistlewaite, who is furious that he has rejected her. "The short was more for the rest of the world than it was for us as a company," Dìrísù says. "We needed to show the world this [casting] was possible because this was before Bridgerton."