Cormoran Strike actor Tom Burke to star opposite Cate Blanchett in exciting new role away from BBC show

You might recognise him best as Cormoran Strike in the hit BBC show Strike , but Tom Burke has a new project away from the series - alongside Hollywood royalty Cate Blanchett !

It has been announced that the pair will be co-starring in Anton Chekhov's The Seagull on London's West End. While Cate is set to portray celebrated actress Arkadina, Tom will play her lover Trigorin.

For those who might not know the play, the synopsis reads: "The play follows Arkadina as she arrives at her family’s country estate for the weekend and finds herself caught up in a storm of conflicting desires. Her playwright son, Konstantin, struggles to step out of her shadow as he pursues his own artistic ambitions and her lover Trigorin becomes the object of affection for the aspiring young actress Nina."

Speaking about the show, director Thoams Ostermeier said: "I have known and admired Cate for many years and to see her on stage is always a privilege.

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"I am thrilled that we will make our first artistic collaboration with this production of The Seagull at the Barbican, and that London will experience this once-in-a-generation actress in one of the greatest theatrical roles of Arkadina. I’m also very pleased to be forging a new artistic relationship with Tom Burke, who will play the role of Trigorin."

Game of Thrones star Emilia Clarke recently starred in another production of the beloved play two years ago - and fans will have a while to wait for the new version, which is set to run at the Barbican Theatre for six weeks from February 2025.

Meanwhile, filming has been underway for Strike season six, which is based on JK Rowling's novel The Ink Black Heart. The synopsis reads: "When frantic, dishevelled Edie Ledwell appears in the office begging to speak to her, private detective Robin Ellacott doesn't know quite what to make of the situation.

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"Robin decides that the agency can't help with this - and thinks nothing more of it until a few days later, when she reads the shocking news that Edie has been tasered and then murdered in Highgate Cemetery, the location of The Ink Black Heart.

"Robin and her business partner Cormoran Strike become drawn into the quest… But with a complex web of online aliases, business interests and family conflicts to navigate, Strike and Robin find themselves embroiled in a case that stretches them to their limit."

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Speaking to HELLO! about the new season, Tom joked: “It's gone out my head because I've been talking about Furiosa. I can't even remember who the murderer is! The biggest change going from Furiosa to Strike is the weather!"

Joanne has since confirmed that there will be three more Strike novels, with ten in total in the series. Speaking to The Times, she said: "I’ve got six books in my head. I’ve got the one I’m currently writing. There’ll be two more Strikes, and then there are three more books that I want to get to."