The Casual Vacancy pictures released ahead of JK Rowling BBC adaptation

Keeley Hawes and Rory Kinnear will star in the TV drama next year

First look pictures of upcoming BBC drama The Casual Vacancy have been released ahead of its 2015 air date.

Based on JK Rowling’s popular 2012 novel of the same name, the TV adaptation will star Julia McKenzie and Keeley Hawes as Shirley and Samantha Mollison.

Rory Kinnear, Rufus Jones, Keeley Forsyth, Michael Gambon and Monica Dolan have also been cast in the show, which will be co-produced by BBC One and US network HBO.

Sarah Phelps has adapted Rowling’s novel for the small screen while Jonny Campbell has signed on to direct the three-parter.

The first picture from The Casual Vacancy was shared last month and now, a further five photos have been unveiled.

Set in the picturesque English village of Pagford, the story follows the life of a town where pleasant and idyllic appearances hide simmering tensions and rivalries.

The book received lukewarm reviews when first published but despite this has gone on to sell around six million copies, no doubt owing in part to Rowling’s huge success with the Harry Potter franchise.