Jenna Coleman (Victoria, Doctor Who), Billy Howle (MotherFatherSon, Dunkirk) and Ellie Bamber (Les Misérables, Nocturnal Animals) have signed on to star opposite Tahar Rahim (The Looming Tower) in BBC One's eight episode Charles Sobhraj limited series. Netflix is co-producing and will serve as the global broadcaster. 
The BBC has found their Charles Sobhraj. Tahar Rahim, who recently starred as FBI Special Agent Ali Soufan in Hulu's The Looming Tower, has signed on to play Sobhraj in the BBC One's eight episode limited series The Serpent. Netflix has also boarded as co-producer and will serves as the show's broadcaster outside of the UK. 
BBC One is adding two big-budget dramas to their slate. The BBC's flagship channel has given the greenlight to The Three, an adaptation of the trilogy of novels by Sarah Lotz; and The Serpent, which tells the true story of the capture of Charles Sobhraj - one of the most elusive criminals of the 20th century. Both series have received 8 episode orders.