Written by Danny Brocklehurst (Brassic, Ordinary Lies) and produced by Eleven (Sex Education, Red Rose) first-look images have today been released of Michelle Keegan (Our Girl; Brassic) as Kate, Faye Marsay (Game Of Thrones; Black Mirror) as Annie and Warren Brown as Terry (The Responder; Luther) in upcoming drama Ten Pound Poms which is coming soon to BBC One and BBC iPlayer in the UK and Stan in Australia.
Images have also been released of Hattie Hook as Pattie, Finn Treacy as Peter, David Field as Dean, Sophie Gregg as Tina, Cheree Cassidy as Marlene and Rob Collins as Ron.
The six-part series follows a group of Brits as they leave dreary post-war Britain in 1956 to embark on a life-altering adventure on the other side of the world. For only a tenner, they have been promised a better house, better job prospects and a better quality of life by the sea in sun-soaked Australia.
But life down under isn’t exactly the idyllic dream the new arrivals have been promised. Struggling with their new identity as immigrants, we follow their triumphs and pitfalls as they adapt to a new life in a new country, far from Britain and familiarity.
At the heart of the drama are Annie (Faye Marsay) and Terry Roberts (Warren Brown). They try to make the best of the situation for their family, but the poor living conditions at the migrant hostel and local attitudes towards immigrants test them in ways they couldn’t have imagined.
They aren’t the only people at the hostel avoiding the truth. Kate (Michelle Keegan) is a young nurse who arrives without her fiancé and will do whatever it takes to try and rewrite her devastating past. Bill (Leon Ford) has lost his family business back home and is so desperate to prove he’s living the Australian dream that he’ll stop at nothing in order to get a lifestyle he can’t sustain. Teenager Stevie (Declan Coyle) comes from a troubled background and hopes to use this new adventure to escape his oppressive father. Meanwhile, Ron (Rob Collins), an Indigenous Australian war veteran, struggles with feeling like an outsider in his own country.
Produced by Eleven, Gaynor Holmes executive produces for the BBC and Amanda Duthie and Cailah Scobie for Stan with Joel Wilson, Olivia Trench and Jamie Campbell executive producing for Eleven. Joining Danny Brocklehurst on the writing team are Ryan Griffen, Smita Bhide and Ava Pickett. It is directed by Jamie Stone and Ana Kokkinos. Sony Pictures Television (SPT) will distribute the series worldwide.
Filming took place in Australia last year and transmission details will be released in due course.
Credit: BBC, 28th March 2023