Prepare for a trip down under in BBC period drama Ten Pound Poms, a six-part series about a group of Brits who leave a dreary post-war Britain to embark on a life-altering adventure in Australia.
Set in 1956, the drama has been created by BAFTA-winning writer Danny Brocklehurst (Brassic, Ordinary Lies) and is a co-production between the BBC and Australian streaming service Stan.
Here's everything we know about Ten Pound Poms...
Ten Pound Poms release date
Ten Pound Poms will premiere on Sunday, May 14 at 9 pm on BBC One, with new episodes airing on subsequent Sundays.
For those who like to binge their TV, the whole six-part series will be available on the BBC iPlayer as a box set after the first episode airs.
The series will air on BBC One and the BBC iPlayer in the UK and as a Stan Original Series in Australia. Sony Pictures Television (SPT) will distribute the series worldwide.
Is there a Ten Pound Poms trailer?
There sure is! In the trailer you can see all the excited group of Brits heading over to Australia, where they are shocked to see kangaroos hopping along side the bus as they make their way to their new home.
But once there, it soon turns out that things aren't quite what they expected and the penny drops that this new life isn't going to be quite so carefree and easy as they thought...
Ten Pound Poms plot
A BBC press release reads...
"Ten Pound Poms 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 is the Roberts family; they try to look for ways to make the best of their situation but the poor living conditions at the migrant hostel and local attitudes towards immigrants test them in ways they couldn’t have imagined. And they aren’t the only people at the hostel avoiding the truth.
"Kate, a young nurse, arrives without her fiancé and will do whatever it takes to try and rewrite her devastating past. Bill 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. Meanwhile, teenager Stevie comes from a troubled background and hopes to use this new adventure to escape his oppressive father.
"Ten Pound Poms is a compelling, character-driven family drama full of dreams and adventure and discovering what it truly takes to call somewhere your ‘home’."
Ten Pound Poms cast
Our Girl and Coronation Street star Michelle Keegan will play Kate, linking up with Danny Brocklehurst once again after starring in his hit dramas Ordinary Lies and Brassic.
Speaking to the BBC, Michelle teased that her character's back story is a bit of a mystery..."My character Kate is a nurse who has left the UK to go to Australia for a very different reason from the rest of the characters. She has an emotional connection to the country and we find out as the show progresses what her intentions are and why she has gone there."
Meanwhile, Warren Brown (Luther, Trigger Point) will play Terry Roberts, with Faye Marsay (Game of Thrones, Fresh Meat) playing his wife Annie.
Elsewhere Declan Coyle (The Family Law) will play Stevie and Rob Collins (Cleverman) plays Ron, an Indigenous Australian war veteran, who struggles with feeling like an outsider in his own country.
The cast is completed by Australian stars, Hattie Hook (Savage River) who plays Pattie, Finn Treacy (The Portable Door) as Peter, David Field (Chopper) as Dean, Sophie Gregg (Devil's Dust) as Tina and Cheree Cassidy (Total Control) as Marlene.
What do people say about Ten Pound Poms?
“Ten Pounds Poms is a big bold character piece about what it means to start again, to be an outsider in a new land," says writer Danny Brocklehurst.
"It asks questions about success and failure, identity, parenthood and belonging. The assisted migration programme is a little-known part of British and Australian history but offers endless stories about the people who travelled to the other side of the world in search of a better life. I couldn't be more delighted to be making the show with the BBC, Eleven and Stan.”
Tommy Bulfin, Commissioning Editor, BBC Drama, says: “We are absolutely thrilled to bring this timely story to the screen. It perfectly captures the courage and determination of our brilliant British migrants as they uproot their entire lives and try to adjust to a new life in an often hostile environment. Told with Danny’s characteristic wit and heart, Ten Pound Poms is sure to delight BBC audiences when it hits the screen next year.”
Cailah Scobie, Chief Content Officer, Stan says: “Following the immense success of The Tourist, Stan is delighted to again partner with the BBC on the brand-new Stan Original Series Ten Pound Poms — this time working with the award-winning team at Eleven and the accomplished Danny Brocklehurst. International co-productions play a major part in our expanding Stan Originals slate and we can’t wait for filming to begin on this bold and unflinching drama.”
