The brand-new BBC drama Ten Pound Poms will make its long-awaited debut on Sunday, May 14. The six-part series starring Michelle Keegan follows a group of Brits as they leave dreary post-war Britain in 1956 to embark on a life-altering adventure in Australia.
Ten Pound Poms is created by BAFTA-winning Danny Brocklehurst (Brassic, Ordinary Lies) and produced by Eleven, the team behind the award-winning and Welsh-filmed Sex Education. Speaking about the plot, which was inspired by the real families that moved from Britain to Australia in the wake of World War II, Danny said: "After World War II, more than a million Brits were enticed to emigrate to Australia for just £10. In return, they were promised a better house, better job prospects, and a better quality of life by the sea in sun-soaked Australia."
Explaining that there was something about the idea that "really appealed" to him, Danny added: "I've not written a period drama before, for good reason, because they’re generally quite tricky to make good. But I was drawn to the themes of escape, of no matter where we go, we take our problems with us – something which is ever present in my work – and the fact that this was a piece of our history that I didn't know much about. It’s a period piece that isn't all bonnets and frocks - and the more I looked into it, the more I thought: 'Yeah, there’s definitely a TV series here. I'm in.'"
