Michelle Keegan joins Game of Thrones and Luther stars in BBC drama
Ten Pound Poms follows a group of Brits as they leave post-war Britain to embark on a life-altering adventure in Australia.
Michelle Keegan is set to lead the cast of the upcoming BBC One drama Ten Pound Poms, alongside Game of Thrones star Faye Marsay and Luther's Warren Brown.
The series reunites Keegan with Brassic co-creator Danny Brocklehurst, and the cast also includes a host of Australian actors including Rob Collins (Mystery Road), Leon Ford (Elvis), Declan Coyle (Long Black), David Field (Preacher), Stephen Curry (Hounds of Love), Hattie Hook (Savage River), Finn Treacy (The Portable Door) and Emma Hamilton (The Tudors).
Consisting of six episodes, it is a co-production between the BBC and Australian streaming service Stan, and follows a group of Brits as they leave post-war Britain to embark on a life-altering adventure in Australia in 1956.
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The full synopsis for the show reads: "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 (Marsay) and Terry Roberts (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."
It continues: "They aren’t the only people at the hostel avoiding the truth. Kate (Keegan) is a young nurse who arrives without her fiancé and will do whatever it takes to try and rewrite her devastating past. Bill (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 (Coyle) comes from a troubled background and hopes to use this new adventure to escape his oppressive father. Meanwhile, Ron (Collins), an Indigenous Australian war veteran, struggles with feeling like an outsider in his own country."
Speaking about the casting news, Brocklehurst explained: “Ten Pound Poms demands an ensemble cast that we are always rooting for, actors we love and want to succeed. I am thrilled to have found those actors.
"It is a delight to welcome so much exciting Australian talent as well as working with the brilliant Faye and Warren for the first time. This is my third outing with the wonderful Michelle Keegan and I'm positive we will make another winner together."
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Authors
Patrick Cremona is the Senior Film Writer at Radio Times, and looks after all the latest film releases both in cinemas and on streaming. He has been with the website since October 2019, and in that time has interviewed a host of big name stars and reviewed a diverse range of movies.
