Is Ten Pound Poms based on a true story?

"This series is really about Kate trying to expose the fact that her and her son have been separated against her wishes, which happened to so many families and to so many women in the 1950s, it's absolutely heartbreaking."

The new season follows on from the events of season 1, centring on the central cast of Keegan's Kate, Faye Marsay's Annie and Warren Brown's Terry.

The '50s-set series continues to tell the migration story about a group of Brits who make a one-way trip to Australia for sun, sea and fresh opportunities – with plenty of drama and some new characters in store for its second outing.

Speaking about what he thinks viewers enjoyed so much about the show's first outing, creator and writer Danny Brocklehurst told the BBC: "I think what appealed most to people was the sense that it was about a world they may have not heard about, the Ten Pound Poms assisted migration scheme, and that it tapped into the idea of escape."

He continued: "For me, it was about creating a show that would air on Sunday nights and feel optimistic, but whilst also dealing with some of the darkness and the reality of what a lot of those people encountered when they arrived in Australia – because they were sold a dream, and that dream was to some degree a lie."

But is the BBC series based on a true story? Read on to find out everything you need to know about the real events that inspired Ten Pound Poms.

Is Ten Pound Poms based on a true story?

While the historical events that the series are based on and the Assisted Migration scheme of the '50s did indeed exist, the characters and stories in Ten Pound Poms are works of fiction.

The term "ten pound poms" was used colloquially throughout Australia and New Zealand to describe the Brits that migrated there after the Second World War. In the series, as is the reality of the way the word was used in the early 20th century, the term "pom" was used in a derogatory way, often pre-empted by terms like "whinging" or "bloody".

The term "whinging poms" was often used for any Brits who complained about the Australian conditions and heat, with "pom" being short for pomegranate, alluding to the Brits’ reddish complexions.

Speaking about the appeal of the show and the history behind it, Warren Brown told the BBC ahead of season 2: "Speaking from my own perspective, the appeal was learning something that was quite crucial to Australian and British history that I didn't know much about.

"It was amazing how many people got in touch whilst we were filming the first series and thereafter, saying that they knew people or they had relatives or that they themselves were Ten Pound Poms. This is a fictional take on that experience, but I think viewers went on the journey with us and fell in love with these characters as they saw the trials and tribulations that came as a result of them moving to the other side of the world."

In terms of the scheme itself, it was a very real thing and in 1945, the Government of Australia initiated the Assisted Passage Migration Scheme while the Government of New Zealand launched a similar programme in 1947. It formed part of the Australian Populate or Perish policy intended to substantially increase the population of Australia and to supply workers for the country’s booming industries.

The Ten Pound Poms scheme itself attracted a staggering total of more than one million migrants from the British Isles between 1945 and 1972. Even more migrants were encouraged to leave Great Britain for Australia when the 'Bring Out a Briton' campaign was launched in 1957. The scheme reached its peak in 1969 when more than 80,000 migrants took advantage of it.

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As is explored in the series, Brits were having a hard time of it in the UK, faced with limited opportunities and post-war emotions, it was a pretty grim place to be. But with televisions constantly advertising a sunny alternative life in Australia, many made the trip over for just £10, which processed fees for migration and would be the equivalent of some £350 today.

Children under 19 travelled for free and, while it's wild to think of doing such a long journey for a small fee nowadays, many people jumped at the chance as they were promised better job prospects, affordable housing, sun, sea, and generally a more optimistic and better life. But on arrival, as Ten Pound Poms explores, the Brits were faced with the harsh reality of basic migration hostels and camps, overwhelming heat, terrible food, insects, and minimal job opportunities.

Writer Danny Brocklehurst previously spoke to RadioTimes.com and other press about his inspiration for the drama and covering this part of British and Australian history, saying ahead of season 1: "It’s a show about the scheme that was launched to potentially populate Australia post-war – ‘Bring out a Brit ten pound pom scheme' as it became known, where for £10 you would get the ship over, accommodation offered when you arrived in Australia and help to find work if you didn’t already have work.

"They were promised the dream of beautiful white-washed houses and full employment, but when they got there, the reality was often very different."

He continued: "I’ve got to be honest, I didn’t really know much about this period. It was one of those things that was on the edge of my consciousness and Eleven Film, who I’d been trying to find the right idea to work with for a while, they just sent me a link to a very old documentary from the early ‘80s.

"It was interviews with people who had done the scheme and said ‘Do you think there might be a drama in this idea?’ and I watched the documentary and I did quite quickly think there was something in this. It seemed to tap into lots of different themes, themes about how you can escape but you always take yourself with you, themes of prejudice, themes of starting again, sink or swim. There are a lot of things that interested me in it."

As for the history that the series explores, migrants were required to remain in Australia for two years or refund the cost of their assisted passage. The cost of a return journey to Britain was at least £120, which would be £4,200 in today’s money and something that most Brits just couldn't afford. Even so, an estimated quarter of British migrants returned to the UK within the first two years, although half of these – the so-called “Boomerang Poms” – went back to Australia.

Speaking about what viewers will take away from the series, star Michelle Keegan said: "Ten Pound Poms will definitely take the audience on a journey. I think for me and for the viewers, the script is like a history lesson. I didn’t know a lot about the Ten Pound Poms before being part of this project but I did a lot of research into it.

"Now I’ve talked to lots of people who say: 'Yeah, my grandmother was a Ten Pound Pom and I have family in Australia' and that all stemmed from what happened in the 1950s."

In terms of well-known people who participated in the scheme, actress and singer Kylie Minogue is the daughter of Ten Pound Poms. Her parents moved to Australia in 1958 on the ship Fairsea. Similarly, Sydney-born actor Hugh Jackman (The Greatest Showman, Les Miserables) is the son of English parents who travelled to Australia in 1967 as part of the Ten Pound Poms immigration scheme and he holds both Australian and British citizenship.

Ten Pound Poms season 2 will air on Sunday 9th March at 8pm on BBC One and iPlayer. Episodes will continue weekly

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