Ten Pound Poms writer always wanted Michelle Keegan for the role
"Very quickly, I thought Michelle would be fantastic for Kate."
The BBC's latest period drama offering, Ten Pound Poms, airs tonight (Sunday 14th May) and tells the story of a group of hopeful Brits who leave their dreary post-war surroundings in hope for a better life in Australia in 1956.
Based on real life historical events and the Assisted Migration scheme of the fifties, the characters and stories are all fictional and created by BAFTA winning writer Danny Brocklehurst.
The acclaimed writer reunites with Michelle Keegan after the pair have worked together on Brassic and Ordinary Lies, and are set to continue their working relationship in Netflix's upcoming Harlan Coben thriller Fool Me Once.
Speaking to RadioTimes.com and other press about his casting process and what makes his working relationship with Keegan so easy, Brocklehurst revealed: "We’ve done four shows – Fool Me Once, the thing that’s shooting at the minute will be our fourth show together. So yeah, we know each other pretty well now and we enjoy working together."
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When asked about whether he had Keegan in mind for the role of mysterious nurse Kate Thorne, who comes over to Australia with a secret of her own, Brocklehurst said: "Because we’d done Ordinary Lies and then Brassic… I don’t tend to write any script with a particular actor in mind as I’m writing the very first draft. But as it goes on, you obviously start to think who would be brilliant for certain parts and very quickly, I thought Michelle would be fantastic for Kate and it was a conversation we had with Eleven Film and the BBC.
"Then we started talking to Michelle about whether she’d be interested in doing something like that. I think the cast is terrific, I’m very pleased with everyone we’ve got, not only Michelle.”
Read more:
- Michelle Keegan remains a mystery in Ten Pound Poms teaser
- Michelle Keegan felt like an outsider in first role on Coronation Street
Keegan also revealed: “I spoke to Danny a few years before I saw the script and I remember being really, really excited about the thought of doing a period drama that was based on history that I had no idea about.
"For me, it was a learning thing and I’m so obsessed with history as well, I just wanted to learn more about assisted migration. For me, of course, Danny was writing it and I love working with him as you know.”
As per the synopsis for Ten Pound Poms: "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."
The Ten Pound Poms cast also includes Andor's Faye Marsay and Luther's Warren Brown as Annie and Terry Roberts, as well as Hattie Hook and Finn Treacy as their children, Pattie and Peter.
You can check out our review of Ten Pound Poms here.
Ten Pound Poms will premiere on BBC One and iPlayer at 9pm on Sunday 14th May, airing weekly on BBC One, with all episodes available on iPlayer immediately.
Check out more of our Drama coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to see what's on tonight.
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