David Farnor | On 25, May 2022

The BBC has commissioned Ten Pound Poms, an original drama series created by Danny Brocklehurst (Brassic, Ordinary Lies). A co-production between BBC and Stan, the series will be produced by Eleven (Sex Education, Red Rose) and will premiere on BBC One and BBC iPlayer in the UK and as a Stan Original Series in Australia.

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 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.

Danny Brocklehurst says: “Ten Pounds Poms is a big bold character piece about what it means to start again, to be an outsider in a new land. 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 for the BBC, Cailah Scobie and Amanda Duthie for Stan, Joel Wilson and Jamie Campbell for Eleven, and Olivia Trench co-executive produce the series. Joining Danny Brocklehurst on the writing team are Ryan Griffen, Smita Bhide and Ava Pickett.

Filming will take place in Australia.

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