Michelle Keegan has shown off her transformation into a 1950s nurse with a series of behind-the-scenes photos from a new BBC drama.
The Stockport-born actress is set to star in Ten Pound Poms, a new original series following a group of Brits leaving post-war Britain for the sunny shores of Australia.
It’s based on the historic Assisted Passage Migration Scheme, which allowed Brits to move across the world for just £10.
The six-part series has been written by BAFTA-winning Danny Brocklehurst, who also created Brassic, in which Michelle also stars.
She will play Kate, a young nurse who arrives in Australia without her fiancé, who will slowly reveal her devastating past and why she has such an emotional connection to the country.
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While we still have a week to wait for the premiere of Ten Pound Poms, Michelle has given us a little taste of things to come on her social media.
The 35-year-old beauty shared a series of photos from the set Down Under, showing off her 1950s wardrobe and a few of the filming locations.
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She wrote: “1 week to go before Ten Pound Poms takes you back to 1956.”
In the first photo, Michelle is posing in front of a row of houses wearing a midi-length purple shirt dress.
Then she posted a group photo of the cast together between takes, a snap of historic theme park Luna Park, and a photo of a sunset on set.
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Ten Pound Poms will also star Faye Marsay and Warren Brown as husband-and-wife Annie and Terry, Australian comedian Stephen Curry, David Field, Emma Hamilton and more.
Michelle said in a recent BBC interview: “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.”
Ten Pound Poms premieres on BBC on Sunday 14 May at 9pm.
Featured image: Instagram, @michkeegan
TV & Showbiz
Open UK casting call for new Harry Potter TV series announced
Thomas Melia
It may have been just over a year since rumours of the show had been confirmed, but now the search is officially on.
Harry Potter is one of the most successful and cherished franchises on screen, paper, and stage, and the book series by JK Rowling is the world’s number one best-selling in history, with over 600 million copies distributed across the globe.
The new original series adaptation will be produced by the American television network, HBO, known for its involvement in huge dramas like Game Of Thrones and Euphoria.
Currently, the show is looking for UK actors to audition for one of the three wizarding friends.
These roles were originally played by the now Hollywood-greats, Daniel Radcliffe, who starred as Harry Potter, Emma Watson as Hermione Granger, and Rupert Grint as Ron Weasley.
Recently, Francesca Gardiner – known for her work on Killing Eve and Succession, was announced as the showrunner, and she will oversee all the writing and producing of the show, with full creative control.
In the description for these leading roles, a statement reads: “We are committed to inclusive, diverse casting. For every role please submit qualified performers, without any regard to ethnicity, disability, race, sexual orientation, gender identity or any other basis protected by law unless otherwise specifically indicated.”
Although the statement pulled from the casting call is open to all actors, with no concern over their protected characteristics, this new original series may be affected by controversy surrounding the author, JK Rowling.
She has previously been criticised for her opinions on gender identity, especially in her condemnation of transgender people and the LGBTQ+ community.
Currently, producers are only considering children who are between the ages of 9-11 in April 2025, and the only way to officially apply is through the CastIt website here.
Applications must be submitted by a parent or legal guardian.
Featured Image – Warner Bros.
TV & Showbiz
A TV channel playing Christmas films 24/7 is now back on air in the UK
Emily Sergeant
Is it too early to say the ‘C word’? Never mind, you’ve already clicked on this article.
We may only be into our second full week of September, but given the fact the weather these past couple of days hasn’t exactly screamed summer, it already feels like the festive season is around the corner – but whether or not you think it’s too early to be talking about Christmas, it’ll soon be too tricky to escape from.
Especially not when there’s a free TV channel showing festive film favourites non-stop now back on air in the UK.
You heard that right – Christmas films, 24-hours a day, seven days a week.
A TV channel playing Christmas films 24/7 is now back on air in the UK / Credit: 20th Century Studios | Universal Pictures
If you’re ready to wave goodbye to summer, and welcome autumn and winter with open arms, then there’s arguably no better way of getting into the festive spirit than with the long-awaited and highly-anticipated return of the TV channel that’s charmed audiences for the past three years running.
GREAT! Christmas the UK’s biggest seasonal channel, and it’s now live on Sky, Freesat, Freeview and Virgin Media.
You can expect almost four months of back-to-back seasonal movies.
The 24-hour feel-good and free-to-air channel will be bursting with non-stop Christmas spirit, and will be showing a heartwarming lineup of festive films – including some absolute fan-favourite classics that make it to screens every year without fail, alongside some cheesy Hallmark classics, new channel premieres, and so much more.
Viewers will find GREAT! Christmas on Freeview channel 51, Sky 319, Sky (Glass/Stream) 317, Virgin channel 424, and Freely channel 47.
Daisy Jackson -
8th May 2023 
