Stan has announced its next co-production with the BBC, with the Australian streamer and British broadcaster set to collaborate on Ten Pound Poms.
Created by BAFTA-winning Danny Brocklehurst, the six-part series will follow 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 led to believe. Struggling with their new identity as immigrants, the story follows their triumphs and pitfalls as they adapt to a new life in a new country far from Britain and familiarity.
The series will be produced by Eleven (Sex Education) and will premiere on BBC One and BBC iPlayer in the UK and as a Stan Original Series in Australia. Joining Danny Brocklehurst on the writing team is Australia’s Ryan Griffen, alongside Smita Bhide and Ava Pickett
Filming on Ten Pound Poms will take place in NSW, with the Federal Government providing a $2.6 million grant under the Location Incentive program.
Further information about casting will be announced in due course.
Danny Brocklehurst described the project as “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,” he said.
“The assisted migration program 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.”
Stan and BBC previously worked together on the South Australian mystery thriller The Tourist, starring Jamie Dornan, which premiered at the start the year.
Stan chief content officer Cailah Scobie said the company couldn’t wait to begin production on the new “bold and unflinching drama”.
“Following the immense success of The Tourist, Stan is delighted to again partner with the BBC on the brand new Stan Original Series Ten Pound Poms — this time working with the award-winning team at Eleven and the accomplished Danny Brocklehurst,” she said.
Executive producer Joel Wilson, of Eleven, said it was a “huge privilege” to be working with Brocklehurst.
“We are both deeply passionate about the stories of the hundreds of thousands who
took part in the assisted migration scheme and I’m very grateful to have the opportunity to share them with audiences on the BBC and Stan,” he said.
BBC Drama commissioning editor Tommy Bulfin said Ten Pound Poms was a “timely story”.
“It perfectly captures the courage and determination of our brilliant British migrants as they uproot their entire lives and try to adjust to a new life in an often hostile environment,” he said.