Helena Bonham Carter will lead ‘It’s a Sin’ writer’s new ’80s drama ‘Nolly’
ITV has ordered a new drama from the creator of A Very English Scandal.
Nolly is written by award-winning Welsh screenwriter Russell T Davies.
Davies had a huge hit earlier this year with the acclaimed mini-series It’s a Sin.
Nolly will explore “the all-powerful reign, and fall from grace, of the inimitable Noele Gordon, TV legend and Queen of the Midlands, the darling of the establishment until it turned on her and betrayed her.”
The three-part drama will star Helena Bonham Carter (The King’s Speech, The Crown) as Noele Gordon.
The official synopsis reads: “Noele (or Nolly to her friends) was a legend in her own lifetime. As flame-haired widow Meg Richardson in the long-running soap opera Crossroads, she was one of the most famous people in Britain.
“Then in 1981, at the height of the show’s success and the peak of Nolly’s fame, she was axed without ceremony, without warning and with no explanation.
“With the boss’s words “all good things must come to an end” ringing in her ears, Noele Gordon found herself thrown out of the show that was her life for over 18 years.”
ITV’s Head of Drama, Polly Hill commented Polly Hill: “Russell’s scripts are magnificent and a great tribute to Noele Gordon, but also to our national love of soaps and a celebration of the incredible women they create.
“Helena Bonham Carter is going to be amazing as Nolly and we can’t wait for her to step into those shoes.”
Watch some of Noele Gordon’s best moments in Crossroads here:
Helena Bonham Carter said: “Noele Gordon was a fascinating, complex, brilliant and gutsy woman – none of which I knew before I read Russell T Davies’ script.”
She added: “I’m so thrilled to help tell Nolly’s long overdue and largely forgotten story. Russell’s screenplay is a work of brilliance and I hope I’ll do him and Nolly justice. I can’t wait to start.”
Discussing what drew him to write the series, writer Russell T Davies explained: “One of my very first jobs in TV was a trial script for Crossroads, and I’ve wanted to write the story of behind the scenes on that show for 40 years. At last, the truth can be told!”
Nolly is described as “a sharp, affectionate and heart-breaking portrait of a forgotten icon” and “outrageously fun and wildly entertaining” – we can’t wait!
Nolly will begin filming in England next year, and it’s expected to air on ITV later in 2022.
Take a look at our complete list of all the new British period drama series coming next year!
A follow-up to A Very English Scandal is coming soon too.
Titled A Very British Scandal, the series will premiere on BBC One in the UK this Christmas, and it’ll be on Amazon Prime Video worldwide soon after.
Starring Claire Foy from The Crown, the new three-part drama will focus on “one of the most notorious, extraordinary and brutal legal cases of the 20th century”: the divorce of the Duke and Duchess of Argyll.
A Very English Scandal is available to watch on Amazon Prime Video.