Outrageous: filming underway on new drama about the Mitford sisters
Filming has begun on a new six-part UKTV (U) drama about the Mitford sisters – Nancy, Pamela, Diana, Unity, Jessica and Deborah. The aristocratic siblings collectively dominated the social columns in 1930s Britain and remain an object of fascination to this day.
This project marks the first time that U has commissioned an original drama.
What is it about?
Outrageous will introduce the epic story of one aristocratic family who frequently made the headlines for their, what was then (and even now) deemed as, scandalous lives.
Born to Lord and Lady Redesdale, the six Mitford girls experienced a very unconventional upbringing at the hands of their eccentric parents.
The series will not shy from the reality of the Mitford sisters’ lives – a story of family betrayals, scandal, political extremism, personal loss and even, in Diana’s case, imprisonment. The series looks at how they refused to conform to the mores of the social order of the time that had already begun to collapse around them.
It also examines their motivations for taking such different and often extreme paths in life:
Nancy (1904–1973) was a successful author, best known for writing The Pursuit of Love and Love in a Cold Climate.
Pam (1907–1994) married and divorced millionaire physicist Derek Jackson, and later lived with Italian equestrian Giuditta Tommasi.
Diana (1910–2003) was known for her two high-profile marriages and for her extreme fascist leanings and friendships with senior Nazis. First married to Baron Moyne Bryan Guinness in 1929, she later married fellow fascist (indeed, leader of the British Union of Fascists) Sir Oswald Mosley.
Unity (1914–1948, also a renowned fascist and friend of Adolf Hitler, made a devastating failed attempt on her life when Britain declared war on Germany in 1939. She suffered brain damage and died in 1948 from meningitis.
Jessica (1917–1996), also a rebel, chose an opposing political stance and became a communist. She eloped with a distant cousin in 1937 and eventually made a life for herself in the United States.
Deborah (1920–2014) married Andrew Cavendish who became Duke of Devonshire, with whom she devoted herself to turning their home Chatsworth House into one of the country’s best-known stately homes.
Who is in the cast?
The main cast consists of Bessie Carter (Bridgerton) as Nancy Mitford, Isobel Jesper Jones (The Serpent Queen) as Pamela, Joanna Vanderham (The Paradise) as Diana, Shannon Watson (The Jetty) as Unity, Zoe Brough (Casualty) as Jessica, and Orla Hill (Stonehouse) as Deborah.
Additional cast members include Toby Regbo as their brother Tom, Anna Chancellor as their mother Sydney Bowles, James Purefoy as their father David Freeman-Mitford, Joshua Sasse as Oswald Mosely, Jamie Blackley as Peter Rodd, James Musgrave as Hamish Erskine, Calam Lynch as Bryan Guinness, and Will Attenborough as Joss.
Bessie Carter commented:
‘I am thrilled and honoured to have the opportunity to bring someone as brilliant as Nancy Mitford to life. She was one piece of a truly fascinating family of remarkable and unique women, and I can’t wait to tell their story.’
Who is behind it?
The series was written by Sarah Williams (Small Island, Flesh and Blood, The Long Song) and based on Mary Lovell’s definitive biography The Mitford Girls. It will be directed by Joss Agnew (The Split, Poldark).
The series will be produced by Firebird Pictures, which is owned by BBC Studios, and executive producers are Elizabeth Kilgarriff and Matthew Mosley. Philippa Collie Cousins will executive produce for UKTV.
When will it air?
Outrageous will be broadcast some time in 2025. It will air on U&DRAMA in 2025 in the UK, and stream internationally on BritBox.