Additional casting has been announced, and first look image released, for multi-BAFTA Award-winning writer Russell T Davies’ (It’s A Sin, Years and Years, A Very English Scandal, Queer as Folk) and multi-BAFTA Award-winning executive producer Nicola Shindler’s (It’s A Sin, Ridley Road, Stay Close) brand new 3-part drama for ITVX and ITV, Nolly.

Nolly has been commissioned by ITV’s Head of Drama, Polly Hill, and will premiere on ITV’s brand new, free streaming service ITVX in 2023, before transferring to linear transmission months later.

The drama is the first production from Shindler’s new production company Quay Street Productions, which is part of ITV Studios.

The first glimpse of Academy Award-nominated and BAFTA-winning actor Helena Bonham Carter (The Crown, Enola Holmes series 1 and 2, The King’s Speech, Harry Potter, Burton and Taylor) as Noele “Nolly” Gordon has been released as filming on the series commences.

Augustus Prew (The Morning Show, The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power) joins the cast as Tony Adams, Nolly’s Crossroads co-star, devoted friend, confidante, and her occasional chauffer.

Emmy and BAFTA-winner Mark Gatiss (Sherlock, League of Gentleman, Doctor Who) joins as inimitable entertainer Larry Grayson, who also shared a close and enduring friendship with Gordon.

Richard Lintern (Young Wallander, Silent Witness) is Ronnie Allen, who played Crossroads’ suave hotel manager David Hunter. Antonia Bernath (Downton Abbey, Dickensian) is Jane Rossington, who starred in Crossroads as Jill Richardson, Meg’s daughter. Clare Foster (The Crown, The Ex Wife) is Sue Lloyd, who played Barbara, wife of hotel manager David. Chloe Harris (Sherwood, The Spanish Princess) is Susan Hanson, who played Crossroads fan favourite Miss Diane. Lloyd Griffith (Ted Lasso, It’s A Sin) is Paul Henry, who for over a decade played Crossroads’ handyman Benny.

Con O’Neill (Happy Valley, Uncle) also joins the cast as Jack Barton, producer of Crossroads, and Tim Wallers (The Windsors, Belgravia) plays Barton’s boss, and ATV’s Controller of Programming, Charles Denton.

Bethany Antonia (House of the Dragon, Stay Close, Get Even) joins the cast as Poppy Ngomo, a young actor thrown into the world of Crossroads.

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.

Nolly brings the true Noele Gordon once more into the spotlight. The Queen of the Midlands, a star who could be tough, haughty and imperious, grandly sweeping into rehearsals from her Rolls Royce, but also a hard-working actress who was fiercely loyal and loved by cast and crew alike. And at last, the biggest question of all can be answered – why was she sacked? Nolly reveals the truth, the consequences, and the legacy of that terrible day.

Nolly is a bold exploration of how the establishment turns on women who refuse to play by the rules, the women it cannot understand and the women it fears. And it is a love letter to a legend of television, and to the madcap soap she starred in, Nolly is an outrageously fun and wildly entertaining ride through Noele Gordon’s most tumultuous years, and a sharp, affectionate and heart-breaking portrait of a forgotten icon.

The director is BAFTA-winner Peter Hoar (It’s A Sin, The Last of Us, The Umbrella Academy). ITV’s Head of Drama, Polly Hill, will oversee production of the drama from the channel’s perspective. The series is executive produced by Nicola Shindler (It’s A Sin, Ridley Road, Stay Close, Happy Valley, Finding Alice, Queer as Folk), Russell T Davies and Peter Hoar. Series producer is BAFTA-winner Karen Lewis (The Salisbury Poisonings, Years and Years). The series will be produced by Quay Street Productions, the first drama under Nicola Shindler’s new production banner with ITV Studios.

The series is produced in association with, and distributed internationally by, ITV Studios.

Nolly is the 11th collaboration between Russell T Davies and Nicola Shindler. The partnership is known for producing relevant, timely and emotionally charged dramas having previously created hit series including It’s A Sin, Years and Years, Queer As Folk, Casanova, Cucumber, Banana, Bob & Rose and The Second Coming.

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