Forty years after Noele Gordon's shock sacking from Crossroads, ITV have commissioned Nolly.
Nolly will be a 3-part series comprising of 60 minute episodes.
The new ITV/STV drama starring Academy Award-nominated and BAFTA-winning actor Helena Bonham Carter as Noele Gordon and written by BAFTA-winning writer Russell T. Davies.
The series will be produced by Quay Street Productions, the first drama under Nicola Shindler's new production banner with ITV Studios.
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 Great 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 words of the boss - "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 has been commissioned for ITV by Head Of Drama, Polly Hill.
The new ITV/STV drama starring Academy Award-nominated and BAFTA-winning actor Helena Bonham Carter as Noele Gordon and written by BAFTA-winning writer Russell T. Davies.
The series will be produced by Quay Street Productions, the first drama under Nicola Shindler's new production banner with ITV Studios.
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 Great 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 words of the boss - "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 has been commissioned for ITV by Head Of Drama, Polly Hill.
Polly Hill, commented:
"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."
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.
"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."
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.
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. 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."
"Noele Gordon was a fascinating, complex, brilliant and gutsy woman - none of which I knew before I read Russell T. Davies' script. 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."
Russell T. Davies, explains:
"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!"
"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!"
Nicola Shindler, tells:
"I couldn't be prouder or more excited that the first drama we will be filming for Quay Street Productions is this beautiful script by Russell T. Davies. And that Helena Bonham Carter will star as such an iconic British woman is dream casting."
Nolly will go into production in 2022 and is Executive Produced by Nicola Shindler who worked on award-winning dramas such as Queer As Folk & It's A Sin with Russell T. Davies, who also acts as Executive Producer for Nolly.
Russell T. Davies brings over It's A Sin's Peter Hoar to direct the series.
The Series Producer has been announced as Karen Lewis who has an impressive resume of her own from working on major British Dramas such as Last Tango In Halifax & Happy Valley.
The series produced in association with, and distributed by, ITV Studios.
Quay Street Productions is an independent production company founded by multi-award-winning producer Nicola Shindler OBE in 2021, to make contemporary, provocative, entertaining, and engaging drama for the United Kingdom, and global audiences.
The new production company builds on Shindler’s reputation to deliver compelling drama, with her previous credits including It's A Sin, Finding Alice, The Stranger, Happy Valley, Years and Years, Last Tango In Halifax, and Queer As Folk.
Based in Manchester, Quay Street Productions puts the writers and talent at the centre of the production process. Welcoming voices from all different backgrounds, Quay Street Productions promotes a diversity of storytelling working with new and established writers. Quay Street Productions is a subsidiary of ITV Studios.
"I couldn't be prouder or more excited that the first drama we will be filming for Quay Street Productions is this beautiful script by Russell T. Davies. And that Helena Bonham Carter will star as such an iconic British woman is dream casting."
Nolly will go into production in 2022 and is Executive Produced by Nicola Shindler who worked on award-winning dramas such as Queer As Folk & It's A Sin with Russell T. Davies, who also acts as Executive Producer for Nolly.
Russell T. Davies brings over It's A Sin's Peter Hoar to direct the series.
The Series Producer has been announced as Karen Lewis who has an impressive resume of her own from working on major British Dramas such as Last Tango In Halifax & Happy Valley.
The series produced in association with, and distributed by, ITV Studios.
Quay Street Productions is an independent production company founded by multi-award-winning producer Nicola Shindler OBE in 2021, to make contemporary, provocative, entertaining, and engaging drama for the United Kingdom, and global audiences.
The new production company builds on Shindler’s reputation to deliver compelling drama, with her previous credits including It's A Sin, Finding Alice, The Stranger, Happy Valley, Years and Years, Last Tango In Halifax, and Queer As Folk.
Based in Manchester, Quay Street Productions puts the writers and talent at the centre of the production process. Welcoming voices from all different backgrounds, Quay Street Productions promotes a diversity of storytelling working with new and established writers. Quay Street Productions is a subsidiary of ITV Studios.
Crossroads, previously known as Crossroads Motel and Crossroads King's Oak, began broadcast on Monday 2 November 1964 until Friday 30 May 2003 where it concluded on the ITV Network.
*
Crossroads had many popular actors feature in its near 40 year run. Actors such as John Bowler, Rhea Bailey, Gary Webster, Georgina Bouzova, Jonathan Guy Lewis, Linda Robson, Les Dennis, Jonathan Wrather, Freema Agyeman, Lionel Blair, Natasha Symms, Lucy Pargeter, Jessica Fox, Ramon Tikaram, Anne Charleston, Donnaleigh Bailey & Sherrie Hewson.
*
Crossroads had many popular actors feature in its near 40 year run. Actors such as John Bowler, Rhea Bailey, Gary Webster, Georgina Bouzova, Jonathan Guy Lewis, Linda Robson, Les Dennis, Jonathan Wrather, Freema Agyeman, Lionel Blair, Natasha Symms, Lucy Pargeter, Jessica Fox, Ramon Tikaram, Anne Charleston, Donnaleigh Bailey & Sherrie Hewson.