It seems TV is experiencing another Golden Age. Award-winning actors previously aligned with big-budget blockbusters have raised the bar of small-screen entertainment, and female roles are finally going beyond the young love interest/docile mother/spurned older woman stereotypes in favour of deeper, more varied characterisation.
New ITVX drama Nolly is one such example. Starring Helena Bonham Carter as an iconic Crossroads actress and written by It’s A Sin’s Russell T Davies, this three-part series mixes high tension with a dose of camp British soap, and is exactly what your winter watch list needs.
From the strong female cast to the incredible true story, here’s why you’re about to fall in love with Nolly.
1. Helena Bonham Carter is on top form
Academy Award-nominated and BAFTA-winning British acting legend Helena Bonham Carter pique your interest? She steps up to the mark as titular character Nolly, aka Noele Gordon, who played Meg Richardson (later Mortimer) for two decades in one of the nation’s most iconic soap operas, Crossroads. Whether it’s her considered effing and jeffing, the way she commands attention backstage or her unwavering (and sometimes misguided) loyalty, Bonham Carter expertly flickers between every facet of Nolly’s personality, showing exactly why she was so revered.
More than that, we get to see Nolly as a woman and not just a character. Strip away the Inception-style actor-playing-an-actor set-up and you still have someone you’re rooting for despite her flaws and questionable people skills. You don’t need to know Nolly’s real-life back story to enjoy the show – as long as you care about complex people portrayed by top-notch actors, you’re in for a treat.
2. Nolly’s story is magnetic
Ultimately, Nolly is a story about power and how women in show business fit within that dynamic. Considering we’re still debating the same issues in 2023, it’s fair to say the 1960s-1980s were even more imbalanced.
Despite Nolly’s steeliness and public adoration, she became the target of a humiliating firing. The way the show portrays her coming to terms with that, as well as spotlighting the industry’s callousness, makes Nolly a compelling watch, regardless of whether you’ve heard her story before.
3. Russell T Davies’ perfect script
Doctor Who genius Russell T Davies is back at what he does best, writing with wit, warmth and intimacy. Right from the off, we see Nolly’s acerbic humour as she shrugs off her boss’s concerns about hundreds of adoring fans swarming the Crossroads set while she films a wedding scene. Her solution? They stay, of course.
Russell has previously spoken about his love of soaps and the important role they had in his life, defending these ‘lovely, silly, brilliant, vital TV shows’. It’s exactly that heart that’s present throughout Nolly in lightly comedic touches, such as the new girl sitting in Nolly’s green-room chair to gasps of horror from the rest of the cast.
4. The retro gold
The phrase ‘period drama’ might conjure up images of fusty corsets and naff wigs, but Nolly embraces all the fun of the 1960s, 70s and 80s. We’re talking big hair, shoulder pads, prints galore and glasses that would make even Deirdre Barlow blush. It’s also a throwback to a time when there were only three mainstream TV channels, making shows like Crossroads compulsive viewing, and elevating stars such as Nolly to national-treasure status.
Stream all episodes of three-part drama Nolly for free now on ITVX
