Los Angeles, Nov 24, : .Helena Bonham Carter, actress will play a forgotten soap star in a limited series by Russell T.
Davies and Nicola Shindler.Variety.com reports that ‘Nolly’ was commissioned by ITV to examine the rise and fall of Noele Gordon, a TV legend who was a staple on the long-running ITV soap opera Crossroads for 18 years before she was fired.
Shindler said that the woman was at the absolute top of her powers and this was the largest show in the country.Shindler stated that she was fired without any explanation and without any right to reply.
“In a #MeToo world it’s amazing to look at the theories, to examine what she (went though) at that time, and the manner that she was treated and how that was accepted,” the producer said.
Davies will write the drama in three parts.Shindler’s Quay Street Productions, backed by ITV Studios, will produce it.
This is Shindler’s first project with her new outfit, which she formed earlier this year after her 2020 departure from Studiocanal-backed RED Production Company.
“Nolly” appears to be a very British story.
Gordon, known as the Queen of The Midlands, was a tough, haughty actor.
She would arrive at rehearsals in a Rolls Royce and would swoop in.But she was loved by her cast and crew.
1981 saw her evicted from Crossroads.This sparked a public outcry and so much pressure on the writing team, that Meg Mortimer had to write an alternative ending.
Davies stated, “One of my first jobs in TV was writing a trial script for Crossroads.I’ve wanted to tell the story behind the scenes of that show for 40+ years.”
“At last, we can tell the truth!”
Bonham Carter’s role as Gordon is a return to British television for the Oscar-nominated actor, last appearing on terrestrial TV in 2016 with ‘Love, Nina.
She was also the star of ‘The Crown’ as Princess Margaret.
She will also be appearing in the UK adaptation of “Call My Agent”.
Shindler said of Shindler, “She’s someone that can inhabit a really exceptional, interesting, strong and eccentric kind of woman.”
“It had to be someone who was an icon in her own right, as Noele Gordon was so famous at the time.” It had to have a sense of humor, which (Bonham Carter), clearly has.”
Bonham Carter admitted that she had never heard of Gordon before receiving Davies’ script.However, she was drawn to her public struggle to overcome sexism within the industry.
Bonham Carter said that Noele Gordon was a complex, intelligent, brilliant, and gutsy woman.
She said, “I’m so excited to help tell Nolly’s long overdue but largely forgotten story.Russell’s screenplay was a masterpiece and I hope that I can do Nolly and him justice.I cannot wait to get started.”
Peter Hoar is the show’s director, and Karen Lewis is the producer.Production will begin in 2022.
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