PBS Masterpiece boards Quay Street drama ‘Nolly’ for US debut

Nolly

US pubcaster PBS Masterpiece has picked up fact-based drama Nolly ahead of its debut on UK streamer ITVX.

Nolly is the first series to emerge from ITV Studios-backed Quay Street Productions, the scripted firm launched in 2021 by former StudioCanal UK boss and Red Production Company founder Nicola Shindler. No premiere date has yet been announced.

The series tells the true story of British TV star Noele ‘Nolly’ Gordon, who became a national icon for her role in long-running UK soap opera Crossroads.

Helena Bonham Carter steps into the shoes of the actress, who held the spotlight as one of Britain’s biggest TV stars from the 1960s-1980s – until she was unceremoniously axed at the peak of her fame, without warning or explanation.

Russell T Davies, who worked with Shindler on titles including It’s A Sin, Queer As Folk and Years And Years, has written the three-part series, which explores Nolly’s most tumultuous years and the legacy of her shocking fall from grace.

Speaking to TBI recently, Shindler said Nolly was “a woman who was at the absolute pinnacle of her career and then had everything taken away from her without any explanation as to why she was fired.”

Shindler added: “It just felt like such a fascinating story on a human level and a little bit of a mystery,” describing the series as “a love letter to television as well as a love letter to this incredible woman.”