Michelle Keegan’s show Ten Pound Poms has been axed. The period drama – which followed a group of British citizens who emigrated to Australia in the 1950s – has been dropped by the BBC after two seasons.
A BBC spokesperson confirmed to The Sun: “It’s been a joy to bring the story of the Ten Pound Poms to life for BBC viewers and we are really grateful to Danny Brocklehurst, Eleven and all the cast and crew who have worked on the series.”
The first series brought in 6.37 million viewers when it debuted in May 2023 but by the end of season two this April, the audience had halved, with just 3.15 million tuning in for a cliffhanger finale.
The ending saw Michelle’s on-screen character, nurse Kate Thorne, resolve to continue her battle to reclaim her son Michael from his adoptive parents, and she previously admitted she was keen to return for another series, though she admitted it was unlikely to be in the near future because she was pregnant with daughter Palma, now six months.
She said: “I love this show and there’s definitely more of Kate’s story to be explored. But – for very obvious reasons in my case [her pregnancy] there may be a delay before I would be available to do it.”
Faye Marsay, who played Kate’s friend Annie Roberts added: “I think, like Michelle said, we’ve got to wait and see what the appetite is for it and whether it resonates with people, only if it’s successful enough will we get a series three.”
The news comes just weeks after Michelle, 38, said goodbye to Brassic, which is ending after seven years. Speaking with the Daily Star newspaper, Michelle said: “It’s really sad. I love this show, and for me it’s felt like home.
“Every year, I’d go off and do other projects, and then I’d come back home to Brassic as it was always at the same time every year. It was the nicest job to do because it was like seeing all your mates again.”
Michelle – who plays Erin Croft in the Sky show – added Brassic’s conclusion would “hit [her] more” when the seventh and final series was broadcast in full, and she no longer gets to work on the programme.
She added: “It’s going to hit me more this year when it’s not coming back.”
While Ten Pound Poms has been axed, Michelle is taking on the lead role in new ITV crime drama The Blame, which promises to have viewers ‘on the edge of their seats’.
The Blame is a six-part drama commissioned by ITV’s director of drama Polly Hill and produced by Quay Street Productions. Michelle will play DI Emma Crane, whilst Douglas Booth, star of Netflix’s The Dirt, will portray DI Tom Radley and Ian Hart, known for Mr Bates vs The Post Office, as DCI Kenneth Walker.