Three Little Birds is a British historical drama television series written by Sir Lenny Henry in collaboration with Russell T Davies. Developed by Douglas Road and Tiger Aspect Productions under Banijay UK, the six-part series is based on Henry's mother Winifred's experiences arriving in Britain from Jamaica as part of the Windrush generation in 1957.[1][2]
Two sisters, Leah and Chantrelle, and their acquaintance Hosanna travel by steamboat from Saint Ann Parish in Jamaica to the United Kingdom in the 1950s, arriving in London's Notting Hill and later moving to the Midlands.[3][4]
Castedit
Rochelle Neil as Leah Whittaker, who moves to England with her three children to escape her abusive husband
Yazmin Belo as Hosanna Drake, Leah's religious friend
Saffron Coomber as Chantrelle Brahms, Leah's younger half-sister who becomes a tutor
Javone Prince as Aston Brahms, Leah and Chantrelle's older brother who already lives in England
Bobby Gordon as Shelton Powell, who moved to England as part of the RAF
Arthur Darvill as Ernest Wantage, a man who employs Chantrelle as a tutor
In December 2020, it was announced ITV had commissioned Three Little Birds from Lenny Henry, who would write and executive produce the six-part fictionalisation of his mother Winifred's stories. Russell T Davies was attached to the project as a script consultant and executive producer. Also set to executive produce were Angela Ferreira of Douglas Road Productions, Lucy Bedford of Tiger Aspect Productions, and Diederick Santer of BritBox International.[5][6]
Henry described it as a "dream come true. This series will be a tribute to the giants who came before us".[7] Henry described Davies having "mentored" him through the writing process.[8] In October 2022, speaking after he picked up the Special Recognition award at the National Television Awards at Wembley Arena, Henry said, "I hope the show will make you laugh and cry and understand how it was for those men and women to swap the sun and the sea for the rain and the cold. They were seeking a better place where not everybody was welcoming. We wanted to make a drama that showed what it took to overcome great adversity. When we can relate to each other it brings us together, right? This is a time for people like us to be together, to be allies, telling all kinds of stories and leaving no one behind. I want to thank everybody who’s helped me to get to where I am."[9]
Filming took place at the Green Man pub and Clarendon Square in Leamington Spa in September 2022.[11][12] Filming locations in the Midlands also included Coventry, with Spon Street as a location with period-era shop signs, transport and decor.[13][14] Filming was reported in October 2022 at the TSS Duke of Lancaster, which is docked in northeast Wales.[15] November saw filming on Fitton Street in Nuneaton.[16]
Releaseedit
With the announcement of ITV's new streaming service ITVX in March 2022, it was revealed Three Little Birds would be launched on the platform in advance of airing on ITV.[17] In June 2022, BritBox boarded the project as an international distributor.[18]
Three Little Birds premiered on ITV1 on 22 October 2023.[21] After the first episode had aired, the whole series was made available on ITVX streaming service.[22]
Referencesedit
^Graham, Alison (16 January 2021). "Russell T Davies: 'I'm more proud of It's A Sin than anything else – it's a privilege'". Radio Times. Retrieved 8 March 2022.
^"ITV announces life-affirming drama Three Little Birds from Lenny Henry". Radio Times.
^"ITV commissions Three Little Birds written by Sir Lenny Henry". itv.com.
^"Lenny Henry writing semi-autobiographical 1950s drama series 'Three Little Birds'". Britishperioddramas.com. 29 December 2020.
^Kanter, Jake (10 December 2020). "Lenny Henry Teams With Russell T Davies For ITV Drama On Caribbean Immigrants Forging New Lives In Britain". Deadline. Retrieved 8 March 2022.
^"Sir Lenny Henry pens drama Three Little Birds for ITV". Royal Television Society. 10 December 2020.
^"Lenny Henry to write ITV drama Three Little Birds". Comedy.co.uk. 10 December 2020.
^ abDubey, Shivani; Berry, Jo (15 October 2022). "Lenny Henry mentored by Doctor Who's Russell T Davies on new show". Digital Spy. Retrieved 3 November 2022.
^"Sir Lenny Henry reflects on importance of representation after NTA win". Express and Star. 13 October 2022.
^Dray, Kayleigh (18 November 2022). "Three Little Birds: meet the cast of ITV1's incredible new drama in a Stylist exclusive". Stylist. Retrieved 2 December 2022.
^"TV crews are back in Leamington – this time for Sir Lenny Henry's new drama". Warwickshire World.
^"Warwickshire World – TV crews are back in Leamington". Warwickshire World. 28 September 2022. Retrieved 12 July 2023.
^"Coventry street gets 1950s makeover for Lenny Henry TV show". Coventry Telegraph. 22 September 2022.
^"Spon Street Transformed for 1950s TV Drama". filmbirmingham.co.uk. 20 October 2022.
^Snell, Calum (10 October 2022). "Duke of Lancaster to star in new Sir Lenny Henry series". The Leader. Retrieved 3 November 2022.
^Harrison, Claire (17 November 2022). "New Sir Lenny Henry 'Three Little Birds' series to be filmed in Nuneaton". Coventry Telegraph. Retrieved 2 December 2022.
^"Introducing ITVX – Britain's Freshest New Free Streaming Service launching later this year". ITV Press Center. 3 March 2022. Retrieved 8 March 2022.
^Knox, David (4 July 2022). "New drama from Lenny Henry leads BritBox slate". TV Tonight. Retrieved 23 August 2022.
^Ramachandran, Naman (24 February 2023). "London Screenings: 15 Shows You Don't Want to Miss". Variety. Retrieved 2 March 2023.
^Hopewell, John; Bałaga, Marta (28 February 2023). "Banijay Rights Unveils Powerhouse London TV Screenings Lineup (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved 2 March 2023.
^Hibbs, James (11 October 2023). "Three Little Birds confirms release date for Lenny Henry's new drama". Radio Times. Retrieved 1 February 2024.
^Simone, Carlo (20 October 2023). "All you need to know on new ITV drama Three Little Birds written by Lenny Henry". Hackney Gazette. Retrieved 1 February 2024.
three, little, birds, series, three, little, birds, british, historical, drama, television, series, written, lenny, henry, collaboration, with, russell, davies, developed, douglas, road, tiger, aspect, productions, under, banijay, part, series, based, henry, m. Three Little Birds is a British historical drama television series written by Sir Lenny Henry in collaboration with Russell T Davies Developed by Douglas Road and Tiger Aspect Productions under Banijay UK the six part series is based on Henry s mother Winifred s experiences arriving in Britain from Jamaica as part of the Windrush generation in 1957 1 2 Three Little BirdsWritten bySir Lenny HenryCountry of originUnited KingdomOriginal languageEnglishNo of series1No of episodes6ProductionExecutive producersRussell T Davies Sir Lenny Henry Angela Ferreira Lucy Bedford Diederick SanterProduction companiesTiger Aspect Productions Douglas Road ProductionsOriginal releaseNetworkITV1Release22 October 2023 2023 10 22 It premiered on 22 October 2023 on ITV1 Contents 1 Synopsis 2 Cast 3 Production 3 1 Development 3 2 Casting 3 3 Filming 4 Release 5 References 6 External linksSynopsis editTwo sisters Leah and Chantrelle and their acquaintance Hosanna travel by steamboat from Saint Ann Parish in Jamaica to the United Kingdom in the 1950s arriving in London s Notting Hill and later moving to the Midlands 3 4 Cast editRochelle Neil as Leah Whittaker who moves to England with her three children to escape her abusive husband Yazmin Belo as Hosanna Drake Leah s religious friend Saffron Coomber as Chantrelle Brahms Leah s younger half sister who becomes a tutor Javone Prince as Aston Brahms Leah and Chantrelle s older brother who already lives in England Bobby Gordon as Shelton Powell who moved to England as part of the RAF Arthur Darvill as Ernest Wantage a man who employs Chantrelle as a tutor Amy Beth Hayes as Diana Wantage Ernest s wife Michelle Fox as Siobhan Michael Crump as Jimmy Leemore Marrett Jr as Ephraim Whittaker Leah s abusive husband Tierney Turner as Selah Whittaker Leah s and Ephraim youngest child Malachi Hall as Caleb Whittaker Leah s and Ephraim middle child Shay Descartes as Gideon Whittaker Leah s and Ephraim eldest child Mitch Morgan as Ewan Boyce Elaine Ward as Mrs Boyce Liberty Miller as Rosie Hawksley Susan Lawson Reynolds as Momma Gladys mother of Leah Chantrelle and Aston Lenny Henry as Remuel Drake Hosanna s father Shobu Kapoor as Mrs Biswas Shvorne Marks as Bernadette Allyson Devenish as Winifred Atwell Gamba Cole as GregoryProduction editDevelopment edit In December 2020 it was announced ITV had commissioned Three Little Birds from Lenny Henry who would write and executive produce the six part fictionalisation of his mother Winifred s stories Russell T Davies was attached to the project as a script consultant and executive producer Also set to executive produce were Angela Ferreira of Douglas Road Productions Lucy Bedford of Tiger Aspect Productions and Diederick Santer of BritBox International 5 6 Henry described it as a dream come true This series will be a tribute to the giants who came before us 7 Henry described Davies having mentored him through the writing process 8 In October 2022 speaking after he picked up the Special Recognition award at the National Television Awards at Wembley Arena Henry said I hope the show will make you laugh and cry and understand how it was for those men and women to swap the sun and the sea for the rain and the cold They were seeking a better place where not everybody was welcoming We wanted to make a drama that showed what it took to overcome great adversity When we can relate to each other it brings us together right This is a time for people like us to be together to be allies telling all kinds of stories and leaving no one behind I want to thank everybody who s helped me to get to where I am 9 Casting edit The cast was announced in November 2022 with Rochelle Neil Yazmin Belo and Saffron Coomber set to star in Three Little Birds Also joining the cast were Javone Prince Bobby Gordon Arthur Darvill Amy Beth Hayes and Michelle Fox 10 Filming edit Filming took place at the Green Man pub and Clarendon Square in Leamington Spa in September 2022 11 12 Filming locations in the Midlands also included Coventry with Spon Street as a location with period era shop signs transport and decor 13 14 Filming was reported in October 2022 at the TSS Duke of Lancaster which is docked in northeast Wales 15 November saw filming on Fitton Street in Nuneaton 16 Release editWith the announcement of ITV s new streaming service ITVX in March 2022 it was revealed Three Little Birds would be launched on the platform in advance of airing on ITV 17 In June 2022 BritBox boarded the project as an international distributor 18 At the 2022 National Television Awards Henry said Three Little Birds would be aired in 2023 8 The series was showcased at the London Screenings 19 20 Three Little Birds premiered on ITV1 on 22 October 2023 21 After the first episode had aired the whole series was made available on ITVX streaming service 22 References edit Graham Alison 16 January 2021 Russell T Davies I m more proud of It s A Sin than anything else it s a privilege Radio Times Retrieved 8 March 2022 ITV announces life affirming drama Three Little Birds from Lenny Henry Radio Times ITV commissions Three Little Birds written by Sir Lenny Henry itv com Lenny Henry writing semi autobiographical 1950s drama series Three Little Birds Britishperioddramas com 29 December 2020 Kanter Jake 10 December 2020 Lenny Henry Teams With Russell T Davies For ITV Drama On Caribbean Immigrants Forging New Lives In Britain Deadline Retrieved 8 March 2022 Sir Lenny Henry pens drama Three Little Birds for ITV Royal Television Society 10 December 2020 Lenny Henry to write ITV drama Three Little Birds Comedy co uk 10 December 2020 a b Dubey Shivani Berry Jo 15 October 2022 Lenny Henry mentored by Doctor Who s Russell T Davies on new show Digital Spy Retrieved 3 November 2022 Sir Lenny Henry reflects on importance of representation after NTA win Express and Star 13 October 2022 Dray Kayleigh 18 November 2022 Three Little Birds meet the cast of ITV1 s incredible new drama in a Stylist exclusive Stylist Retrieved 2 December 2022 TV crews are back in Leamington this time for Sir Lenny Henry s new drama Warwickshire World Warwickshire World TV crews are back in Leamington Warwickshire World 28 September 2022 Retrieved 12 July 2023 Coventry street gets 1950s makeover for Lenny Henry TV show Coventry Telegraph 22 September 2022 Spon Street Transformed for 1950s TV Drama filmbirmingham co uk 20 October 2022 Snell Calum 10 October 2022 Duke of Lancaster to star in new Sir Lenny Henry series The Leader Retrieved 3 November 2022 Harrison Claire 17 November 2022 New Sir Lenny Henry Three Little Birds series to be filmed in Nuneaton Coventry Telegraph Retrieved 2 December 2022 Introducing ITVX Britain s Freshest New Free Streaming Service launching later this year ITV Press Center 3 March 2022 Retrieved 8 March 2022 Knox David 4 July 2022 New drama from Lenny Henry leads BritBox slate TV Tonight Retrieved 23 August 2022 Ramachandran Naman 24 February 2023 London Screenings 15 Shows You Don t Want to Miss Variety Retrieved 2 March 2023 Hopewell John Balaga Marta 28 February 2023 Banijay Rights Unveils Powerhouse London TV Screenings Lineup EXCLUSIVE Variety Retrieved 2 March 2023 Hibbs James 11 October 2023 Three Little Birds confirms release date for Lenny Henry s new drama Radio Times Retrieved 1 February 2024 Simone Carlo 20 October 2023 All you need to know on new ITV drama Three Little Birds written by Lenny Henry Hackney Gazette Retrieved 1 February 2024 External links editThree Little Birds at IMDb nbsp ITV Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Three Little Birds TV series amp oldid 1221203722, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
