BritBox announced today that filming has started in and around Buckinghamshire on Outrageous, a new drama series about the infamous Mitford sisters.
When it comes to scandalous characters, I much prefer dramas based on real persons to the “unscripted” stuff one finds in the realm of reality TV these days, so I’m anxiously awaiting for Outrageous to arrive.
Outrageous is about the six Mitford sisters, aristocrats who refused to play by the rules and whose often-scandalous lives made headlines around the world.
Set against the gathering storm clouds of the 1930s, masked by the decadence, frivolity, and lavishness of British high society, the six-episode series will bring the full, uncensored story of the Mitford sisters to the screen for the first time — a story of family bonds and betrayals, public scandal, political extremism, love, heartache, and even imprisonment. The show explores how and why these women, unwilling to conform, were so ahead of their time, and what drove them to take their very different, complex, and often dangerous paths. A family saga like no other, this is the Mitfords as they really were: unapologetic, outrageous, and utterly human.
The lead cast of Outrageous includes Bessie Carter (Bridgerton, I Hate Suzie) as Nancy Mitford, Joanna Vanderham (Crime, The Control Room) as Diana Mitford, Shannon Watson (The Jetty, Say Nothing) as Unity Mitford, Zoe Brough (Casualty) as Jessica Mitford, Orla Hill (Stonehouse, A Confession) as Deborah Mitford, and Isobel Jesper Jones (The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes, The Serpent Queen) as Pamela Mitford.
Said Bessie Carter:
“I am thrilled and honoured to have the opportunity to bring someone as brilliant as Nancy Mitford to life. She was one piece of a truly fascinating family of remarkable and unique women, and I can’t wait to tell their story.”
Joanna Vanderham commented:
“I’m thrilled to be bringing to life the extraordinary, glamorous and controversial Diana Mitford. The role brings a new challenge for me as I delve into her character, which was forged in a tumultuous period in British history, the 1930s, and it’s undeniable that the political climate she navigated holds a striking relevance to the present day.”
Additional cast includes Toby Regbo (Belgravia: The Next Chapter, Platform 7) as the sisters’ brother, Tom Mitford, and Anna Chancellor (The Split, Four Weddings and a Funeral) and James Purefoy (The Veil, Malpractice) as Muv and Farve, the Mitford family’s matriarch and patriarch.
Also featuring in the series are Joshua Sasse (Love Is In The Air, Galavant) as Oswald Mosley, Jamie Blackley (Becoming Elizabeth, The Last Kingdom) as Peter Rodd, James Musgrave (Einstein and the Bomb) as Hamish Erskine, Calam Lynch (Bridgerton, Archie) as Bryan Guinness, and Will Attenborough (Our Girl, The Hollow Crown) as Joss.
Created and written by Sarah Williams (Small Island, Flesh and Blood, The Long Song), the series is based on the book The Mitford Girls: The Biography of an Extraordinary Family, Mary Lovell’s definitive biography of the sisters.
A production of Firebird Pictures, Outrageous is a BritBox International and UKTV Original commission, and will air on BritBox International in North America in 2025.
Firebird stated:
“We couldn’t be more excited about the stunning cast we’ve assembled to breathe life into this epic tale of sibling rivalry and political radicalisation – and we can’t wait for directors Joss Agnew and Ellie Heydon to weave their visual magic in evoking the febrile world of 1930s Britain, where old social orders are crumbling and a group of headstrong, rebellious sisters set out to change the world, with sometimes devastating consequences.”
The series will be executive produced by Elizabeth Kilgarriff, Matthew Mosley, and Craig Holleworth. Helen Perry will executive produce for UKTV; Robert Schildhouse, Jess O’Riordan, and Stephen Nye will executive produce for BritBox International. Directors for the series will be Joss Agnew (The Man Who Fell to Earth, Vigil) and Ellie Heydon (Trying), with Natasha Romaniuk (The Suspect, Fifteen-Love) as producer. BBC Studios brokered the BritBox deal and will be handling global distribution.
Stay tuned for updates.
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The Mitford Girls: The Biography of an Extraordinary Family
