MICHELLE Keegan has suffered a career blow as her last BBC drama, Ten Pound Poms, has been sent packing after two series.
The show’s axe comes as the ex-Coronation Street star waves goodbye to hit comedy Brassic on Sky, just as she’s returning to work after becoming a first time mum.
Michelle, 38, is busy on a new thriller called The Blame for ITV, though, after time off to have baby Palma.
Period drama Ten Pound Poms followed a group of British citizens who emigrated from post-war Britain to Australia in the 1950s, with Michelle playing nurse Kate Thorne.
A BBC spokesperson said: “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 gentle drama made a splash when it first aired in May 2023, with 6.37million viewers but that had halved to 3.15m by the end of series two in April this year.
But Michelle expressed interest in continuing the story, despite the fact filming on locations around Sydney required her to move Down Under for several 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.”
Michelle’s character Kate’s story ended on a cliffhanger, with her resolved to continue the battle to reclaim her son Michael from his adoptive parents.
And she had just stopped her love interest Robbie marrying Mandy, who had faked her pregnancy.
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Michelle had baby Palma with husband Mark Wright in March.
