A remarkable 2.6 million Britons tuned in to watch the Australian programme Ten Pound Poms produced by Essential Viewing, when it screened on BBC 2’s prestigious Timewatch slot earlier this week.
The Timewatch slot usually averages an audience of 1.8 million, making Ten Pound Poms one of the most watched Timewatch documentaries ever screened.
In the 1950s and ’60s, one million Britons voluntarily migrated to Australia under the Ten Pound Pom or Assisted Passage Scheme. Ten Pound Poms follows the journey of nine British families who took the gamble.
‘Ten Pound Poms struck a chord with both the audience and television critics in Australia and across the UK. These powerful stories of people who came to Australia under the Assisted Passage Scheme – sometimes triumphant, sometimes tragic – made for compelling television.’ said Ten Pounds Poms producer Nial Fulton.
The success in the UK followed Ten Pound Poms being voted Australian documentary of the year 2007 by the Sydney Morning Herald.
Director Lisa Matthews said ‘I always felt the film would be well received by British audiences. Our two countries are inextricably tied by this history of migration. The film has universal themes, homesickness, isolation, separation from family…things anyone who has moved to a new country can relate to.
But we only scratched the surface. A quick glance on the online forums shows the depth of stories and recollections still out there.’
Ten Pound Poms was directed by Lisa Matthews and produced by Chris Hilton and Nial Fulton for Essential Viewing through their offices In Sydney and Belfast, Northern Ireland.
The Australian version was narrated by acclaimed Aussie actor John Waters – himself a Ten Pound Pom.
[release from TM Publicity for Essential Viewing]