Strewth, Darlene, it’s time to kick off the thongs, crack open a tinnie and park yourself on the couch, as the BBC fills more than a few of its yawning scheduling gaps this summer with Aussie drama. And, happily, it’s not just the filler you might have expected if you had seen the headlines about it being a cost-cutting measure. There are some A-grade shows among them, and ones that may well carry on the long tradition of Aussie imports warmly embraced on our shores – not least by me.
Last month saw the arrival of The Heights – AKA “a woke Neighbours” because of its diverse cast of actors. It shows how enthralling the lives of the residents of a Perth tower block can be with some imaginative casting and a good script. A second season has already gone out in Australia.
Tonight also sees the launch of The Secrets She Keeps, a taut psychological six-parter which metes out Broadchurchesque levels of suspense as two women (Jessica De Gouw and our own Laura Carmichael) share impending motherhood but little else. Naturally, both have huge secrets.
Carmichael, best known for her role as Lady Edith Crawley in Downton Abbey, shows a very different side from the one we’re used to seeing, and her presence here sums up the enduring appeal of Aussie drama to British eyes. Set against stunning backdrops of lush gardens, blue skies and perennial barbecues, they are familiar enough to be comfortable and different enough to be exotic.
Of course, our affection for TV tales and sun-dappled scenes from Australia is nothing new. Last week marked 32 years since Ramsay Street’s Scott and Charlene tied the knot. (Jason Donovan’s daughter now appears on the same show that made him a teen sensation.) A whopping 20 million Britons watched those nuptials in 1988, dwarfing Australia’s homegrown audience of two million the previous year. But neither Neighbours nor its seaside cousin, Home and Away, were the first Australian dramas to slip into our collective consciousness, or mine at least.
When I was at school, no sick day was complete without Sons and Daughters (Cornelia Frances as Barbara Hamilton), The Young Doctors (Cornelia again, as Sister Scott) and, my personal, perhaps niche, favourite, the wartime period drama The Sullivans (no Cornelia sadly, but a young Sam Neill). However, for me, the best of the Aussie offerings came not from soapland but from miniseries.
Far too young to understand, but enthralled nonetheless, I sat through The Thorn Birds, with Richard Chamberlain ipsy-dipsying between his love for the Catholic church and the equally irresistible charms of Rachel Ward. The line, “When we press the thorn to our chest we know, we understand, and still we do it,” still makes me swoon.
How did I learn that Australians had sent their brave men to fight in the second world war? Was it by making a trip to Gallipoli? No, it was watching Keith Michell and Gordon Jackson as two bereaved fathers in the Romeo-and-Juliet tale My Brother Tom. And I learned everything I know about cricket from Bodyline, the surprisingly accessible tale of how the 1932 Ashes were won by England in decidedly unsporting fashion. The first thing I did when I moved to Melbourne was hunt out the real Harold Larwood’s bowling shoes in the National Museum of Sports – unexpectedly small for such a disruptive proponent of “leg theory”.
Moved there? Yes, reader, one show finally tipped me over. Stuck in bed with flu during a London winter of discontent, I binged on yet another Aussie box set, this time The Secret Life of Us, the story of young, beautiful people sharing apartments, catching the tram home from work in time for a game of catch in the evening sun, followed by a communal barbie and sunset beers on the roof terrace. That was it for me. Six months later, I was living in Melbourne and soon ended up at a party on that very same roof, living the TV dream.
I’ve returned to the UK, but the good news is all the best Australian shows have followed me back. When it comes to appreciating imported drama, us Britons might have got a bit distracted by the Scandis for a while, but the truth is the Aussies have never stopped making great stuff. The Cry, Safe Harbour and Top of the Lake are all proof of that.
There’s one show I’m still crossing everything to see on these shores. Soon after I arrived in Melbourne more than a decade ago, they filmed Underbelly, an ambitious, critically acclaimed dramatisation of the city’s most notorious real-life gangsters and drug dealers. It was a huge deal, with a massive marketing campaign and a big-budget launch planned … until the supreme court served an injunction because of fears it would prejudice an imminent trial. Those who wanted to watch had to drive across the border into New South Wales. When it was later shown in Melbourne, the face of one criminal, Tony Mokbel, was pixelated.
In a postscript, Mokbel got his own spin-off show, Fat Tony & Co. This came after he went on the run to Greece, where he was picked up by the police from a cafe, wearing a wig. When it comes to cracking drama, no one can beat the Aussies – even in real life.
The Secrets She Keeps begins tonight, BBC One, 9pm
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