TV review: Nolly is an icon and this is classy television

Nolly is a series written by Russell T Davies (It’s a Sin, A Very British Scandal, Doctor Who) starring Helena Bonham Carter in the lead role of Noele ‘Nolly’ Gordon, who passed away in 1985.

It is a biographical series telling the story of how Nolly was sacked from her role on Crossroads, a soap that ran from 1964-1988.

I personally hadn’t heard of Nolly. I’m 25 so this was way before I came along. However, after seeing Davies and Bonham Carter doing their promo rounds, I thought I’d give it a go. I’ve loved other series by Davies and let’s be honest, Bonham Carter is a legend.

It seems I wasn’t the only one to approach this with little knowledge of Nolly. From what I’ve heard, she seemed to be knocked from her throne as the queen of TV very quickly. This was something of a tribute to her, something she never got when she was alive.

It’s very much Nolly vs men. She’s given no reason for being sacked (until the final episode but I won’t ruin that), and fights against them until the very end. In this case, the end for her character was sailing off on the Queen Elizabeth 2 ship waving as her on-screen daughter watched on with a brass band playing. Very random, but that was Crossroads!

I think it’s fair to say a man would never have been treated like she was, but the way she handles it, and the way the cast and crew (and general public) back her, is really lovely to see.

Nolly puts on a strong front all the time, even when she’s sacked she doesn’t ever seem to lose her strength. The few moments we do see her softer side are usually when she’s alone and you really feel for her then. The crazy amount of lamps she has seems to emphasise how alone she really is. Nolly was called ‘the queen of the Midlands’ but when she breaks down crying over her final script, you’re reminded she is actually quite a lonely figure who hasn’t allowed herself to have much of a life outside of work. She says in one scene: “I wasted all those years, and kept my life empty. I’ve got nothing, that is my life outside the show - nothing.”

At times she breaks the fourth wall (Fleabag style) and I loved that too. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a sad story about what happened to her, but it’s not sad to watch because of the sort of woman she was. Instead it’s more of a ‘screw you’ to the men who treated her so badly.

If you know who Nolly is – watch this. If you don’t know who Nolly is – watch this. It’s classy television and I enjoyed every minute.

You can watch Nolly on ITVX