Three Little Birds. Pictured: Hosanna [Yazmin Belo], Leah [Rochelle Neil] and Chantrelle [Saffron Coomber]. © Banijay/ITV

This Sunday On ITV: Lenny Henry’s New Windrush Drama, Three Little Birds

By Olivia Emily

1 year ago

Russell T Davies is also involved

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This Sunday On ITV: Lenny Henry’s New Windrush Drama, Three Little Birds

Three Little Birds. Pictured: Hosanna [Yazmin Belo], Leah [Rochelle Neil] and Chantrelle [Saffron Coomber]. © Banijay/ITV

A new, six-part drama is winging its way to ITV1 and ITVX this week, created by Lenny Henry alongside a star studded team of directors and producers, including none other than Russell T Davies. Here’s everything you need to know about Three Little Birds before you tune in on Sunday.

Three Little Birds: Lenny Henry’s New Windrush Drama

Pegged as a spirited and heartfelt series, Three Little Birds is a celebration of immigration and community, set in the post-Windrush 1950s and inspired by real stories of Black women who travelled to Britain seeking a new home.

Three Little Birds. Pictured: Chantrelle [Saffron Coomber], Leah [Rochelle Neil], Hosanna [Yazmin Belo].

Pictured: Chantrelle [Saffron Coomber], Leah [Rochelle Neil], Hosanna [Yazmin Belo]. © Banijay/ITV

What Is Three Little Birds About?

Inspired by Henry’s mother’s journey to Britain from Jamaica in the late 1950s, Three Little Birds will explore the untold stories of sisterhood, love and friendship backdropped against the struggles and joys of curating a new life in a new country. At the centre is Leah Whittaker (Rochelle Neil), a mother who packs up her three children and sends them to live with her mother while she and her sister Chantrelle (Saffron Coomber) travel to Britain.

Leah is desperate to escape her abusive husband, and plans to make a new life for herself before bringing her children over to join her once she is settled – though she is haunted by guilt, fear and unrelenting challenges as she misses her children and navigates her new life in a community in Dudley in the West Midlands. Meanwhile, Chantrelle dreams of stardom and scoops up a job as a live-in nanny for a respectable British family living close to famous film studios in Borehamwood. But Chantrelle soon realises that what she thought was a short-cut route to stardom is actually a million miles away from reality.

Pictured: Leah [Rochelle Neil], Hosanna [Yazmin Belo] and Chantrelle [Saffron Coomber]. ©Banijay/ITV

The sisters journey to Britain with Hosanna (Yazmin Belo), a young pious Christian who they have chosen as a potential bride for their brother Aston (Javone Prince). Hosanna arrives in the country brimming with expectation for her potential husband – but both threaten to derail their future by concealing secrets about their past lives. As these women – these ‘three little birds – navigate their new lives and find their feet, they face unexpected, often shocking challenges. But will they hit rock bottom, or will they finally fly?