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The Mill was a massive success when it aired on Channel 4 in the UK over July and August 2013, and is based on powerful true stories of the workers at the time of the Industrial Revolution.
It’s now in its second series, running for six episodes, and is created and written by John Fay (Coronation Street, Brookside), and this time covers the period between 1838 and 1842. It focuses on the lives of the mill workers against a backdrop of significant social and political changes following the Poor Law Amendment Act of 1834, which made a distinction between ‘deserving’ and ‘undeserving’ poor. Set in ruralindustrial England, it draws on the historical archive of Quarry Bank Mill in Cheshire. It’s also one of a rare few TV dramas to be shot in 2.35:1, another being the decidedly different Utopia.
The DVD will be released on September 8th, on RLJ Entertainment’s Acorn Label.
Kerrie Hayes (Black Mirror, Nowhere Boy) returns as young Esther Price, a girl not afraid to stand up for her rights. She almost loses her job, but instead finds herself negotiating her freedom. As she prepares to move into a place of her own, life at the Mill faces new
challenges.
Sacha Parkinson (Coronation Street, My Mad Fat Diary) returns as Miriam Catterall and Matthew McNulty again appears as young engineer Daniel Bate, along with new wife, Miriam’s sister Susannah Bate (Holly Lucas – Holby City, Where The Heart Is).
Migrant labourers have arrived in the form of the Howlett family from down South, and the
father, John (Mark Frost – Doctors) soon rises to the role of overseer. Paid by the piece his attempts to improve output and his wages could lead to disaster. Another newcomer, apprentice Peter, has been brought over from the Greg Plantation in the West Indies, to speak in favour of the abolition of slavery.
There’s change all around, with workers rallying for their rights and the Greg family struggling to maintain the status quo in this gripping period drama.
Special features: The Mill behind the scenes, picture gallery
Reviewer of movies, videogames and music since 1994. Aortic valve operation survivor from the same year. Running DVDfever.co.uk since 2000. Nobel Peace Prize winner 2021.