It started with a one-off special about a rough East End teen joining the army. But the popularity of that one-off episode, which aired in the UK in 2013, led to a five-episode season that begins on TV One this Sunday. From the BBC, Our Girl follows 18-year-old dropkick Molly Dawes who visits the recruitment office after becoming sick of her life living in a council flat and working at a nail bar.
Played by Lacey Turner, Molly soon enlists and heads to Afghanistan as an army medic. Turner says shooting the show was tough as she was in "pretty much every scene". But she was determined to get the character right to honour those who do the real thing. "The whole thing has been a challenge - but it's an exciting one. For me, it's just about getting it right. It matters to me that it's as close to real as possible because these people do this for real and you want to try to do them as much justice as you can. I hope that we have." She describes Molly as "feisty, disobedient and passionate". "She has a passion to belong and she wants to do better and help."
While Turner is a relative newcomer, Game of Thrones fans might recognise Iwan Rheon, who plays platoon leader Smurf and a love interest for Dawes. Rheon says an intense training regime gave him renewed appreciation for the job. "I've got a lot of respect for the guys who are doing that every day. It's such a difficult job."
Reviews for Our Girl have been mixed, but The Telegraph praised the show's "adrenaline-surging" action sequences.
What: Our Girl
Where and when: TV One, Sunday, 9.30pm
