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First look at Dope Girls – new drama set to fill the gap left by Peaky Blinders

The series details the birth of the modern nightlife industry in Soho, just after the First World War.

Michael Duke as Eddie Cobb and Umi Myers as Billie Cassidy in Dope Girls, sat wearing suits and looking at the camera

BBC/Bad Wolf/Sony Pictures Television/Kevin Baker

Published: Wednesday, 24 April 2024 at 5:36 pm

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The first images for Dope Girls, the new six-part BBC series which has been described as a "spiritual successor" to Peaky Blinders, have been released, giving viewers a sense of what to expect from the drama.

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The series is set in Soho in 1918, and the synopsis says that it "depicts in visceral, delicious detail the birth of the modern nightlife industry, guided and gilded by hard fought female endeavour".

The synopsis adds: "It is the end of World War One. As Britain celebrates the Armistice on the streets of London, men return from the front expecting to rejoin society and pick up where they left off - but a newly empowered generation of women are loath to simply return to the kitchen.

"Using Soho’s expanding illicit underground clubland scene as their playground, women explore previously unimaginable opportunities on either side of the law."

Eliza Scanlen as Violet Davies in Dope Girls, wearing an old fashioned police uniform and stood with other officers

Eliza Scanlen as Violet Davies in Dope Girls. BBC/Bad Wolf/Sony Pictures Television/Kevin Baker

The stylish and bold new images introduce us to the central cast, including Eliza Scanlen's (Little Women) Violet Davies, one of the first wave of female police officers, who is assigned to go undercover in the illicit world of Soho nightclubs.

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Another of the images shows Julianne Nicholson (Blonde) as single mother Kate Galloway, who establishes a nightclub to provide for her daughter Evie, played by Eilidh Fisher (The Power), and Umi Myers's (Bob Marley: One Love) Billie Cassidy, a bohemian dancer whose life is changed by Kate's arrival.

Umi Myers as Billie Cassidy and Julianne Nicholson as Kate Galloway in Dope Girls. They are both wearing costumes but Kate looks bloody and bruised

Umi Myers as Billie Cassidy and Julianne Nicholson as Kate Galloway in Dope Girls. BBC/Bad Wolf/Sony Pictures Television/Kevin Baker

More images show Fisher as Evie, Michael Duke as Eddie Cobb and Geraldine James (Silo) as Isabella Salucci.

Meanwhile, the rest of the cast is filled out by Ian Bonar (Criminal Record), Dustin Demri-Burns (Slow Horses), Nabhaan Rizwan (Juice), Priya Kansara (Polite Society), Jordan Kouamé (Malpractice), Will Keen (His Dark Materials) and Sebastian Croft (Heartstopper).

Geraldine James as Isabella Salucci in Dope Girls, wearing a dress and looking concerned

Geraldine James as Isabella Salucci in Dope Girls.

The series comes from creators Polly Stenham (The Neon Demon) and Alex Warren, while Shannon Murphy (Killing Eve) serves as the show's lead director and an executive producer.

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While we don't yet have a release date, the show is arriving around two years after Peaky Blinders came to an end, with that period-set crime show proving hugely popular for the BBC - so much so that a follow-up movie is in the works, and expected to film this year.

Edith Fisher as Evie Galloway in Dope Girls, wearing a dress and appearing from behind a door

Eilidh Fisher as Evie Galloway in Dope Girls. BBC/Bad Wolf/Sony Pictures Television/Kevin Baker

Star Cillian Murphy is expected to return for the film, with creator Steven Knight telling told BirminghamWorld: "[Cillian] definitely is returning for it. We're shooting it in September just down the road in Digbeth."

Dope Girls will air on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.

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Check out more of our Drama coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to see what's on tonight. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.

Authors

Black and white cut-out portrait headshot of James Hibbs, smiling against a lime green background.

James HibbsDrama Writer

James Hibbs is a Drama Writer for Radio Times, covering programmes across both streaming platforms and linear channels. He previously worked in PR, first for a B2B agency and subsequently for international TV production company Fremantle. He possesses a BA in English and Theatre Studies and an NCTJ Level 5 Diploma in Journalism.

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