
Six-part true story of the Mitford sisters
29th November 2022 UKTV free-to-air channel Drama announces its first UKTV Original commission Outrageous (6x60), produced by Firebird Pictures, and written by Sarah Williams (Small Island, Flesh and Blood, The Long Song).
Outrageous is the true story of six sisters who refused to play by the rules and whose often-scandalous lives made headlines around the world. Set against the gathering storm clouds of the 1930s, Outrageous will bring the full, uncensored story of the Mitford sisters to the screen for the first time - a story of family betrayals, public scandal, political extremism, personal heartache and even imprisonment. Refusing to conform to a world order that was collapsing around them, the show explores how and why these women were so ahead of their time - and what drove them to take their very different, complex and often extreme paths. A family saga like no other, this is the Mitfords as they really were: unapologetic, outrageous and utterly human.
Writer Sarah Williams said,
Ive been intrigued by these notorious sisters for many years and am thrilled to finally be bringing their stories to the screen. Weve seen many fictionalised versions of their lives before, but in this familys case, the truth really is far stranger and more astonishing than anything you could invent. These six headstrong women have often been accused of being mad, bad and dangerous to know - and a couple of them were - but what they all had was the absolute courage of their convictions and to hell with the consequences. And that makes for a cracking good story.
UKTV Original series Outrageous has been commissioned by senior commissioning editor Philippa Collie Cousins with head of scripted Pete Thornton and is ordered by Drama channel director Emma Ayech. The series will be produced by Firebird Pictures, which is wholly owned by BBC Studios, and executive producers are Elizabeth Kilgarriff and Matthew Mosley. Philippa Collie Cousins will executive produce for UKTV.
UKTV senior drama commissioner Philippa Collie Cousins said,
This is an exciting piece of television. A witty, deliciously entertaining and addictive family saga, Outrageous will captivate and enthrall audiences - much like a favourite novel you just cant put down thanks to Sarah Williams clever and inciteful writing. Our aim is for each character to resonate with the audience and stay with them for a long time after the end credits.
Drama channel director Emma Ayech added,
I am delighted to announce the first original commission for Drama which is the next step in our continued ambition to be the destination channel for fans of quality British drama. Outrageous is an instantly gripping story about six fascinating and uncompromising sisters who were the celebrities of their day. Sarah Williams witty and highly engaging scripts will bring the glamour, scandal and heartache of the Mitfords world to life in a way that Dramas audiences will relish.
Firebird Pictures said
When Sarah first talked about wanting to write a show about the Mitfords, we thought that we already knew these women and the scandals and extreme politics that shaped them. But what we didnt know was the real story behind the headlines of six sisters who refused to conform and refused to compromise. Even today their stories would be considered extraordinary and we feel incredibly fortunate to have the opportunity to get beneath the skin of these fascinating, challenging and complex women by bringing Sarahs beautiful and gripping family saga to life onscreen
Cast and crew will be announced over the coming months, with the series due to air exclusively on Drama. Production will commence next summer.
-
For more information, please contact: Gem Pinkney, Head of Consumer Comms
Notes for Editors:
Sky 143, Virgin Media 130, Freeview, YouView, TalkTalk & BT 20, Freesat 158 +1 Sky 243, Virgin Media 226, Freeview, YouView, TalkTalk & BT 60 On demand on Sky & Virgin Media
Free-to-air channel Drama is passionate about bringing Britain the best quality drama. From period to contemporary, family to comedy, the channel is a treasure trove of well-loved classics and modern drama which showcases the greatest stories ever told. With programmes including familiar favourites Call the Midwife, Pride and Prejudice, New Tricks and Silent Witness, and brand new and exclusive hits The Sister Boniface Mysteries and The Brokenwood Mysteries, this is the channel where viewers can escape and indulge in a handpicked range of the nations most celebrated TV dramas.
About UKTV
UKTV has been at the forefront of branded television for over 30 years, entertaining the nation with programmes they love. Its leading brands - Dave, Gold, W, Drama, Alibi, Eden and Yesterday - span comedy, entertainment, natural history, factual and drama, and are delivered to audiences through UKTV Play, Freeview, Sky, Virgin Media, BT, TalkTalk, YouView, Freesat and Amazon Fire. The broadcaster is a significant investor in British creativity and is committed to working with new and established writers, directors and programme-makers.
UKTV is part of BBC Studios, the UKs most-awarded production company, a world-class distributor with international branded services, and a commercial subsidiary of the worlds leading public service broadcaster, the BBC.
corporate.uktv.co.uk | press.uktv.co.uk | @uktvpress
About Firebird Pictures
Firebird Pictures is a scripted production company set up by former BBC Executives Elizabeth Kilgarriff and Craig Holleworth in 2019. With a particular focus on character-led series, Firebird works with the best writing and directing creatives to produce high end, bold and distinctive content for UK and International audiences. With two major new series in production - Wilderness, written by Marnie Dickens and starring Jenna Coleman for Amazon Prime
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
07/05/2026
Journalists reporting on Sudan are working in one of the most complex and fast-m...
07/05/2026
Multi-year partnership positions Victory+ as a free home for Dallas Cowboys orig...
07/05/2026
From sideline reporting to directing and producing, the talented sophomore is building a well-rounded foundation for a career in live sports production
In the ...
07/05/2026
Cobalt Digital has received two Future Best of Show awards at NAB Show 2026. The COBALT blueCORE platform was recognized by TV Tech, and the COBALT PACIFIC ULL-...
07/05/2026
ESPN analyst Mina Kimes will host the televised semifinals and finals of the 202...
07/05/2026
Bitmovin has announced that MUBI, the global film streaming platform, has selected Bitmovin as its cloud VOD encoding partner. Bitmovin's encoding infrastru...
07/05/2026
NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises and the U.S. Soccer Federation have announced...
07/05/2026
Angel City Football Club (ACFC) and Victory have announced a regional broadcast partnership bringing live match coverage to fans across the greater Los Angeles...
07/05/2026
Spiideo has announced the launch of AI Highlights inside Spiideo Play, its automated sports production platform. AI Highlights combines video, event data, audio...
07/05/2026
Leostream Corporation has announced a unified remote access ecosystem for high-p...
07/05/2026
The Atlanta Dream has partnered with Victory to stream all locally broadcast Dream games for free, expanding the team's digital distribution strategy and g...
07/05/2026
Riedel Communications has announced the appointment of Marc Engroff as Chief Fin...
07/05/2026
SES and ARD, Germany's largest public broadcasting network, have announced a long-term extension of their satellite distribution partnership through 2039. U...
07/05/2026
UpLight Technologies delivers a flexible video and lighting system for a new televised sportLaunching the Pro Cheer League required more than creating a compell...
07/05/2026
Full Day Productions and GSE Worldwide have announced Spikes Under the Lights, a...
07/05/2026
Seit dem Start im Jahr 2023 hat DJ (Beta) das personalisierte H rerlebnis von 94...
07/05/2026
Da quando stata presentata nel 2023, DJ (beta) ha aiutato a definire un'esperienza d'ascolto pi personalizzata per 94 milioni di utenti Spotify Premi...
07/05/2026
Since launching in 2023, DJ (beta) has helped shape a more personalized listenin...
07/05/2026
Desde o lan amento em 2023, o DJ (beta) j ajudou a deixar a experi ncia de ouvi...
07/05/2026
From our earliest days, Spotify has been built on a simple principle: Great audio should be easy to reach. It's what's driven us to expand from music to...
07/05/2026
Asian and Pacific Islander artists continue to shape the global soundscape, pushing creative boundaries and connecting with fans worldwide. This Asian & Pacific...
07/05/2026
Company announce long-requested choir instrument
In the latest expansion of their Symphonic Elements series, UJAM have introduced an all-new vocal instrumen...
07/05/2026
Modular-inspired sound generation with digital control
Buchla have introduced Ziggy, a new compact synthesizer built around the company's complex oscill...
07/05/2026
Combines analogue voices with digital synthesis and sequencing
Polyend have announced Drums, a new hybrid analogue and digital drum machine that combines sy...
07/05/2026
Control surface now officially supports four DAWs
When Nektar launched the Panorama CS12 control surface, it worked exclusively with Apple's Logic Pro, ...
07/05/2026
In the first quarter 2026, SGL Carbon generated consolidated sales of 184.5 million, which was 49.8 million, or 21.3%, lower than in the prior year (Q1 2025: ...
07/05/2026
Rohde & Schwarz and Greenerwave achieve precise and fast ESA antenna characteriz...
07/05/2026
Two multi-role L3Harris products - the Red Wolf launched effects vehicle and SK...
07/05/2026
L3Harris will be developing key features of a secure and resilient digital infra...
07/05/2026
Alysa Liu and Shohei Ohtani Help Drive Viewership as 91 of the Top 100 Broadcast...
07/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
07/05/2026
Cobalt Digital Wins Two Future Best of Show Awards at 2026 NAB Show
Manufacturer Recognized by TV Tech and TVBEurope for Innovation in signal processing
Cobal...
07/05/2026
Software and hardware platforms, AI power and user-friendliness on show...
07/05/2026
Intinor will demonstrate its latest technical enhancements for the Direkt series at BroadcastAsia 2026. With a continued focus on reliable contribution and remo...
07/05/2026
Bitmovin has announced that MUBI has chosen Bitmovin as its cloud VOD encoding partner, replacing MUBI's legacy on premises encoding setup to improve scalab...
07/05/2026
Meet Graduates from Berklees Class of 2026 Members of this years graduating class reflect on their proudest moments at Berklee and look ahead to whats next.
...
07/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
07/05/2026
At BroadcastAsia 2026, Interra Systems will demonstrate its latest innovations in automated quality control (QC), real-time monitoring, and captioning. The comp...
07/05/2026
At this year's Broadcast Asia, PlayBox Neo is set to unveil recent innovations across its PlayBox Neo Suite and integrated range of broadcast media solution...
07/05/2026
Strategic three-year partnership marks delivery phase of BFBS' next-generation media vision
Media organisation and military charity BFBS (British Forces Br...
07/05/2026
Amagi, the agentic industry cloud platform for unified broadcast, streaming, and monetization, today announced the availability of its In-Content Ads offering v...
07/05/2026
Lightware Visual Engineering has developed Rack Taurus for rack-based environments such as education and corporate training spaces. It enables clean and simple ...
07/05/2026
Jigsaw24, the UK's leading media equipment supplier and systems integrator, will showcase its expanded end-to-end workflow capabilities at MPTS 2026, signal...
07/05/2026
Ease Live, an Evertz company, today announced that it has been granted a US Patent for its proprietary graphical overlay technology, the foundation for interact...
07/05/2026
Test & measurement innovator Leader Electronics of Europe will present an extensive range of Leader, PHABRIX and LeaderPhabrix test and measurement solutions at...