October 22nd 2023.
Sir Lenny Henry's new ITV drama Three Little Birds is set to be released tonight. The show is based on the journey of the Windrush generation who travelled to the UK from the Commonwealth in search of new opportunities. This six-episode drama follows the fictional story of three women from Jamaica, Leah, Hosanna and Chantrelle, and the racism, discrimination and prejudice that they face in the UK.
We had the opportunity to talk to the creator, Sir Lenny, and the three female leads of the show, Rochelle, Saffron and Yazmin, about the project and their aspirations for the audience. Lenny spoke about his late mother and what he hopes she'd think of the show.
Rochelle spoke of how empowering it was to work with Lenny and how he would encourage her to run with the character and to tell the truth. Saffron spoke of the emotion she felt in reading the script and how it was a dream to work with Lenny Henry, her childhood idol. Yazmin spoke about the microaggression that was portrayed in the show and the cast’s natural ability to play the scene to perfection.
The show is a powerful mix of fun, humour and hard-hitting moments. Lenny hopes that audiences will be able to relate to the story and dichotomy of having to leave your children to go and earn money. He wants people to be able to connect with the stories, no matter their gender, colour or background.
We can’t wait to watch Three Little Birds and all the emotion it will bring.
It was really special to be part of a show that honours the Windrush generation and the incredible stories of the people who followed similar journeys to forge new lives in the UK, and to be guided by Sir Lenny Henry, who was such an integral part of my upbringing. Working with him was an incredible experience, as he was so empowering and encouraging, and gave us the freedom to bring the characters to life.
The show itself is a mix of fun and humour, and more hard-hitting moments. We had to bring some of those moments to life, which felt incredibly real even when the camera was off. I remember one scene in particular, where we had to face two white men who were trying to give us a hard time, that really took me aback.
Lenny has a really brilliant ability to make people feel so familiar to him, and this inspired us to tell the story in a way that was true to the experiences of the Windrush generation. We wanted audiences to relate to the tale, and be able to empathise with our characters, no matter their background.
Sir Lenny spoke of his hope that his late mother would have been moved by the show, and that’s something that we all aspire to. We want people to be moved by the stories, to laugh, to remember - but also to be able to relate to the struggles that our characters face, and the hard choices they have to make.
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