California Avenue: Everything We Know So Far

A major new drama is set to launch on the BBC soon, starring a slate of famous faces from Helena Bonham Carter to Bill Nighy. Rather than the luxury environment they are probably used to, however, California Avenue centres on a caravan park of the same name, with the drama set in the 1970s.

Here’s everything we know so far.

Eddie (HELENA BONHAM-CARTER) & Jerry (BILL NIGHY) in California Avenue. (BBC/Drama Republic)

California Avenue: Plot, Cast, Release Date & More

Produced by Drama Republic, we have a feeling California Avenue is going to be a goodie. This is the company that has recently brought us One Day and Doctor Foster, while the six-part California Avenue was created, written and directed by British filmmaker and actor Hugo Blick, best known for his work on The English, The Honourable Woman and Marion and Geoff.

As Drama Republic co-founder Greg Brenman teases: ‘In California Avenue, Hugo has conjured a world of precious relationships and unexpected revelations, all delivered with a big, big heart and generous humour. If you ever needed reminding of Hugo’s incredible range as a storyteller, look no further.’

Bee (CAMMIE LIEBREICH) in California Avenue. (BBC/Drama Republic)

The Plot

Whisking us back to the 1970s, don’t be misled by the title: California Avenue is all about the British countryside. Because it’s here that the sunnily named California Avenue caravan park sits, secluded and canal-side, deep in luscious English greenery.

But this idyll is disrupted by the whirlwind arrival of Lela (Erin Doherty) and her 11-year-old child Bee (Cammie Liebreich). They’re on the run from something, seeking refuge – much like Lela’s parents Jerry (Nighy) and Eddie (Bonham Carter), 1930s ballroom champions who became wartime runaways and are still hiding three decades on.

Cooper (TOM BURKE) & Lela (ERIN DOHERTY) in California Avenue. (BBC/Drama Republic)

But then Lela meets Cooper (Tom Burke), a fairground outcast with a turbulent past that erupts all over California Avenue. Filmed in Hertfordshire in summer 2025, elsewhere Priscilla (Kate Robbins) is the formidable force in charge of the caravan site, alongside her jack-of-all-trades site manager of a husband Kevin (Paul Kaye).

We are told to expect a tale ‘brimming with humour and love’.

Lela (ERIN DOHERTY) in California Avenue. (BBC/Drama Republic)

The Cast

The core cast is stacked with famous faces, not least Adolescence and The Crown star Erin Doherty, who takes the lead role as Lela.

She is joined by Nighy and Bonham Carter in the form of her parents, Jerry and Eddie. Both are renowned for their film roles, with Nighy most recognisable for Love Actually (2003), Living (2022) and About Time (2013) – among many more. His most recent television roles include Prime Video’s Harlan Coban thriller Lazarus and American sci-fi drama The Man Who Fell to Earth.

Eddie (HELENA BONHAM-CARTER) in California Avenue. (BBC/Drama Republic(

Bonham Carter is similarly renowned for her film roles (including Fight Club, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and the Harry Potter series) but has made a return to TV in recent years, with roles in ITV’s Nolly, Netflix’s Agatha Christie’s Seven Dials and an upcoming leading role in the fourth season of The White Lotus.

Doherty’s on-screen child, meanwhile, is Cammie Liebreich in her screen debut. Meanwhile Strike star Tom Burke plays Cooper, though you may also recognise him from The Souvenir (2019), The Wonder (2022), Black Bag (2025) or Living (2022) opposite Nighy.

The full cast and their roles are as follows:

• Bill Nighy as Jerry
• Helena Bonham Carter as Eddie
• Erin Doherty as Lela
• Tom Burke as Cooper
• Kate Robbins as Priscilla
• Paul Kaye as Kevin
• Cammie Liebreich as Bee

Priscilla (KATE ROBBINS) in California Avenue. (BBC/Drama Republic)

Release Date

Made up of six episodes, California Avenue is coming soon to BBC One and iPlayer – but no specific date just yet.

However, the series will have its world premiere at 2026 Canneseries as the global television festival’s closing screening on 28 April. The opening screening? Another BBC title: Richard Gadd’s Half Man, which kicks things off today (23 April).