''Age Before Beauty'' is a

BBC television drama BBC television dramas have been produced and broadcast since even before the public service company had an officially established television broadcasting network in the United Kingdom. As with any major broadcast network, drama forms an importan ...

series by

Debbie Horsfield Debbie Horsfield (born 1955) is an English theatre and television writer and producer. Early life and career Horsfield was born in Urmston and she attended Eccles Grammar School and Eccles College before studying at Newcastle University, wher ...

that premiered on

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, p ...

on 31 July 2018. The six-part series is based in

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

, England, and stars

Robson Green Robson Golightly Green (born 18 December 1964) is an English actor, angler, singer-songwriter and presenter. His first major TV role was as hospital porter Jimmy Powell in BBC drama series ''Casualty'' in 1989. He then went on to portray Fusili ...

Sue Johnston Susan Johnston OBE (née Wright; born 7 December 1943) is an English actress. She is known for portraying Sheila Grant in the Channel 4 soap opera ''Brookside'' (1982–1990), Barbara Royle in the BBC comedy ''The Royle Family'' (1998–2000, ...

Polly Walker Polly Alexandra Walker (born 19 May 1966) is an English actress. She has starred in the films '' Enchanted April'' (1991), ''Patriot Games'' (1992), ''Sliver'' (1993), ''Restoration'' (1995), '' The Gambler'' (1997), and '' Savage Messiah'' (20 ...

and James Murray.

Plot

''Age Before Beauty'' is a family drama set in a Manchester

beauty salon A beauty salon or beauty parlor is an establishment dealing with cosmetic treatments for people. Other variations of this type of business include hair salons, spas, day spas, and medical spas. Beauty treatments Massage for the body is a b ...

. The series follows Bel, a homemaker and mother-of-two, as she deals with the demands of her family's struggling salon business and her warring family with the problems in her marriage.

Cast and characters

as Teddy Roxton, Bel's brother-in-law and best friend. *

as Ivy-Rae Regan, Bel's mother and a spray tan technician in the family's salon. *

as Bel Finch, a homemaker and mother who takes over her family's salon business. * James Murray as Wesley Finch, Bel's husband of 25 years. *

Lisa Riley Lisa Jane Riley (born 13 July 1976) is an English actress and television presenter. Riley portrayed Mandy Dingle in the ITV (TV channel), ITV soap opera ''Emmerdale'' between 1995 and 2001, and again from 2019. She also replaced Jeremy Beadle as ...

as Tina Regan, Bel's sister and a tattoo artist in the family's salon. *

Kelly Harrison Kelly Harrison (born 1980) is a British actress. Initially a model for four years, she was cast in BBC's Saturday night programme, ''Casualty'', as paramedic Nikki Marshall. Harrison has also appeared in ''Born and Bred'', '' Waking the Dead'', ' ...

as Leanne Roxton, Bel's obnoxious sister and a nail technician and personal stylist in the family's salon. *Vicky Myers as Heidi Regan, Bel's sister, a cosmetic surgery addict and mother to seven-year-old Disney, a wannabe pageant queen. * Madeleine Mantock as Lorelei Bailey, a personal trainer in her twenties.

Episodes

Production

Filming for the series began in June 2017 in the Northern Quarter, Manchester.

References

External links

* * * 2018 British television series debuts 2018 British television series endings 2010s British drama television series 2010s British television miniseries BBC television dramas English-language television shows Television shows based on British novels Television series about dysfunctional families Television series about marriage Television shows set in Manchester {{BBC-tv-prog-stub