''Our Girl'' is a British television military

drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has been ...

series, written and created by

Tony Grounds Tony Grounds (born in East London) is a British playwright and screenwriter, who has worked extensively in television. Described by ''The Independent'' (11 October 2002) as "the best TV writer of his generation", Grounds has written for all four ...

, first broadcast 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 24 March 2013. The series initially starred

Lacey Turner Lacey Amelia Turner (born 28 March 1988) is an English actress. She is known for portraying the role of Stacey Slater on the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'' (2004–2010, 2014–present), for which she has won over thirty awards, including four ...

as Molly Dawes, a young working-class woman, who joins the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

after deciding her life is going down the drain. Following the feature-length pilot episode, a full series of five episodes was commissioned, commencing broadcast on 21 September 2014. Turner left her role after the first series, and was replaced by

Michelle Keegan Michelle Elizabeth Keegan (born 3 June 1987) is an English actress, known for her roles as Tina McIntyre in the ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'' and Sergeant Georgie Lane in the BBC drama series '' Our Girl''. Keegan also starred as Tra ...

as the lead character, Lance Corporal Georgie Lane. The second five-episode series began airing on 7 September 2016. An extended third series, comprising 12 episodes, was commissioned in 2017. The first four episodes, known as the ''Nepal Tour'', began broadcasting on 10 October 2017. The remaining eight episodes aired consecutively from 5 June 2018, with Olly Rix joining the cast as new special forces Captain "Bones" McClyde. In January 2019, it was confirmed by the BBC that Keegan would return for a fourth series of six parts; she also announced that this would be her last series. It began broadcasting on 24 March 2020. Following Keegan's departure, it was announced in August 2020 that the fourth series of ''Our Girl'' was the final series.

Plot

Pilot (2013)

18-year-old Molly Dawes (

), who lives in the

East End of London The East End of London, often referred to within the London area simply as the East End, is the historic core of wider East London, east of the Roman and medieval walls of the City of London and north of the River Thames. It does not have uni ...

, discovers that her boyfriend has been cheating. She feels that her life has no purpose and decides to join the army. Encouraged only by the manager of the recruitment office, Sergeant Lamont ( Paul Fox), she initially keeps her decision a secret from her family, which consists of her controlling father Dave ( Sean Gallagher) and doting mother Belinda (

Kerry Godliman Kerry Anna Godliman (born November 1973) is an English actor and comedian best known for her roles in ''Derek'', '' Bad Move'' and '' After Life''. Early life Godliman was born in Perivale, West London, and trained at Rose Bruford College in ...

). When the truth is exposed, Dave demands she changes her mind, threatening to disown her if she does not; leaving her to make the heartbreaking decision to step away as she heads off to training camp. Here, Corporal Geddings (

Matthew McNulty Michael Anthony McNulty (born 14 December 1982), known professionally as Matthew McNulty, is a German-born British actor. Early life McNulty was born on 14 December 1982 in Hanover, Lower Saxony, West Germany, and lived in Berlin and Münster ...

) initially doubts Molly's merits as a potential soldier, but she strives to prove herself and eventually earns the respect of her peers, even reuniting with her mother Belinda when she visits her to apologise for Dave's actions.

Series 1 (2014)

Molly has completed training as a Combat Medical Technician. She is deployed to Afghanistan attached to a British Army infantry

section Section, Sectioning or Sectioned may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Section (music), a complete, but not independent, musical idea * Section (typography), a subdivision, especially of a chapter, in books and documents ** Section sig ...

based from a small UK/ ANA shared FOB somewhere in

Helmand Helmand (Pashto/Dari: ; ), also known as Hillmand, in ancient times, as Hermand and Hethumand, is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan, in the south of the country. It is the largest province by area, covering area. The province contains 13 ...

. She arrives at

Camp Bastion Camp Shorabak (formerly Camp Bastion) is a former British Army airbase, located northwest of the city of Lashkargah in Helmand Province, Afghanistan. The camp was situated in a remote desert area, far from population centres. The camp was built ...

in Afghanistan alongside her new team, 2 Section, who are all men. She is disconcerted when she discovers that an ex-flame, Dylan "Smurf" Smith (

Iwan Rheon Iwan Rheon (, ; born 13 May 1985) is a Welsh actor, singer, and musician. He is best known for his roles as Simon Bellamy in the E4 series '' Misfits'', Ramsay Bolton in the HBO series ''Game of Thrones'', and Mötley Crüe guitarist Mick Ma ...

), belongs to her new section, and gets off on the wrong foot with haughty team leader Captain Charles James ( Ben Aldridge), a hailed war hero. On arrival in Afghanistan, Molly fights to prove herself to the men around her while also offering compassion to the locals, including 11-year-old Afghan girl Bashira (Becky Eggersglusz), giving herself an understanding of what it is like to be a civilian caught up in the Taliban's war.

Series 2 (2016)

Lance Corporal Georgie Lane (

) is dispatched on a humanitarian tour to Kenya with 2 Section, and she quickly becomes involved in the activities of a terrorist group. Georgie's ex-fiancé, Elvis (

Luke Pasqualino Luca Giuseppe "Luke" Pasqualino (born 19 February 1990) is a British actor of Italian descent. He is best known for his portrayal of Freddie McClair in the television series '' Skins'', d'Artagnan in the television series '' The Musketeers'' a ...

), a

special forces Special forces and special operations forces (SOF) are military units trained to conduct special operations. NATO has defined special operations as "military activities conducted by specially designated, organized, selected, trained and equip ...

officer in the

Special Air Service The Special Air Service (SAS) is a special forces unit of the British Army. It was founded as a regiment in 1941 by David Stirling and in 1950, it was reconstituted as a corps. The unit specialises in a number of roles including counter-terro ...

, frequently attempts to regain her trust after jilting her at the altar on their wedding day several years previously. However, Georgie now has a new boyfriend, Dr. Jamie Cole (

Royce Pierreson Royce Pierreson (born 1 April 1989) is a British actor and narrator. Royce is best known for his roles as DC Jamie Desford in the fourth series of '' Line of Duty'' and as Reece in ''Murdered by My Boyfriend.'' He has since appeared as Dr Ja ...

). Molly has been written out of the story, having returned to Afghanistan for a short tour off-screen. It is briefly mentioned by Captain James that he and Molly are now married.

Series 3: Part 1 (2017)

Georgie, now a corporal, is dispatched alongside 2 Section on a humanitarian mission to Nepal following an earthquake. 2 Section discover a group responsible for trafficking children, connected to the

Taliban The Taliban (; ps, طالبان, ṭālibān, lit=students or 'seekers'), which also refers to itself by its state (polity), state name, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a Deobandi Islamic fundamentalism, Islamic fundamentalist, m ...

, which sends them on a covert mission in the heart of Afghanistan supporting special forces. Captain James struggles with the point of British involvement in Afghanistan, and Elvis is desperate to get Georgie back. However, she is uninterested and meets a Nepalese engineer, Milan (Rudi Dharmalingam), whom she takes a shine to. Meanwhile, romance between the two new privates of 2 Section, Maisie (

Shalom Brune-Franklin Shalom Brune-Franklin (born 18 August 1994) is an English-Australian actress known for playing Private Maisie Richards in the BBC series ''Our Girl'', Umm Khulthum in ''The State'' and Aoife in the Australian series ''Doctor Doctor''. She sta ...

) and Rab (Harki Bhambra), blossoms.

Series 3: Part 2 (2018)

Following Elvis's death, Georgie returns to duty as 2 Section are deployed to Nigeria to help the Nigerian Army in the fight against Boko Haram. But when she goes in search of a group of missing children, who are suspected of having been trafficked out of the country, she is kidnapped and held hostage by a group of Boko Haram rebels. Undercover Special Forces Captain "Bones" McClyde (Olly Rix), who has spent the last six months infiltrating Boko Haram, is forced to break cover in order to save Georgie. Later, 2 Section find themselves in Belize for a jungle training exercise. But when Captain James is severely injured by a bandit trap, Georgie is forced to put all her skills into action in a desperate attempt to save him. In Bangladesh, 2 Section are called to assist local police inspector Chowdrey (

Navin Chowdhry Navin Chowdhry (born 1 January 1971) is a British actor He is best known for his roles as Indra Ganesh in Doctor Who Sunil Mitesh in The Job Lot and as Nish Panesar in the BBC soap opera EastEnders. Early life Chowdhry is of Indian-origin and ...

) and his wife Barsha (

Farzana Dua Elahe Farzana Dua Elahe ( bn, ফারজানা দুআ এলাহি; 9 February 1990 is an English actress and music DJ. She is best known for her role of Parveen Abbasi in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders''. Early life Elahe studied at ...

) who are running a refugee camp for thousands forced to flee from their war-torn villages, but Georgie soon begins to suspect the inspector of being involved in the trafficking of prostitutes and drug smuggling.

Series 4 (2020)

On 22 January 2019 it was confirmed by the BBC press office that Michelle Keegan would return for a six-part fourth series shooting in April, airing sometime in 2020. On 13 January 2020, Keegan announced that she had quit the role of Georgie and that this would be her final series. The BBC later confirmed that the show would not continue for a fifth series. in Early March it was announced the fourth series would start airing on 24 March 2020. This season Georgie returns as a sergeant. As 2 Section prepares to return to Afghanistan, Georgie is happy to focus on her training role in the UK and send trainee medic Mimi in her place – especially as she is privately haunted by thoughts of Elvis's death. But with Mimi's confidence dipping after some complex training exercises, Georgie is compelled to return to Afghanistan to support the new recruits. In Kabul, she is pleasantly surprised at how Afghanistan has changed. But on the way to a local hospital in Kabul, she and some of the section are caught up in a suicide attack targeted at Dr Bahil, the hospital administrator and a candidate in upcoming local elections. Georgie learns that the attack was orchestrated by Aatan Omar - Elvis's killer - who is still at large. Meanwhile, the newest members of 2 Section bed in: Prof, an ex-teacher with a painful past; Throbber, the section's clown, who has some growing up to do; and Sandy, their new commanding officer, who is determined to show them who's in charge. Mimi, meanwhile, harbours a secret about her home life.

Reception

The feature-length pilot episode first broadcast on

on 24 March 2013 at 9:00pm. Based on official overnight figures, it gained an audience of 5.34 million viewers. Consolidated viewing increased this figure to 6.31 million. The pilot received mixed to positive reviews, with Dan Owen of

MSN MSN (meaning Microsoft Network) is a web portal and related collection of Internet services and apps for Windows and mobile devices, provided by Microsoft and launched on August 24, 1995, alongside the release of Windows 95. The Microsoft Net ...

praising Turner's acting and the moving storyline, while criticising some of the characterisation and "weird shortcuts in the storyline". Sarah Crompton of ''

The Telegraph ''The Telegraph'', ''Daily Telegraph'', ''Sunday Telegraph'' and other variant names are popular names for newspapers. Newspapers with these titles include: Australia * ''The Telegraph'' (Adelaide), a newspaper in Adelaide, South Australia, publ ...

'' found the pilot "compelling" but argued that "the depiction of the army – which became too obviously her surrogate family – would be better suited to a glossy advertising campaign than a television drama, glamorising both its methods and its personnel". Audience reaction on social media website

Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

was overall positive.

Broadcast

The series premiered in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

on 16 April 2015. In

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

, the series premiered on

TVNZ , type = Crown entity , industry = Broadcast television , num_locations = New Zealand , location = Auckland, New Zealand , area_served = Nationally (New Zealand) and some Pacific Island nations such as the Cook Islands, Fiji, and the So ...

on 3 May 2015. In

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

, the series premiered on SVT on 15 June 2015. In

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

, the series premiered on

Yle Yleisradio Oy ( Finnish, literally "General Radio Ltd." or "General Broadcast Ltd."; abbr. Yle ; sv, Rundradion Ab, italics=no), translated to English as the Finnish Broadcasting Company, is Finland's national public broadcasting company, found ...

on 20 March 2017. On 7 April 2016 the series premiered in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

under the title ''Eine Frau an der Front'' (A Woman on the Frontline) and in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

and

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

under the title ''Molly, une femme au combat'' (''Molly: A Woman In Battle'').

Cast

2 Section

as Private Molly Dawes, MC (pilot–series 1) *

as Lance Corporal/Corporal/Sergeant Georgie Lane (series 2–4) *

Will Attenborough Will Grant Oliver Attenborough (born 26 June 1991) is a British actor known for his roles in '' Photograph 51, Our Girl, Dunkirk,'' and '' The Outpost.'' Career He played the lead role in Jeremy Herrin's production of '' Another Country'' in ...

as Second Lieutenant Oliver 'Sandy' Hurst (series 4) * Ben Aldridge as Captain Charles James (series 1–3) *

Danny Hatchard Danny-Boy Hatchard (born 26 July 1991) is an English actor, known for portraying the role of Lee Carter in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders''. Hatchard's other credits include Aaron in the 2014 film ''We Still Kill the Old Way'' and Steven Pierc ...

as Private Rhett ‘Cheese’ Charlton (series 4) *

Amy-Leigh Hickman Amy-Leigh Hickman (born 16 September 1997) is an English actress. Hickman made her television debut as Carmen Howle in the CBBC series '' Tracy Beaker Returns'', a role she reprised in the sequel series '' The Dumping Ground''. She then went on ...

as Mimi Saunders (series 4) *

Nico Mirallegro ' Nico Cristian Mirallegro ( ; born 26 January 1991) is an English actor. He is best known for his roles as Barry "Newt" Newton in the soap opera ''Hollyoaks'' (2007–2010), Finn Nelson in ''My Mad Fat Diary'' (2013–2015), Joe Middleton in ...

as Private "Prof" Grant (series 4) * Kaine Zajaz as Private Kane "Throbber" Wolfe (series 4) * Simon Lennon as Private Harry "Brains" Wiggerty (series 1–3) * Sean Ward as Private Frankie "Fingers" Stille (series 1–4) * Sean Sagar as Private Jaiden "Monk" Montgomery (series 2–4) *

Rolan Bell Rolan Alfonso Bell (born 17 October 1983) is a British actor who was born in Chiswick, West London,Gillian Fisher"Rolan Bell, Ragtime the Musical" Afridiziak Theatre News, 20 May 2012. of Jamaican origin. He became known for appearing in the B ...

as Colour Sergeant "Kingy" King (series 2–4) * Harki Bhambra as Private Rab Kalil (series 3) *

as Private Maisie Richards (series 3) * Patrick McNamee as Private Jason "Ruby" Curry (series 3) *

John Michie John Michie (born 25 October 1956) is a Scottish television and film actor, known for his roles as DI Robbie Ross in the STV detective drama series '' Taggart'', as Karl Munro in ''Coronation Street'' from 2011–2013 and his role as CEO Guy ...

as Brigadier (series 3) *

Dominic Jephcott Dominic Jephcott (born 1957) is a RADA-trained English actor and writer. He is known for his work in ''The Beiderbecke Affair'', ''The Beiderbecke Connection'', '' Midsomer Murders'', and in '' Holby City'' and ''Casualty'', as the adulterous Doc ...

as Brigadier (series 4) * Adam Astill as Major Beck (series 1) *

as Private Dylan "Smurf" Smith (series 1) * Lawrence Walker as Private "Dangleberries" (series 1–2) * Nick Preston as Private Mike "Mansfield Mike" Cheam (series 1–2) * Arinze Kene as Corporal "Eggy" Kinders (series 1) * Charley Palmer Rothwell as Private "Baz Vegas" (series 1) * Ade Oyefeso as Private "Nude-Nut" (series 1)

Special Forces

as Captain Elvis Harte (series 2–3) * Olly Rix as Captain "Bones" McClyde (series 3) * Mark Armstrong as SFS "Spanner" (series 2–4) * Dwane Walcott as SFS "Peanut" (series 3) * Ashley Houston as SFS "Dyno" (series 3) * Jed O'Hagan as SFS "Spunky" (series 2) * Jack Parry Jones as SFS "Jackson" (series 2–4) *

Ben Batt Ben Batt (born 7 February 1986) is an English actor, best known for his role as the villainous List of Shameless (British TV series) characters#Joe Pritchard, Joe Pritchard in Channel 4's comedy drama ''Shameless (UK TV series), Shameless''. He ...

as SFS "Blue" (series 3–4)

Families

as Belinda Dawes (pilot–series 1) * Sean Gallagher as Dave Dawes (pilot–series 1) *

Mimi Keene Mimi Keene (born 5 August 1998) is an English actress. She is best known for her roles as Cindy Williams on the BBC One soap opera ''EastEnders'' (2013–2015) and Ruby Matthews on the Netflix comedy-drama series ''Sex Education'' (2019–presen ...

as Jade Dawes (pilot) *

Sean Gilder Sean Brian Gilder (born 1 March 1964) is an English stage, film and screen actor, he is also a playwright Gilder was born in Brampton, Cumberland, England. He is best known for his portrayal of Paddy Maguire on '' Shameless'' from 2005 to 2010 ...

as Max Lane (series 2–4) *

Angela Lonsdale Angela Lonsdale ( Smith; 13 October 1967) is an English actress. Biography Born to a policeman father, Lonsdale trained at Brewery Youth Theatre at the Brewery Arts Centre, Kendal. She took part in a large number of amateur productions, includ ...

as Grace Lane (series 2–4) *

Linzey Cocker Linzey is the family name of *Andrew Linzey Andrew Linzey (born 2 February 1952) is an English Anglican priest, theologian, and prominent figure in Christian vegetarianism. He is a member of the Faculty of Theology at the University of Oxford, an ...

as Marie Lane (series 2–4) * Molly Wright as Lulu Lane (series 2) *

as Dr. Jamie Cole (series 2)

Army

as Corporal Geddings;

(pilot) *

Fiona Skinner Fiona is a feminine given name. The name is associated with the Gaelic traditions of Ireland and Scotland (through the poetry of James Macpherson), but has also become popular in England.. It can be considered either a Latinised form of the Gae ...

as Corporal Richards;

(pilot) * Kirsty Averton as Private Jackie Aston;

(series 1)

Alliances (Army)

* Jonas Khan as Captain Azizi;

Afghan National Army Afghan may refer to: *Something of or related to Afghanistan, a country in Southern-Central Asia * Afghans, people or citizens of Afghanistan, typically of any ethnicity **Afghan (ethnonym), the historic term applied strictly to people of the Pas ...

(series 1, 3) * Tamer Burjaq as Sohail;

(series 1) * Zubin Varla as Qaseem;

Teacher A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. whe ...

(series 1) *

Anthony Oseyemi Anthony Oluwakayode Oseyemi (born 17 January 1977) is a British–South African actor of Nigerian descent. He is best known for the roles in the films and teleserials ''Five Fingers for Marseilles'', ''Mordene i Kongo, The Congo Murders'' and '' ...

as Captain Osman;

Kenya Army The Kenya Army is the land arm of the Kenya Defence Forces. History The origin of the present day Kenya Army lie with the British Army's King's African Rifles. In the last quarter of the 19th Century the British began actively enforcing the abo ...

(series 2) * Pranesh Maharaj as Major Thapa;

Nepalese Army The Nepali Army ( ne, नेपाली सेना, translit=Nēpālī Sēnā), technically the Gorkhali Army ( ne, गोरखाली सेना, translit=Gōrakhālī Sēnā, label=none; see ''Gorkhas''), is the land service branch ...

(series 3) *

Steve Toussaint Steve Toussaint (born 22 March 1965) is a British actor and writer. He first gained prominence through his role in the ITV crime drama '' The Knock'' (1994–2000). As of 2022, he plays Corlys Velaryon in the HBO fantasy series ''House of th ...

as Captain Roger Mendez; Belize Armed Forces (series 3) * Patrick Sithole as Adewole;

Nigerian Army The Nigerian Army (NA) is the land force of the Nigerian Armed Forces. It is governed by the Nigerian Army Council (NAC). The Chief of Army Staff is the highest ranking military officer of the Nigerian Army. History Formation The Nigerian ...

(series 3) * Hamza Jeetooa as Captain Das;

Bangladesh Army The Bangladesh Army is the land warfare branch and the largest component of the Bangladesh Armed Forces. The primary mission of the Army is to provide necessary forces and capabilities to deliver the Bangladeshi government's security and def ...

(series 3) *

Josh Bowman Joshua Tobias Bowman (born 4 March 1988) is an English actor best known for his role as Daniel Grayson in ABC's ''Revenge''. Early life Bowman was born in Berkshire on 4 March 1988. He was educated at the Wellington College boarding school. H ...

as (Dr.) Captain Antonio;

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

(series 4) * Nebras Jamali as Cadet Poya

(series 4) * Nabil Elouahabi as Rabee

(series 4)

Alliances

* Yusra Warsama as Nafula - NGO (series 2) * Anna Tena as Kicki - NGO (series 2) * Rudi Dharmaling as Milan - NGO (series 3) *

as Barsha Chowdhrey - NGO (series 3) * Badria Timimi as Dr Bahil (series 4)

Main Enemies

* Aubrey Shelton as Badrai (series 1) * Michael James as Jason Raynott (series 2) * Sabin Basnet as Da Chand (series 3) * Nebras Jamali as Poya (series 4) * Nabil Elouahabi as Aatan/ Aaban Omar (Rabee) (series 4) * Kiroshan Naidoo as Zarek (series 4)

Others

* Becky Eggersglusz as Bashira (series 1) * Salina Shrestha as Tara (series 3) *

as Inspector Chowdhrey (series 3)

Episodes

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Our Girl 2013 British television series debuts 2020 British television series endings 2010s British drama television series 2020s British drama television series BBC high definition shows BBC television dramas British military television series English-language television shows Media and communications in the London Borough of Newham Television shows set in Afghanistan Television shows set in Kenya Television shows set in London Television shows set in Manchester Television shows set in Nepal Television series by BBC Studios Television shows filmed in Nepal