''Bombshell'' is a

British television Television broadcasts in the United Kingdom began in 1932, however, regular broadcasts would only begin four years later. Television began as a public service which was free of advertising, which followed the first demonstration of a transm ...

military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. Militaries are typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with their members identifiable by a d ...

drama series, produced by Shed Productions, the company behind '' Bad Girls'', ''

Footballers' Wives ''Footballers' Wives'' is a British television drama about fictional Premier League football club Earls Park F.C., its players and their wives. It was broadcast on ITV from 2002 to 2006. The show initially focuses on three very different coupl ...

'', and '' Waterloo Road''. The series, originally commissioned by Shed Productions in early 2004, focuses on the day-to-day workload of officers and soldiers in the British Army, and was subsequently given the nickname ''Army Wives'' by the British press. The series was first teased by the creators in March 2002, and was described as "a focus on how the army is changing with the recruitment of more women and a more lenient attitude to homosexuality." The series was initially offered to the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

, but the producers were unhappy with the rights deal initially offered by the channel. The series attracted a strong initial casting, with

Zöe Lucker Zöe Elizabeth Lucker (born 11 April 1974) is an English actress. She is known for her roles as Tanya Turner in the ITV drama series, ''Footballers' Wives''; Vanessa Gold in the long-running BBC One soap opera, ''EastEnders''; Carol Barry in ...

Bertie Carvel Robert Hugh Carvel (born 6 September 1977) is a British film and theatre actor. He has twice won a Laurence Olivier Award: for Best Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical for his role as Miss Trunchbull in '' Matilda the Musical'', and for Best ...

and Rosie Marcel among the first cast members confirmed to star in the series. After filming completed, ITV announced that the series was scheduled to be aired in February 2005. After the series failed to materialise, there was suggestion that the series could launch on

ITV2 ITV2 is a Television in the United Kingdom, British free-to-air television channel owned by ITV Digital Channels, a division of ITV plc. It was launched on 7 December 1998. For a number of years, it had the largest audience share after the fiv ...

instead, but this did not happen, and the series has never been officially broadcast in the UK. An ITV spokesperson claimed that the reason the series was shelved was due to the "undeniable similarities" between the series and ''

Ultimate Force ''Ultimate Force'' is a British television Action movie, action drama television series, series that was shown on ITV (TV network), ITV, which deals with the activities of Red Troop of the SAS (Special Air Service). The first episode was broad ...

'', which at the time, was struggling in the ratings, with two series having been cancelled mid-run due to poor ratings. However, just over a year later, the series was shown on TV One in

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

in 2006, and on the

Hallmark Channel Hallmark Channel is an American cable television network owned by Hallmark Media, a subsidiary of Hallmark Cards. The channel broadcasts family-oriented general entertainment programming, including television series and made-for-TV movies. ...

in Australia in 2008. A DVD of the series was also released on 3 March 2007 in

. A spin-off series, entitled ''Bombshell Bootcamp'', which followed the cast as they trained at an Army Boot Camp in Bracknell in preparation for their roles in the series, was also due to air on

Cast

— Captain Jenna Marston * Andrew McKay — Gunner Luke Bates * Robert Beck — Bombardier Boyd Billington * Emma Rydal — Cheryl Cotter * Rosie Marcel — Gunner Stacey Dawes * Lucy Cohu — Valerie Welling *

— Lieutenant Roddy Frost *

Felix Scott Felix Scott is a British actor who played the role of Charlie Thomas in the BBC Radio 4 soap ''The Archers'' from 2014 to 2016.BBC Radio 4 - The Archers -Charlie Thomas, 5 December 2014 He has also appeared in the television series ''Holby Cit ...

— Gunner Adam Hodges * Jeremy Sheffield — Major Nicholas Welling * Michael Obiora — Gunner Jackson Clark * Daisy Dunlop — Gunner Karina Fuller *

Chris Geere Christopher William Geere (born 18 March 1981) is an English actor. He is known for playing the lead role of Jimmy Shive-Overly in the FX and FXX dark comedy series ''You're the Worst'' (2014), Roger Clifford in the 2019 film '' Detective Pik ...

— Gunner Dean McGowan *

Alicya Eyo Alicya Eyo (born 16 December 1975) is an English actress, best known for her roles as Denny Blood in the ITV prison drama series '' Bad Girls'' and Ruby Haswell in the ITV soap opera ''Emmerdale''. Early life Eyo was born on 16 December 1975 ...

— Gunner Gaynor Harvey * Simon Sherlock — Lance Bombardier Terry Cotter * Bob Cryer — Guy Corderey * Alix Wilton Regan — Sophie Welling

Episode list

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bombshell (Tv Series) TVNZ 1 original programming 2006 British television series debuts 2006 British television series endings 2000s British drama television series ITV television dramas British crime drama television series 2000s British television miniseries Television series by Warner Bros. Television Studios British English-language television shows Television shows set in Berkshire