California Avenue: cast, plot and everything we know

California Avenue is a new BBC One drama set in a 1970s caravan park. By award-winning writer and director Hugo Blick, the cast includes Bill Nighy, Helena Bonham Carter, Erin Doherty and Tom Burke. 

Set in a secluded canal-side caravan park in the English countryside, the six-parter follows Lela (Erin Doherty) who is on the run with her 11-year-old child. Bill Nighy and Helena Bonham Carter play Lela’s parents, Jerry and Eddie, while Strike star Tom Burke is the outcast, Cooper. 

“Over the past few decades, whether through comedy, political dramas or even a western, I’ve looked to explore what television fiction can be,” says Hugo Blick. “California Avenue is an exploration of the people who inspired me to want to do this.” 

Here’s everything we know about the BBC One drama California Avenue...

California Avenue release date

California Avenue is a six-part series that will air on BBC One and BBC iPlayer, probably not until 2026 at least. When a date is announced, we’ll update this page. 

California Avenue plot

California Avenue follows Lela, who is on the run with her child and looks for refuge in the hidden world of a canal-side trailer park. The BBC press synopsis says, ‘it is here that a fractured family will come together, ghosts and demons will firmly be put to rest and an unexpected love is forged.’

California Avenue cast  — Erin Doherty as Lela

Erin Doherty plays runaway Lela. She recently starred in the hit Netflix series Adolescence and played the young Princess Anne in The Crown. She’s also starred in A Thousand Blows, Chloe, Reawakening, Firebrand and Call The Midwife. 

Bill Nighy as Jerry

Bill Nighy is playing Lela’s dad Jerry. He’s been in a host of hit movies including Love Actually, Joy, The Beautiful Game, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, The Constant Gardener, Pirates of the Caribbean, Notes on a Scandal and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. 

Helena Bonham Carter as Eddie

Helena Bonham Carter is playing Lela’s mum Eddie. Helena has also had a stellar career, gaining recognition for the 1980s movie A Room With A View, but has since had notable roles in Nolly, The Crown, Cinderella, the Harry Potter movies, Les Misérables, The King’s Speech, Planet of the Apes and Alice in Wonderland. 

Tom Burke as Cooper

Tom Burke plays an 'outsider' called Cooper. He’s best known for the BBC1 series Strike and has also been in The Wonder, Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, The Lazarus Project, The Musketeers and War and Peace. 

Who else is starring?

Further cast for California Avenue has yet to be announced. We'll update when we hear more.

Is there a trailer? 

No but when a trailer is released closer to the release date, we’ll add it to this page. 

Behind the scenes, filming news and more about California Avenue

California Avenue started filming during the summer of 2025 in and around Hertfordshire in southern England.

It's produced by Drama Republic, makers of One Day and Doctor Foster, and created, written, and directed by Hugo Blick (see more on him below). The producer is Colin Wratten (The English, Lockerbie: A Search for Truth), and the executive producers are Hugo Blick for Eight Rooks, Greg Brenman for Drama Republic, Bill Nighy, Helena Bonham Carter, and Lucy Richer for the BBC. Mediawan Rights and Entourage Media will distribute the series internationally.

Executive producer and Drama Republic co-founder Greg Brenman, says: “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.”

Lindsay Salt, Director of BBC Drama, says: "Hugo Blick has given us some of the finest television of the past three decades and it’s an honour to join forces with him alongside Bill, Helena, Erin, Tom and Drama Republic to take BBC viewers on the journey of a lifetime to 1970s California Avenue."

 All about California Avenue writer Hugo Blick 

Hugo Blick wrote, directed and produced the 2022 miniseries The English. He’s also the man behind The Honourable Woman, Black Earth Rising, The Shadow Line, Operation Good Guys and Marion & Geoff.