Sadly that isn't going to happen - simply because BBC Two has cancelled the series. The BBC agreed to that and I then approached several Indigenous writers to tell them of my plans and to see if they were interested in writing with me. Credit: Mark Rogersīruised by my experience on the miniseries, I told them I would do so only if the BBC allowed me to introduce Indigenous stories (fictional and non-fictional) written by Indigenous writers in any subsequent episodes. Scene from the series Banished airing on BBC First. Because I'd remained fascinated by the story of Australia's first hangman (a story I'd discovered during research for the miniseries) I said I'd write them a short (7-part) fictional drama, set in the first few weeks of the establishment of the British penal colony, expanding that original idea. Years later the BBC asked me to write them a new drama series. That show was turned down by both the BBC and ABC. The first ninety minutes told the story from the point of view of the Indigenous people and the second ninety minutes told it from the convicts' perspective. Mac described how several years ago he and I wrote - over a couple of years - a three-hour miniseries about the events of 1788. Alecia Simmonds' recent article misrepresents what I said on the show and ignores what Mac Gudgeon also said on the same programme. I discussed this recently on ABC Radio National's The List. To understand this show, it's useful to understand its roots. Within seven episodes and with a story arc of two weeks there wasn't time to tell that story too in the way it deserved, however I was clear that any second series would tell the Aboriginal experience as the settlers expanded beyond the confines of the camp. Instead it concentrates on a specific set of fictional events which take place over a couple of weeks within the confines of the camp – a story about a love triangle and how Australia got its first hangman. But Banished is not a drama about the settlement of Australia, it is not a broad, sweeping colonial history taking in months or even years of events. I can also understand how people would find it strange that a drama about British settlement of Australia wouldn't show any Aboriginal people. ![]() I have had the pleasure of working with a number of Indigenous writers over the years, including as story editor on Redfern Now, and I know how important their story is and how important it is to get the portrayal of Indigenous Australians right. ![]() There has been a lot of comment about the lack of Aboriginal characters in Banished and I can understand why. BBC's Banished re-tells our own history with David Wenham at the helm.Convicts and sex slaves: sorting the fact from the fiction in British TV series 'Banished'.
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