UKTV has released the first images from ‘The Cadburys‘, its upcoming six-part period drama about the family behind one of Britain’s most famous chocolate empires, with filming now wrapped in Birmingham ahead of a 2027 launch on U and U&DRAMA.
The new images take us into 1860s Birmingham, where the Cadbury family is still a long way from becoming the confectionery giant we know today. At the centre of the story are brothers Richard and George Cadbury, played by Toby Regbo (Outrageous, A Woman of Substance) and Harry Gilby (Boarders, The Last Kingdom), who find themselves trying to rescue the family’s struggling cocoa business.
George becomes consumed by the challenge of developing solid eating cocoa, while Richard has rather more than chocolate on his mind thanks to a romance with Elizabeth Adlington, played by Poppy Gilbert (The Other Bennet Sister, My Oxford Year).
Their sister Maria, played by Jessica Barden (Dune: Prophecy, You & Me), has her own complications. She’s trying to work out her place within both the family and the business, while also falling for Francis Fry, played by Ben Hardy (The Conjuring: Last Rites, Unicorns). That would be awkward enough in any family. Unfortunately, Francis also happens to be part of Cadbury’s biggest rival, which is probably not the ideal way to keep things peaceful around the dinner table.
The first-look photos also introduce Pearce Quigley (Small Prophets, The Gentlemen) as family patriarch John Cadbury, Joanna Scanlan (Riot Women, Missed Call) as Dorothy Adlington, and Mathew Baynton (Ghosts, A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder) as fellow chocolate and confectionery pioneer Joseph Rowntree.
Previously announced under the working title ‘Chocolate Wars’, ‘The Cadburys’ is inspired by Deborah Cadbury’s book Chocolate Wars and mixes the family’s business ambitions with the relationships, rivalries and romantic entanglements surrounding them. So, essentially, family drama, forbidden romance and industrial-scale chocolate. Frankly, that’s a pretty solid combination for a period series.
The six-part drama is written by Chloë Mi Lin Ewart (Curfew, All Creatures Great and Small, Beyond Paradise), who leads the writing team alongside Eve Hedderwick Turner and Karim Khan. Tom McKay (After the Flood, Ten Pound Poms, There She Goes) and Jill Robertson (A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder, Ludwig, Dalgleish) direct.
Helen Perry, head of drama commissioning at UKTV, said: “We’re excited to reveal the first-look images from The Cadburys, a brilliant new feel-good drama inspired by one of Birmingham’s most iconic stories. The series showcases the exceptional creative talent, locations and production expertise found across the West Midlands, while bringing a story with deep roots in the region to audiences across the UK and beyond. We’re proud to be working with our partners to bring this major new drama to screen and champion the West Midlands as a centre for world-class television production.”
The production has certainly kept things local. Filming recently concluded in Birmingham, while the first-look images are also being showcased at the West Midlands Growth Summit. The drama is produced by Fable Pictures in association with Alfresco Pictures, with Sony Pictures Television handling international distribution.
For UK viewers, ‘The Cadburys’ will be a U&Original, launching free on streaming service U and also airing on U&DRAMA. Internationally, BritBox has confirmed the drama will stream in North America in 2027.
‘The Cadburys‘ premieres in 2027 on U and U&DRAMA.
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