Two major characters in The Hardacres were not in original books as stars unveil changes

The Hardacres is coming to Channel 5 and the series is a must-watch for fans of All Creatures Great and Small. The network is known and loved for its small-screen adaptations of escapist novels.

The new period drama, described as "Downton Abbey meets All Creatures" tells the story of a working-class family who find themselves mixing with high society following a drastic change in circumstances. Similarly, the original books are set from Victorian times into the 1950s.

They tell the story of Sam Hardacre (played by Liam McMahon), his wife Mary (Claire Cooper) and their children as they navigate a different way of life. However, two extra characters were created for the small-screen adaptation and the stars opened up about their behind the scenes experiences.

Julie Graham plays Ma Hardacre, Mary's mother, and Shannon Lavelle plays daughter Liza. Julie opened up in an exclusive interview with the press about the differences between the books and the TV series.

She said: "Ma isn't in the books and I don't think Liza is in the books either. I think they focus very much on the history and the time [the books] are set in.

"There's a huge backdrop so even though it is about the family, it's a huge sprawling historical setting."

All of the cast admitted they did not read the original source material as they felt it was too different from the script.

Julie added: "I didn't read the books, I think if the script hadn't been so vivid I might have gone to the novel but I didn't need to because I think everything was there in the script."

Mary actress Claire said the cast embraced the changes, saying: "They are so different [the books and the series], you don't want to be influenced by something that doesn't happen in our story.

"I had the audiobooks as I'm juggling kids as well and I realised one of the characters doesn't exist and I was like 'Well, that's not our world' so I stopped right there."

Some elements of the books were inspired by the real-life experiences of the author, CL (‘Clem’) Skelton.

Executive producer Lesley McKimm delved into the vision for the series, saying: "We were looking to continue our very successful collaboration with Channel 5 after All Creatures Great and Small and

Channel 5 had said they were interested in exploring a rags to riches-themed series. We found the Hardacre books and it felt like a perfect fit.

"It’s a life-affirming and timely story that explores the search for happiness and the importance of family – themes which feel very relevant in today’s divided world.

"We just felt we had something that had the potential to be heartwarming and that would resonate with audiences."

The Hardacres airs on Channel 5 on October 7 from 9pm