Playground, in association with Screen Ireland, Red Berry Productions, Newgrange Pictures and Banijay Rights for Channel 5  

The Hardacres chronicles the sweeping rags to riches story of a working class family in 1890s Yorkshire. A sprawling family saga, the series follows the lives, loves and fortunes of the Hardacre family as they move from a grimy fish dock to a vast country estate. 

When an accident at work on the docks lands Sam and Mary Hardacre – along with their three kids Joe, Liza and Harry, and Mary’s inimitable mother Ma – unemployed and destitute, they have to think fast. In a bid to avoid the workhouse, the driven and determined Hardacres put their last penny into a radical business venture they hope will free them from their harsh existence on the quays of the North Yorkshire coast. 

A bold, gutsy ensemble family drama full of heart, The Hardacres places an ordinary family in an extraordinary position and explores the age-old question – can money ever buy true happiness?