Channel 4 announces cast of Lucy Kirkwood drama Adult Material

28 May 2019

Hayley Squires (I, Daniel Blake, The Miniaturist) to play lead character Jolene Dollar in Lucy Kirkwood’s upcoming Channel 4 drama, Adult Material. She is joined by Siena Kelly (Vanity Fair, Temple), Kerry Godliman (Afterlife, Save Me), Joe Dempsie (Game of Thrones, Deep State), Julian Ovenden (Downton Abbey, Knightfall), Phil Daniels (A Very Very Very Dark Matter, Sliced) and Rupert Everett (Another Country, My Best Friend's Wedding, The Happy Prince).

Set in modern Britain, the 4 x 60’s drama from Fifty Fathoms delves inside the porn industry from the perspective of a woman who has been working in it her entire adult life and has seen it grow from an illegitimate backroom enterprise to a mainstream and highly profitable arm of the telecommunications industry. Adult Material will interrogate what’s real, what’s fake, what’s up for sale and the impact that these things have on the individuals involved. 

Squires plays Jolene Dollar, a regular mother of three, who is proudly the breadwinner of the family. But Jolene doesn’t have the most conventional of careers: she is one of the top porn performers in the UK. Adult Material ventures into Jolene’s world - to a place that influences all of our lives, whether we know it or not, but none of us ever truly see.

One day on set, Jolene is introduced to Amy (played by Siena Kelly). Amy is 19, not much older than Jolene’s oldest daughter, Phoebe (played by Alex Jarrett). Jolene looks after Amy the way that she looks after every new girl on set, but she can’t protect Amy from her own choices, and soon her relationship with this unstable young woman will see Jolene’s own career and home life start to unravel.

Rupert Everett plays Jolene’s long-term friend, producer and businessman, Carroll Quinn. Carroll has been in the business a long time and has seen the porn industry change to a multi-million-dollar proposition.  He’s constantly trying to keep up with the times and technology.  Joe Dempsie plays Rich, Jolene’s loving and dedicated long-term partner. Julian Ovenden plays the US porn Kingpin, Tom Pain, a man from porn’s most extreme quarter, for whom ‘no’ doesn’t exist. Kerry Godliman plays MP, Stella Maitland, whose life becomes intertwined with Jolene’s when they form an unlikely friendship. Stella comes to her defence when Jolene’s career, family, and reputation are in tatters.

Hayley Squires commented; “I am so excited and incredibly grateful to be playing Jolene Dollar, she is like the wildest dream. Lucy has written the most complex, multi-faceted and morally challenging story. Throughout each episode you are constantly forced to question your own judgement and beliefs and that makes for the very best drama. I’m very lucky to be part of a female-led crew and an incredibly talented cast.”

Adult Material (4 x 60’) is now overseen by C4's current Head of C4 Drama, Caroline Hollick and Lee Mason, Commissioning Editor, at Channel 4, who commissioned the series alongside former C4 Head of Drama, Beth Willis. The series is produced by Fifty Fathoms and is Executive Produced by Patrick Spence and Lucy Kirkwood. The series is directed by Dawn Shadforth. The drama will go into production this summer and will be distributed by Endemol Shine International.