Lacey Turner Exits BBC One's 'Our Girl', Michelle Keegan Set As New Lead – TVWise

BBC One’s military drama Our Girl is undergoing a fairly major casting shake-up, Lacey Turner (Bedlam), who played lead character Molly Dawes in both the back-door pilot and the five episode first season, is exiting the series and Michelle Keegan (Ordinary Lies) has been set as the new lead for the recently ordered second season
Our Girl originally followed Molly Dawes (Lacey Turner) as she completed her training with the Royal Army Medical Corps and embarked on her first-ever deployment as a serving medic in Afghanistan. The show, which was created by Tony Grounds and produced by BBC Drama Production, began its life as a one-off drama, before the BBC picked it up for a full series in 2013. The first season also starred Iwan Rheon and Ben Aldridge.
It is understood that Lacey Turner’s decision to leave the show was due to her on-going commitments to EastEnders, rather than being a creative move. “I had an amazing time making Our Girl and taking Molly on her journey”, said Turner. “Unfortunately, I won’t be able to take her through this series as I’m currently busy working on EastEnders, but I know that Tony will write a fantastic series full of action and drama with great characters. I hope everyone enjoys making the second series as much as we did the first.”
As a result of Turner’s departure, Our Girl will be undergoing some creative re-tooling in its second season, with the new episodes following Corporal Georgie Lane (Michelle Keegan), and the other members of Two Section on an African mission. Kenya a complicated and volatile posting – one which Georgie will find full of surprises that will challenge her professionally in unexpected ways, and which will change her personal life forever. The show’s second season is set to begin production next January. The executive producers are Caroline Skinner and Tony Grounds.
“With thanks to Lacey for a fabulous first series, we are delighted to welcome Michelle Keegan who will lead the cast in the return of BBC One’s hit drama Our Girl, which will take viewers on an African mission in contemporary Kenya” said BBC One Controller Charlotte Moore, who commissioned the second season alongside recently appointed Controller of Drama Commissioning Polly Hill.
“Excited to be following Two Section on a mission to the Kenya/Somalia border”, added Our Girl creator/writer and executive producer Tony Grounds. “Our new medic Georgie Lane, with tours of Afghan and West Africa under her belt, now has to deal with the fraught, perilous and ever-changing situation in East Africa. It is amazing to have such a talent as Michelle Keegan bringing Georgie Lane to life.”