In advance of the Australian broadcast of Banished, the Guardian has included the show in an Antipodean news roundup. The show has gathered some controversy (already addressed by Jimmy McGovern during the UK broadcast), regarding the lack of indigenous Australians in series 1. Read the article in full on the Guardian website - the broadcast on BBC First begins on June 25th.

The BBC’s first local commission, Banished, starring David Wenham as Governor Arthur Phillip, debuts on Foxtel’s BBC First on 25 June. Filmed locally, it’s the story of British settlement of Australia in the 18th century and was written by Jimmy McGovern of Cracker fame. McGovern also worked on the scripts for ABC TV’s acclaimed series Redfern Now. A seven-part series, Banished was very popular when it screened in Britain in March and McGovern says it is his best work. But there is some controversy over the all-white cast and it will be interesting to see how it plays out here.

Not wanting to get it wrong in his portrayal of Aborigines, McGovern chose not to include any indigenous characters at all. “It is difficult to exaggerate how important it is to get the portrayal of indigenous Australians right,” he told the Independent. “The time frame of Banished is very short – something just over two weeks. Hopefully if there is another series there would be time to collaborate and get representation right.”