The Gunpowder and Glory Girls

1943, Hampshire. Pixie Saunders is 19 and employed in the local armaments factory. Not for the first time, her mother has run off with a dodgy-looking bloke, leaving Pixie to pay the rent and fend for herself. Pixie, along with her best friend, Rita; Em, the factory overseer; and the rest of the girls are making the most of the war while trying to stay alive. The work is dangerous and the hours long, but in the evenings they take off their overalls and go to the pub or, better still, go dancing.

Sunderland, 1940, and the women go to the shipyards to do their bit for the war effort. Polly never dreamed she would be able to work in the shipyards like the men in her family but times are tough and her new job ends up giving her more than she ever expected when she meets enigmatic dock diver Tommy Watts. During the day, head welder Rosie teaches her fledgling flock of trainees their new trade, but at night she hides a secret life. And mother hen Gloria signs up to escape her brutal husband, but finds she cannot run....

The festive season is approaching, and the Bomb Girls are determined to make this a year to remember. With Myrtle's health in decline, Edna's love life beginning to take flight and a shy new arrival in their midst, life is never quiet in Pendle. But Gladys, back from performing for the troops, is sullen and sad, and her friends are sure she is hiding something.

Gosport, Hampshire, 1943, and even in the middle of war the local pub provides a warm welcome, thanks to its trio of barmaids. Ruby has been living and working at the Point of No Return pub since her parents were killed by a bomb. She loves the bustle of the pub; it helps take her mind off worrying about her fiance, Joe, away fighting in France.

Rainey Bird, Ivy Sparrow and Bea Herron all love to sing. For Rainey, music has been a solace during the upheaval of starting a new life with her mother, away from her abusive dad. Bea finds a confidence when she sings that she cannot get from anything else. Ivy sees it as her best chance of making a life away from Gosport and a dead-end job.  The three of them sing in a choir run by the strict but kind Mrs Wilkes. The choir provides a couple of hours of stardust each week, away from school and work and family worries.

As WWII rolls across Europe, Kitty boards a ship set for England. Money is what she really needs right now, especially with tiny baby Billy back in Dublin. In Lancashire, Kitty settles into the hard work and soon makes new friends, playing in the Bomb Girls Swing Band by night. Life seems to be looking up. But when a letter arrives from home, she realises she might need her friends’ help before it's too late and she loses her baby forever....

Vee Smith is 22 when she starts work on Gosport's ferries, taking a job left vacant by the men gone off to war. She soon makes friends with the other women workers, and together they enjoy nights out dancing in Gosport. Vee even feels herself falling for Sam, the skipper of the ferry and her unhappily married boss. But Vee has a secret: her real name is Violetta Schmidt, and she is half German. If her true nationality is discovered, she and her mother could find themselves interned as enemy aliens.

When sixteen-year-old Sally is evacuated to the English south coast, she is terrified by what lies ahead of her. All she knows are the sights and sounds of London's East End – but Sally swallows her tears as they leave the familiar landmarks behind, knowing that she has to be a Grown-Up Girl and play mother to her six-year-old brother Ernie. Playing mother is nothing new for Sally – their real mother Florrie, a good-time girl, hasn't even come to the station to wave them off and Ernie, crippled at an early age by polio, is used to depending on his older sister.

During World War Two, Churchill declared that 'beauty was duty'. But for the women working at the Yardley cosmetics factory in London's East End, it's friendship and family. Nineteen-year-old Lily Gunn runs the conveyor belt in the factory's Lipstick Room with tight reins, though of all the women working there it's her 16-year-old sister who gives her the most trouble. Especially when Rene's new boyfriend Ronnie gets called up to fight, leaving Rene alone and with a big problem.... 

Lillian is distraught - she must register for compulsory war work. Emily is also furious - her dream job as a chef will have to be put on hold, whilst Alice must abandon her plans of college. Staring at an identical letter, Elsie feels a kindling of hope, and down in London Agnes is packing her bags with a smile. Sharing grief and joy, lost dreams and gained opportunities, the five new bomb girls will find friendship and strength that they never before thought possible.

1940, Liverpool: Alice Turner and her best friend, Millie Markham, work for the war effort at Rootes munitions factory, making shell caps and Halifax bombers. Alice’s sweetheart, Terry, is home from the front for a brief period of leave. But the honeymoon is soon over. Terry must go back to the dangers of Nazi-occupied France, and the ever-present air raid sirens quickly bring Alice back down to earth. 

Meet The East End Angels, the newest members of Station Seventy-Five's ambulance crew. Strong-willed Winnie loves being part of the crew at Station Seventy-Five, but her parents are less than happy. She has managed to avoid their pleas to join the WRENS so far, but when a tragedy hits too close to home she finds herself wondering if she's cut out for this life after all. Former housemaid Bella was forced to leave the place she loved when she lost it all, and it's taken her a while to find somewhere else to call home. She's finally starting to build a new life, but when the air raids begin, it seems she may have to start over once again.

Alice Lake has arrived in London from Liverpool to start her training as a District Nurse, but her journey has been far from easy. Her parents think that she should settle down and get married, but she has already had her heart broken once and isn’t about to make the same mistake again. Alice and her best friend, Edith, are based in the East End, but before they’ve even got their smart new uniforms on, war breaks out, and Hitler’s bombs are raining down on London.

Maureen Jackson is a prisoner of her father's blackmail. Three years ago, she'd been hoping to marry Rory, the man of her dreams. However, after her mother's death, Maureen was left to care for her overbearing father. Now Rory is back in London with his pregnant wife and reminds Maureen of the life that should have been hers. With the war looming, Janet Ashley hopes to marry her sweetheart Mike, but her father refuses to grant them his blessing. Janet finds herself pregnant and her mother Peggy is determined to hold her family together.

It's 1941 and Britain is at war. For the aristocratic Walsingham family this means their grand home being taken over by the armed forces. But for newcomers Ava, Maudie and Bella, this is a chance for something more. Each is ready to do their part for the war effort and soon become firm friends. But Lord Edward Walsingham seems like he is hiding something. And although he may be clever, he might have met his match in Maudie and the girls....