Are Cosmetic Treatments Ruining Period Dramas? Viewers of 10 Pound Poms ‘difficulty enjoying series’

By their very nature, historical dramas are supposed to transport viewers to a different time frame.

But while the genre has exploded in popularity recently, there’s one aspect of the dramas that seems to keep them firmly grounded in the 21st century: the cosmetically enhanced faces of the casts.

Earlier this month, the new series 10 Pound Poms – starring Michelle Keegan and Faye Marsay – aired on BBC One.

The show follows a group of fictional Britons who took advantage of the Australian government’s offer to transport them around the world and provide them with subsidized housing and jobs for £10 per person.

But while critics have praised Michelle’s “sneaky and secretive” performance as nurse Kate, viewers have admitted they struggle to immerse themselves in the show thanks to the star’s very modern look.

One tweeted, “Really enjoyed the first episode of this show but damn who knew you could get fake tan and Botox in 1950s Manchester?

“All the actors are great, but Michelle Keegan really isn’t cut out for this kind of role.”

Another added, “Michelle Keegan’s Botox is completely out of place in the 1950s.”

A third groaned, “I’m struggling with the pocket money in Ten Pound Poms. It’s so imprecise – for example, no one would have said “oh my days”.

“It’s annoying that the screenwriters didn’t do enough research to make it more accurate. Michelle Keegan’s Botox is very distracting.”

Moreover, The TelegraphArts and Entertainment Editor Anita Singh noted that the 35-year-old doesn’t have a “period drama face” in her three-star review of the show.

She wrote, “She has the lustrous hair and flawless complexion of the Love Island generation, and one of those faces where only the bottom half moves.”

In the meantime, The independentNick Hilton of Nick Hilton echoed this sentiment in his review, adding, “If you can forgive the blatantly 21st-century dental work, her sneaky, secretive Kate carries all the thrills that Ten Pound Poms otherwise sorely lack.”

Michelle Keegan – who has always denied ever having plastic surgery to change her appearance – has previously admitted that her eyebrows have been microbladed to give them their neat and solid shape.

Speak against Hello! in 2019, the star explained, “I love [microblading]”I haven’t had mine done in two years now, and they do fade, but it just gives you a good template on how to shape your brows.”

But in an interview with the Mirror in 2016, the actress denied ever having had Botox.

She said: ‘Everyone says I changed my face and I had botox, but as an actress you have to be able to move your face – and I can do that.

“So you can see I haven’t had it. I don’t worry about what people say though, what’s the problem with Botox? I know a lot of people who have had it, it’s not a big deal.’

However, 10 Pound Poms isn’t the only drama that has had viewers distracted by the modern look of its 21st century cast.

When Netflix’s Bridgerton landed on the streaming platform in December 2020, the series was watched by a whopping 82 million households in the first month alone.

While the fiction series has seen a renewed interest in period dramas among younger audiences, there’s no denying that the cast – including Phoebe Dynevor and Rege-Jean Page – adheres very much to modern beauty standards.

After devouring the first season, one fan tweeted, “Bridgerton is ultimately about face fillers.”

Another added, “Bridgerton made me realize I want jawline fillers.”

After the second season landed last year, others speculated that Jonathan Bailey – who plays Anthony Bridgerton – had some work done, something the actor has never said publicly.

They tweeted, “Think he’s had Botox. In his new Showtime series [Fellow Travelers]his character is quite young and naive in the beginning.

“In Bridgerton, they just draped his hair over his forehead in flashbacks to hide the lines — but they probably ‘can’t get away with that right now.’

Echoing this sentiment, another said, “There are times when an actor who gets cast in a period drama just looks like he knows what a cell phone is.

“I don’t have a problem with cosmetic surgery, but a visibly enhanced face is… well… distracting.”

Plus, Dakota Johnson, 33 — who played Anne Elliot in the 2020 Netflix Persuasion adaptation — looked noticeably fresher than her predecessor Ann Firbank.

In 1971, the then 38-year-old actress landed the title role for the ITV adaptation.

Despite there being only a five-year age difference between the two actresses, Dakota looked drastically younger than Anne thanks to her smooth forehead and thick pout.

While the star has never admitted to doing any cosmetic work, she did tell Fashion Australia in 2022 that she uses Maude’s Drop vibrator on her face and praised the “amazing” results.

She later told InStyle, “A vibrator can theoretically be used over the sinuses, along the forehead and cheekbones to stimulate lymphatic drainage.”

In 2020, Anya Taylor-Joy, 27, was cast as the lead in the Emma remake – a role Kate Beckinsale took on 24 years earlier.

Although the two actresses were about the same age in both adaptations, Anya’s sculpted brows and glowing skin gave her a noticeably more modern look than her fresh-faced predecessor.