Why Brassic Starring Michelle Keegan And Joe Gilgun Has Been Ladbible

Leo Migdal

-Dec 14, 2025, 4:55 AM

why brassic starring michelle keegan and joe gilgun has been ladbible

The Sky comedy series Brassic will be coming to an end after its upcoming seventh season, but star Michelle Keegan has been quick to point out it hasn’t been ‘axed’. Created by Joe Gilgun and Danny Brocklehurst, the series first hit screens in 2019 and followed Vinnie O’Neill (Gilgun) and his friends in the fictional northern English town of Hawley. Making their way by committing petty crimes, some of the group start to question if there might be more to life as they get older and consider what opportunities await them outside their hometown. Michelle plays Erin Croft, while Damien Molony stars as Dylan Golding and Tom Hanson as Leslie ‘Cardi’ Titt. Although the seventh season is currently in production, with the stars spotted on set earlier this month, the creators confirmed they’ve decided to call time on the show. This led to some commentary that the show had been cancelled, but Michelle, 37, took to Instagram to shut down the speculation.

Michelle Keegan's popular Sky drama Brassic, where she has shone in the leading role of Erin, is reportedly set to be axed. Keegan, who is expecting her first child with husband Mark Wright, has garnered a fresh wave of admirers through her portrayal in Brassic. Despite the show's recent acclaim, TV executives have decided to pull the plug after its six-year run, suggesting that ending the series isn't necessarily negative. The actress, who initially rose to fame on Coronation Street, has been at the forefront of Brassic alongside co-star Joe Gilgun since its debut in 2019. The currently in-production seventh series, which will broadcast later this year, will mark the final chapter for the beloved characters. Creators of the show have expressed their amazement at how far the programme has come.

Just last week, Keegan was on set filming and did not hint to fans that her character Erin would soon be leaving their screens for good, reports the Mirror. Danny Brocklehurst, the co-creator and writer, shared: "When Joe Gilgun and I sat down to create Brassic, we couldn't have imagined, in our wildest dreams, that we would do seven series and gather such... It has been on our TV screens for five years, but Brassic has never been bigger than it is right now. The Sky comedy show has won an army of new fans since its first four series arrived on Netflix UK in August, with old fans also returning to binge-watch the show all over again. This presents a new lease of life for a show that was rumoured to be on the chopping block at Sky earlier this year. Then, it was renewed for a seventh series, before the sixth has even begun airing.

So why is Brassic suddenly a hot commodity? Brassic takes its name from the Cockney rhyming slang phrase "boracic lint", meaning "skint". The show is the brainchild of actor Joseph Gilgun — best known as Woody in the This Is England series — and Bafta-winning writer Danny Brocklehurst, whose telly pedigree includes Shameless and, more recently,... The series takes place in the fictional Northern town of Hawley, inspired by Gilgun's own experiences in his Lancashire hometown Chorley. He plays the small-time crook Vinnie O'Neill, who leads a ragtag gang of characters including Michelle Keegan's Erin, Damien Molony's Dylan, and Tom Hanson's Carid in various criminal misdeeds. Read more: Brassic S5 review: Sky comedy hits new heights (Yahoo Entertainment)

We earn a commission for products purchased through some links in this article. The much-loved comedy is set for an "unforgettable" send-off. Long-running comedy drama Brassic – one of Sky’s most successful shows – is set to bow out after one last run and it's set to be an unmissable finale series. Alongside the show’s co-creator Joe Gilgun, who leads as the quick-witted and reckless Vinnie O’Neill, Michelle Keegan will make an emotional return in what will no doubt be a memorable seventh series. Set in the fictional northern English village of Hawley, the cult series has followed a gang of lovably chaotic, cash-strapped friends – characters which fans soon became attached to. Yet for all its mischief and escapades, Brassic has drawn praise for platforming important themes including mental health issues, with Gilgun stating that some of his own struggles are mirrored in Vinnie’s.

Co-creator and series writer Danny Brocklehurst reflected on the show coming to an end, saying: “It’s been a complete joy to create this eccentric world, but all good things must come to an end,... Maybe they can finally give us that BAFTA!” As it developed, Brassic was a show that relished contradiction, skillfully fusing surreal humor with grim realism. The fundamental nature of Joe Gilgun’s Vinnie was one of both tenderness and destruction, representing the unpredictable nature of a man who could suddenly display shocking vulnerability after launching an absurd plot. Audiences found resonance in that balance because it was very evident that this character was based on real-life experiences rather than TV clichés. Erin was portrayed by Michelle Keegan in a way that grounded the story in a fight for something more than humorous chaos.

Her character’s drive and heartache brought to light the tension between wanting a better life and being bound to friends who seemed destined for disaster. The show’s emotional range was greatly expanded by this dynamic, which helped it appeal to audiences far outside of the comedy genre. Every character in the ensemble had a variety of eccentricities that made the show never feel flat. Joanna Higson’s Sugar, with her witty wit, and Ryan Sampson’s Tommo, with his outrageous schemes, contributed storylines that significantly enhanced the series’ depth following its second season. Brassic demonstrated the ability to turn supporting characters into narrative pillars, mirroring television’s increasing trend away from single heroes and toward group storytelling. By employing Lancashire’s landscapes as extensions of the characters rather than merely as backgrounds, Brassic’s cinematography added yet another level of complexity.

The local pubs, rolling hills, and terraced streets all served as cultural markers that were very effective at establishing context and mood. In the same way that Shameless made Manchester famous in the early 2000s, Brassic was able to establish its own distinct geographic identity by portraying the North as a place of both comedy and... The status of Brassic as a cultural touchstone had already been established by the time Sky revealed its seventh and final season. With many shows ending in half that amount of time, reaching fifty episodes is no small feat in British television. Its ability to consistently strike a balance between ridiculous humor and somber undertones has been incredibly successful in maintaining viewers’ attention. It was especially creative to decide to end the story on a positive note rather than drag it out, guaranteeing that its legacy would endure.

Actress Michelle Keegan has bid an emotional farewell to Sky comedy Brassic ahead of the show's final series. The 37-year-old stars as Erin in the award-winning comedy, which follows petty criminal Vinnie O'Neill and the various shenanigans he gets up to with his friends in the fictional northern town of Hawley. Creator and star Joe Gilgun announced last year that the show would be ending after its seventh series and with filming now over, Michelle has paid tribute to the series in a gushing Instagram... "Goodbye Erin," she wrote alongside a crying emoji. "So finally the Brassic journey has come to an end (feels so strange saying that) and what an unbelievable 7 years it’s been. I feel so privileged to have been a small part of such a mighty show.

"From the moment I read the 1st script I knew this job was going to be special & it definitely was. Thank you to everyone who worked on the show over the years for the laughs, friendship and more importantly the memories… What a magical 7 years we had." Alongside the heartfelt caption, Michelle shared a carousel of behind-the-scenes photos and videos from set of her with the rest of the cast.

Why Brassic Starring Michelle Keegan And Joe Gilgun Has Been Ladbible

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