Poppy Lee Friar plays Eve, a newly-activated gynoid hiding in suburbia as American cousin to schoolboy Will Clarke (Oliver Woollford), the boy who booted her up. Between classes at a British comprehensive, she decodes homework, hormones and the fact that her creator, transhumanist Mary Douglas (Jane Asher), wants her to father a silicon species that will supersede humanity. While Dr. Katherine Calvin (Rhona Croker) closes in for Calimov Systems, Eve relies on Will, his hacker best friend Lily (Eubha Akilade) and Lily’s mercenary little brother Abe (Elijah Ayité) to stay powered and free.
Three series aired on CBBC between 5 January 2015 and 14 December 2016, totalling 35 episodes plus a Christmas special. Writers led by Emma Reeves kept the tone light, but the stakes rose whenever Mary’s scheme advanced or Eve’s batteries dipped below 10%. Multi-camera shooting and a 28-minute slot let the show swap corridor slapstick for corridor chase without losing pace.
Awards followed: Reeves won the Writers’ Guild trophy for episode “Control, Alter, Delete”, the Royal Television Society Scotland handed the show two 2016 gongs, and Friar earned a BAFTA Children’s nomination. After the final credits, CBBC closed the lab for good.
Production Details
CBBC / 3 Seasons / 35 Episodes / 2015
Producer(s): Peter Gallagher Jeremy Swimer Wendy Griffin David Chikwe
Main Cast
Poppy Lee Friar as Eve
Eubha Akilade as Lily
Elijah Ayite as Abe
Oliver Woollford as Will Clarke
Ben Cartwright as Nick Clarke
Jane Asher as Mary Douglas
Claire Charlotte Cassidy as Gretchen
