BBC One Commissions Age Before Beauty

A new series, Age Before Beauty, has been commissioned for BBC One.

The drama centres around a failing family-run salon in Manchester and explores society's desire with staying young, a fear of ageing, instant gratification and long-term relationships. Family feuds and bitter rivalries, both professional and personal, escalate as the lives – and loves – of the workers in the salon are unravelled... amidst the Botox, fillers and face-lifts.

Bel has been married to Wesley for 25 years, but has spent the last 18 years as a homemaker and mum to their twins. Having waved them off to university, she now has a void in her life. Enter Teddy, brother-in-law and long-time best friend, who pleads for her to step in and rescue the family business; a beauty salon in Manchester's Northern Quarter.

The salon employs her high-maintenance family: mother Ivy-Rae (body building coach and spray tan technician), sisters Leanne (part-time nail-technician, part-time personal stylist), Tina ('body artist' aka tattooist) and Heidi (fillers and Botox, Cosmetic Surgery addict) mother to Disney, plump, seven-year-old wannabe Pageant Queen.

Also thrown into the mix is beautiful 20-something Personal Trainer Lorelei who has caught the eye of Wes. Can Bel reconcile the demands of the business, her warring family and the problems in her marriage?

Age Before Beauty is written by Debbie Horsfield and made by Mainstreet Pictures.

Debbie Horsfield said: "I'm thrilled to be working with long-term colleagues Laura Mackie and Sally Haynes again. This will be our first collaboration since Cutting It, and we're looking forward to turning the spotlight on the subject of ageing: growing older gracefully – or disgracefully!"

Laura Mackie added: "Debbie is writing at the top of her game and in Age Before Beauty she's created a colourful and memorable set of characters and a story that examines our obsession with the ageing process in an emotional, entertaining and surprising way."

Charlotte Moore, Director of BBC Content, commented: "Age Before Beauty has it all: a dysfunctional family, bitter rivalries and botox! BBC One is the proud home of Debbie Horsfield's new contemporary series that is set to be the Cutting It for a new generation."

Writer and creator Debbie Horsfield will executive produce the series alongside Laura Mackie and Sally Haynes, Joint Managing Directors of Mainstreet Pictures; and Elizabeth Kilgarriff for the BBC.

Age Before Beauty was commissioned by Charlotte Moore and Lucy Richer, Acting Controller of BBC Drama Commissioning.

www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre

(JP/MH)