Hot on the heels of the conclusion of Gentlemen Jack and Happy Valley, Sally Wainwright is back with her latest show: swashbuckling fantasy adventure series Renegade Nell<\/a>, which follows Nell Jackson (played with verve by Derry Girls actress Louisa Harland), a young 18th-century highwaywoman with sporadic supernatural powers. <\/span><\/p>\n The Disney Plus<\/a> series marks a different direction for Wainwright in many ways. Toeing the line between young adult and adult, it feels like a mash-up of Merlin, Robin Hood and Enola Holmes, with humour, fantasy and feminism all thrown into the mix.<\/span><\/p>\n But just like Wainwright\u2019s previous shows, Renegade Nell is anchored by a magnificent heroine. We first meet Harland\u2019s Nell as she returns from fighting \u2013 dressed as a man \u2013 in the Battle of Blenheim, and is hijacked in the forest by famed highwayman Isambard Tulley, who soon gets more than he bargained for. <\/span><\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019re not a man,\u201d he says, to which Nell responds, \u201cAnd?\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n That\u2019s not the only surprise he gets, as a tiny winged magical spirit called Billy Blind (Nick Mohammed) appears, whizzes in Nell\u2019s mouth, and bestows her with the ability to do things like catch bullets and fling Tulley and his gang across the forest floor.<\/span><\/p>\n Upon arriving back in Tottenham, Nell causes more chaos when she discovers the local landowner\u2019s son Thomas Blancheford (Jake Dunn, magnificently villainous) has been bullying her family for fun during her absence. Her stay there proves short-lived, however, when she\u2019s framed for a murder she didn\u2019t commit.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Nell grows determined to clear her name. But forced on the run and into a life of crime, she soon manages to become the most feared highwaywoman in the land \u2013 only complicating her situation further. <\/span><\/p>\n A wildly enjoyable romp ensues as Nell\u2019s enemies \u2013 both mortal and magical \u2013 do all they can to hunt her down.<\/span><\/p>\n [squirrel-affiliate-playlist squirrel_playlist_id=\u201d612\u2033 \/]<\/p>\n Harland\u2019s fight sequences are very funny and genuinely thrilling, and revel in their absurdity \u2013 her opponents only strike at convenient times and, in one scene, chase her out of the front door even though she\u2019s just leapt through the window, giving her adequate time to escape.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n There\u2019s also a cathartic glee to watching these scenes because it\u2019s always privileged aristocrats that Nell is deceiving, or leaving in a crumple on the floor. And in this regard there\u2019s more to the series than just frivolity: issues of class conflict and social justice \u2013 familiar Wainwright themes \u2013 are at the heart of the narrative.<\/span><\/p>\n Being a Wainwright invention, Nell is unsurprisingly brimming with dry wit, and Harland imbues the character with immeasurable charm and swagger (which could rival Suranne Jones\u2019s Gentleman Jack), as well as the courage and integrity which means she\u2019s able to deliver lines like \u201cwe\u2019re going to save them\u201d convincingly.<\/span><\/p>\n Adrian Lester, Alice Kremelberg, Jake Dunn and Joely Richardson are magnificently evil as Nell\u2019s adversaries, while Enyi Okoronkwo, Florence Keen and Roxy Jackson give terrific turns as her companions, and it speaks to the quality of their performances that we\u2019re left rooting for them. <\/span><\/p>\n When a character does actually die (we won\u2019t spoil who), it\u2019s gutting \u2013 and the stakes get much higher.<\/span><\/p>\n Read more:<\/strong><\/p>\n Although I initially found that Mohammed\u2019s appearances as Billy Blind \u2013 who acts as a conscience and good friend to Nell \u2013 have the effect of pulling you out of the story (with his habit of admitting he has no idea why he\u2019s there), his integral role to the plot soon becomes more clear, and a few episodes in the character wins you over.<\/span><\/p> Renegade Nell is well-paced and energetic, has a rollicking soundtrack, and delivers satisfying twists and turns en route to a crowd-pleasing finale as Nell finds herself confronting a deadly plot to destroy Queen Anne. <\/span><\/p>\n There\u2019s so much heart and humour, the series is impossible to resist.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n![\"Nick](\"https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2023\/02\/nick-mohammed-renegade-nell-b1875a0.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413\" "\\"nick-mohammed-renegade-nell\\"\/")
\n<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture>\n<\/div>![\"Enyi](\"https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2024\/02\/TBORN10301169-73599ce.jpeg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413\" "\\"Enyi")
\n<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture>\n<\/div>\n