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Hosanna (Yazmin Belo) and Leah (Rochelle Neil) in Three Little Birds,which is based on the childhood experiences of comedy legend Lenny Henry.Credit:Britbox

This is especially the case because he is speaking about a subject on which he is,rightfully,passionate in the extreme:the new Britbox seriesThree Little Birds,which he created and wrote. The story of three young Jamaican women who emigrate to England in the 1950s,it was inspired by the story of Henry’s own mother,among others,and for him it was the very definition of a labour of love.

Asked how longThree Little Birds has been inside him waiting to get out,he muses,“I think I’ve wanted to tell this story my whole life”,recalling his childhood in a Caribbean household in the English Midlands,and the stories he longed to know more about. “Every time there was some kind of crisis or trouble,” he remembers,“the adults would go into the front room of the house where kids weren’t allowed,and you’d try to listen at the door,and they’d say,‘Move away from the door,big people talking!’ And then slam the door and you never knew what the problem was. As you got older you might get a little glimpse or hint of what was going on in the grown-up room,but you never got the full story. And it was always about money or somebody getting pregnant or somebody getting beaten up or somebody losing a job or somebody stealing from somebody else or somebody gambling. But it was grown-up things. And I vowed when I was six years old to one day,if I could,tell the grown-up stories. In my mind it was big people things,andThree Little Birds is basically the stories that the big people were going through – with work,with relationships,heartache,all of these things.”

The “little birds” of the show’s title are gutsy and determined Leah (Rochelle Neil),her flamboyant and ambitious sister Chantrelle (Saffron Coomber),and their conservative religious cousin Hosanna (Yazmin Belo). They come to England together,but each has their own reasons:Hosanna is looking forward to marriage to Leah and Chantrelle’s brother,Aston (Javone Prince),already living in the country. Chantrelle is attracted to the excitement and glamour of the UK,taking a job near film studios in the hopes of breaking into the movies. Leah’s motivation for moving is grimmer:she has escaped her abusive husband and left her children with her mother,in the hope that she can eventually bring them to England to give them a better life.

Lenny Henry photographed in London in January,2024.Credit:Lia Toby/Getty

Three Little Birds is not based on any particular true story,but the experiences of the women are reflective of many stories Henry knows well:his parents were part of the generation of immigrants from the West Indies who came to Britain in the 1940s and ’50s. For Henry,Three Little Birds,as well as a tribute to the strength of that generation,shows how the immigrant experience should be relatable to all.

“I think if anybody is moved from a place to another place to get to safety,or escape an abusive marriage or to rear their kids in a safer environment,if anybody has moved from A to B to be safe,then they will resonate withThree Little Birds. Because Leah is not leaving Jamaica for nothing. There are reasons:she’s trying her hardest to keep herself to herself,get money,get the kids over to Britain. But there are complications that ensue.”

Those complications hit home for the three women pretty quickly upon their arrival in England,as they are immediately confronted by the nasty side of life for black people in Britain,getting a sharp jolt at the living conditions and the attitudes of white Britons,particularly the police. There are statements being made in the story about British society,and the corrosive effects that racism has had and continues to have on it. Throughout his career as comedian,writer and actor,Henry has always touched on these issues,butThree Little Birds may be the most direct and personal take he has yet produced. It’s a story that operates on a fundamentally human level,illuminating social issues but also giving deserved acknowledgment to some remarkable people.

“I was never really one for making statements,for standing there going,‘We must do this’. I always wanted to entertain,” he says. “But I was very aware that I wantedThree Little Birds to say something about the human condition,but also about the circumstances in which our forefathers came to Britain. Nobody really wanted people of colour in this country. We looked different to people and people were a bit scared and it took a while to integrate. And we’re still working on that. But you know what? Our parents were brilliant because they never said anything to us. They just carried on and worked and did all this,put food on the table. My mother was racially abused as she went to work,but she never put that on us. I just felt if I could get a bit of that across from this story,we’d be getting somewhere.”

From the progress – sometimes tragic,sometimes comic,ultimately inspirational – of Leah,Chantrelle and Hosanna,we learn a lot about the characters,and something about the real people who inspired their creation. But we also learn something about Henry,who through telling the tales of others demonstrates his own humanity,intelligence,thoughtfulness and passion. And even with a long career packed with highlights behind him,the man himself recognises that this one is something special.

“I know that I’m not everybody’s cup of tea,but for the first time in a long time,I felt really proud of my work. I’m very proud of it. I’m proud of the cast and the direction,they did a really,really good job. And I want to do more.”

Three Little Birds is on Britbox from Thursday,February 1.

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