In this character-driven drama set behind the scenes of a fictional BBC soap, we follow June Buckridge, a middle-aged actress who plays the beloved but volatile [Sister George] on the long-running Applehurst. She’s spent four years on the show and is so identified with the character that fans nicknamed her “George.” Off screen, the same woman is outspoken, ribald, cigar-smoking, and frequently inebriated, a sharp contrast to the kindly presence she recreates on screen.
June Buckridge lives with her younger, devoted partner Alice “Childie” McNaught, whose world feels smaller and more dependent—she dolls, writes poetry, and toils in a minor fashion industry job, all while leaning on June for financial and emotional support. The power balance between them is tense: June can be loving, even affectionate, but she also grows domineering and jealous when Alice spends time with others. This dynamic is a constant undercurrent, as Alice resists June’s control by speaking back and choosing her own pace, especially when June pushes for a ritual “contrition” game in which Alice must kneel and eat a cigar butt.
When an offhand joke about Sister George dying on-air ricochets through Applehurst, June streaks away from a script-reading session, sinks into a drunken state, and crawls into a taxi with two young Catholic Nun nuns. The ride ends in a crash at a busy intersection, drawing the Mother Superior and the Archbishop to condemn the incident and bringing BBC pressure to bear. The network’s formidable producer, Mercy Croft, visits June with a stern lesson: apologize and reform, or risk losing her place in the show. The encounter also unsettles June by turning her attention toward Alice, who is encouraged to pursue her poetry and culinary talents and is shown sympathy and interest from the network.
Back on set, Sister George’s status seems precarious when a new script writes her out briefly with an illness—raising the real possibility that her on-screen life could end permanently. Yet the next script brings a revival: Sister George has recovered and returns to the scooter, reigniting June’s sense of belonging. To celebrate, they attend a party at Gateways, a lesbian nightclub, where June playfully invites Mrs Croft. The mood shifts when Mrs Croft arrives to reveal a chilling fate for Sister George: she will die on Applehurst on-screen by being struck by a ten-ton truck.
June’s frustration boils over as she watches the shifting dynamics around her. She storms off, and Mrs Croft seizes the moment to invite Alice to meet about her poetry, further entwining the two women professionally and personally. On June’s last filming day, Alice claims she’s busy at work and cannot meet for lunch, a lie that drives June into a mood of sabotage—she attempts to delay performances and stretch filming, only to learn the deception was to meet with Mrs Croft.
At the farewell cast party, June’s temper explodes: she insults a senior network executive, douses a fellow cast member with drinks, and finally erupts when offered a new role as the voice of a talking cow on a children’s puppet show. The confrontation with Mrs Croft and Alice ends with Alice leaving to stay with Mrs Croft for one night, and with the offer of continued help for her writing. Alice departs with Mrs Croft, dropping her key into the mailbox as a sign she will not return. Left alone on the desolate Applehurst set, June roams the empty stage, destroys equipment and props, and mutters a final, haunting “moo” as a sense of loss and collapse settles over the place.
