This began on 10 May and by the end of the month over 330,000 Allied troops had been evacuated from Dunkirk. The British Expeditionary Force, who had spent the winter guarding the Maginot Line, was suddenly called into action against a furious, implacable, overwhelming foe. The unnatural calm of the winter and spring of 1939-40 was about to be shattered by the Blitzkrieg when Hitler’s army marched into the Netherlands, Belgium and France. Series 1 set the scene for what happened in rural Britain during the early months of the war in the period known as the Phoney War. However, what I can say is that it takes place against the extraordinary summer of 1940. I have to be a little careful not to give anything away about series 2 because I might spoil people’s enjoyment of the drama. The link to history of the Second World War and life on the Home Front in Jambusters anchors the series in the 1940s but leaves Simon Block free to let his characters grow and develop in Great Paxford.

From my perspective this is fascinating and exciting. Some of the stories that you will come across in series 2 of Home Fires have evolved directly from Jambusters, others have been the result of research, conversations and other lines of inquiry. Home Fires is not based on Jambusters per se but rather set in a fictional version of the same era that I describe in my book. Simon Block, the creator and writer of Home Fires, used and continues to use the book and my research as the inspiration for his drama. I have not: Jambustersis a non-fiction ‘biography’ of the Women’s Institute covering the entire Second World War. Many people have asked me over the last few months whether I have had to write another book for series 2. It is so exciting to be going back to Great Paxford to see what will happen to the characters that we were introduced to in 2015.

Home Fires series 2 begins on Sunday 3rd April at 9pm on ITV.

Home fires julie summers