The BBC drama Lilies has been compared to ITV’s award-winning series Downton Abbey. The historic mini-series, which ran for eight episodes in 2007, followed the lives of sisters Iris (played by Coronation Street star Catherine Tyldesley), Mary (Leanne Rowe), and Ruby Ross (Kerrie Hayes), who lived with their widowed father and brother in Liverpool in the early 1920s. Writer Heidi Thomas, who is behind the hit BBC medical drama Call The Midwife, first developed the idea after listening to stories told by her grandmother about being raised in post-war Liverpool. She told the BBC ahead of the release of Lilies: “There is not one single episode that doesn’t contain something handed down in anecdote.”

Meanwhile, Catherine, who hailed from Manchester, said: “I absolutely fell in love with the sisters from the outset. I was especially intrigued about what was going to happen to Iris, and I wanted to know more straight away. She’s young, and she’s experiencing a lot of things for the first time, and it’s so exciting to think about how she’s going to negotiate her way through life.”

Despite it having such stellar reviews and being The Sunday Times’ pick of the week for months, it was not recommissioned by the BBC.

However, viewers have been giving it 10 stars, with one person writing on IMDb: “I found this mini series by accident and what a delight. From beginning to end, I felt transported back in time. Throughout the series, you get a slice, perhaps, of a less sugar-coated time of transition after the First World War.”

A second added: “I was totally drawn in from the first episode. The spirited Moss family, so much like my own family, was that believable.”

Another felt it was better than Downton Abbey, while another said: “This is one of the most fascinating series, and it drew me in 100%. You cheer and cry for the characters, often in the same episode.”

Someone who gave the show 10/10 called it “exceptional” and added: “Much effort was given to the authenticity of the sets, and it was very successful. Drama, romance (which I don’t typically enjoy), and comedy. A perfect series! Congratulations to all involved. I can’t see how a second series could have repeated the success of the first.”