Tenko: Story, Cast and Series Facts

Story and premise

Created by Lavinia Warner, Tenko told the forgotten real-life story of the women prisoners of the Japanese who for three-and-a-half years suffered severe privations in barely habitable Sumatran camps. Written by Jill Hyem, Anne Valery and Paul Wheeler, the series followed the experiences of one particular group of women from the Fall of Singapore in February 1942 and their subsequent internment, through to their liberation in September 1945 and their ensuing attempts to rebuild their shattered lives. A feature-length reunion special set in 1950, rounded off the series.

Series details

• Title: Tenko
• Format: Scripted
• Language: English
• Genres: Drama
• Premiere date: 1981-10-22
• Final broadcast date listed: 1984-12-10
• Status in TVmaze: Ended
• Network listed by TVmaze: BBC One
• Network country: United Kingdom
• Typical episode runtime: 60 minutes
• TVMaze ID: 8311
• IMDb ID: tt0081944
• TVDB ID: 75147

Cast and credited roles

• Ann Bell — Marion Jefferson
• Burt Kwouk — Major Yamauchi
• Patricia Lawrence — Sister Ulrika
• Claire Oberman — Kate Norris
• Jeananne Crowley — Nellie Keene
• Joanna Hole — Sally Markham
• Louise Jameson — Blanche Simmons
• Stephanie Cole — Dr. Beatrice Mason
• Emily Bolton — Christina Campbell
• Karin Foley — Debbie Bowen
• Renée Asherson — Sylvia Ashburton
• Stephanie Beacham — Rose Miller

Seasons in the TVmaze catalogue

• Season 1: premiered 1981-10-22; final listed air date 1981-12-24.
• Season 2: premiered 1982-10-21; final listed air date 1982-12-23.
• Season 3: premiered 1984-10-07; final listed air date 1984-12-10.

Source and licence

Adapted from Tenko on TVmaze. The synopsis is reproduced as plain text; catalogue facts, cast and season records are selected and reformatted. This adapted text is available under CC BY-SA 4.0, following the TVmaze API licence. Network and web-channel credits identify the service listed in this source; they do not establish current streaming availability.