The Luminaries is a gold nugget of a drama

Viewers of a certain age will remember Hunter’s Gold, the 1977 kids’ series which examined the New Zealand gold rush of the 1860s.

Primetime dramas examining that era in the land of the long white cloud have been scarce since, but that’s all about to change.

This six-part saga centres on New Zealand’s South Island, and that 19th-century gold rush which turned the region upside down.

One storyline begins in 1866 when politician Alastair Lauderback arrives at a cottage to find a woman, unconscious with opium; a Maori man, also out cold, and a corpse. Lauderback brings the woman to town, where she is arrested for public intoxication and held at the jail.

Cameras also focus on the day of Anna Wetherell’s arrival in New Zealand, months earlier in 1865. After a romantic first encounter, she agrees to meet with fellow passenger, Emery Staines, but scheming fortune-teller Lydia Wells has other ideas.

There are many reasons for tuning in. Stunning New Zealand backdrops; a great script (based on Eleanor Catton’s book; she recently adapted Emma for the big screen) and some dynamic actors.

One is Eva Green, who plays Lydia. For the past 17 years, she has been one of the most inspiring thesps of her generation. A true luminary you might say.

When she appeared in The Dreamers in 2003, Bernardo Bertolucci’s movie opened more doors than a skeleton key. Suddenly every major director was desperate to get her in their next movie.

Ridley Scott was one such film maker, who couldn’t wait to get Eva in his crusades epic Kingdom of Heaven. The makers of Casino Royale knew Ms Green was perfect to play femme fatale Vesper Lynd in their 2006 version of Ian Fleming’s page-turner. Little wonder she won the Bafta Rising Star award. And while playing a ’Bond girl’ might be the kiss of death for some careers, Eva’s went from strength to strength in the years that followed.

Tim Burton was so impressed with her presence he cast Green in cult TV-inspired movie Dark Shadows; as the eponymous character in Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, and in his live-action version of Dumbo.

And while fans of Frank Miller’s Sin City and 300 were desperate for sequels, no prizes for guessing who stole the show in follow-ups to both of those blockbusters.

“The one bright spot is Eva Green as Xerxes’ machinator, Artemesia, a raccoon-eyed warrior princess,” wrote one critic of her turn in swords, sex and sandals saga 300: Rise of an Empire.

Of course it’s not just on the big screen that Eva has managed to wow the masses. She was also magnetic in cult fantasy sagas Camelot and Penny Dreadful. Now she looks set to attract a new wave of followers in this series, which also stars Himesh Patel (aka Emery).

You might remember him as Tamwar Masood in EastEnders, but the multi-skilled thespian really wowed the critics when he landed the lead in Richard Curtis and Danny Boyle’s feelgood music-based fantasy Yesterday.

And having impressed the masses in Taron Egerton’s version of Robin Hood, Eve Hewson gives Eva and Himesh a run for their money as key protagonist Anna.

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