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The Girls Who Came To Stay is the story of a couple who take in two girls from Belarus, the country most horrifically affected by the Chernobyl disaster. Alun Armstrong and Lindsey Coulson star as married couple Bob and Julie Jenkins, who don’t anticipate what a dramatic affect the girls will have on their lives and how hard it will be to send them home.
Bob and Julie’s only daughter Laura - played by Samantha Robinson - is moving into student digs and they are dreading her leaving home. Bob channels his frustrations into building him and Julie a dream home, but Julie is feeling neglected and would rather he spend more time with her.
Julie hears a story on the radio about a charity scheme where children from Belarus can come to stay with a family in the UK for a month. The idea is to help them build up their immune system and research has proved that a month away could extend their wellbeing for up to two years. Bob is against the idea and thinks it could do the children more harm than good, but Julie decides to get involved - with or without his support.
When Nadia (Anastasia Pavlenko-Lewis) and Nelli (Anna Krippa) arrive at their home, against all the odds Bob makes an emotional connection with the awkward Nelli and the children open everyone’s eyes to the exciting world we live in and so often take for granted. Bob learns to laugh again and Julie delights in their renewed zest for life and each other. But then, having bonded with Nelli, Bob can’t bear the idea of saying goodbye to her. Julie wonders whether the scheme has done them more harm than good.
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