The BBC on Thursday unveiled an unique new drama from screenwriter Jimmy McGovern (Time, Cracker, The Road) which is able to discover “the impact of grooming and sexual abuse on one family.”
Emmy winner Anna Friel (Marcella, Pushing Daisies), who was BAFTA-nominated for her earlier work with Jimmy McGovern in Damaged, leads the solid alongside Bobby Schofield (Time, Anne, SAS Rogue Heroes), BAFTA winner Anna Maxwell Martin (Motherland, A Spy Amongst Associates, Poppy Shakespeare), BAFTA winner David Threlfall (Nightsleeper, Shameless, Housewife 49), and Mark Womack (The Responder, Taking part in the Discipline, Shifting On).
Additional casting might be unveiled “in due course,” the BBC stated.
Directed by Julia Ford (Showtrial, The Bay, Secure), the as-yet-untitled 90-minute single drama might be made by LA Productions (Damaged, Anthony, Care) for BBC iPlayer and BBC One.
“Set and filmed in Liverpool, the fictional drama centers around the Mitchell family who are dealing with the devastating aftermath of an act of abuse, and the knowledge that it was perpetrated by a member of their own family who, after serving his sentence, has just been released from prison,” in accordance to a synopsis.
McGovern stated: “I can’t believe the cast and crew that have been assembled for this production. It’s a challenging film, yes, but I can’t wait for it to be shown.”
Added Colin McKeown, government producer for LA Productions: “This is a profoundly challenging and sensitive subject, tackled with intelligence and care by Jimmy McGovern. It’s a privilege to be working with him again following the success of our previous collaborations on single dramas: Common, Care, Reg and Anthony.”
Lindsay Salt, director of BBC Drama, stated: “Jimmy McGovern is one of our greatest dramatists and a master at writing about today’s world. His new film sensitively examines the pain of abuse and how it affects not only the victim but ripples out across the whole family. To see it brought to the screen with such a high-caliber cast and creative team is further testament to the quality of Jimmy’s writing.”
The drama might be produced by LA Productions and is written by McGovern, directed by Ford, and produced by Donna Molloy. Government producers are McGovern and McKeown for LA Productions, and Nawfal Faizullah and Katherine Bond for the BBC.
