The BBC has announced a new drama from screenwriter Jimmy McGovern (Time, Cracker, The Street) which will explore the impact of grooming and sexual abuse on one family.
Directed by Julia Ford (Showtrial, The Bay, Safe), the as-yet-untitled 90 minute drama will be set and filmed in Liverpool, the fictional drama centres 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.
The cast features Anna Friel (Marcella, Pushing Daisies), Bobby Schofield (Time, Anne, SAS Rogue Heroes), Anna Maxwell Martin (Motherland, A Spy Among Friends, Poppy Shakespeare), David Threlfall (Nightsleeper, Shameless, Housewife 49) and Mark Womack (The Responder, Playing the Field, Moving On).
Colin McKeown, executive producer for LA Productions says: “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.”
Writer Jimmy McGovern says: “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.”
Lindsay Salt, Director of BBC Drama, says: “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 calibre cast and creative team is further testament to the quality of Jimmy’s writing.”
An Australian broadcaster is yet to be confirmed.
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