The BBC has shared some first-look images of their hard-hitting new drama Unforgivable, which sees Emmy Award winner Anna Friel and BAFTA winners Anna Maxwell-Martin and David Threlfall in some hard-hitting roles.
Created by screenwriter Jimmy McGovern, best known for critically acclaimed dramas such as Broken, The Street and Time, Unforgivable promises to be a powerful and sensitive exploration of difficult themes.
What is Unforgivable about?
Set and filmed in Liverpool, the new BBC drama will explore the extensive ripple effect that grooming and sexual abuse have on the Mitchell family as they grapple with the harrowing consequences of abuse committed by one of their own.
Is Unforgivable based on a true story?
While Unforgivable is not a direct retelling of one specific case, its inspiration is deeply rooted in real-life experience.
The idea for the drama came to writer Jimmy McGovern after he received a letter from a woman who works with sex offenders. Intrigued, he went to speak with her in person and what she told him stayed with him.
“I went down to talk to the psychologist and she told me this story,” McGovern explained in an interview with the BBC. “It was about a young man who had become a child abuser, and he realised that he had been abused as a child himself.
“Understandably, he decided to take the child abuser — the man who abused him — to court.”
For Jimmy, Unforgivable is more than just a drama - it’s a conversation starter. He hopes the programme will encourage viewers to think more deeply about the complexities behind certain crimes, without excusing them.
“I hope the audience will learn things from the show,” he told the BBC.
“Even though we're talking about child abusers, I still think there's a need for compassion,” he explained.
“Caution, yes. Punishment, yes. Justice, yes.
“These are enormous crimes — they must be punished, you must go to prison. But alongside all that, an element of compassion.
“To understand a bit more — and equally condemn.”
Who's in the Unforgivable cast?
Unforgivable brings together a powerful cast of British acting talent. Leading the drama is Anna Friel, best known for her roles in Marcella, Brookside and McGovern’s previous drama Broken. She plays Anna, a woman at the centre of the story's emotional storm.
Joining her is Anna Maxwell Martin (Motherland, Line of Duty), who recently earned widespread acclaim for her role in Until I Kill You. Here, she takes on the part of Katherine, an ex-nun who's made it her mission to rehabilitate perpetrators of sexual abuse.
David Threlfall (Shameless, Nightsleeper) stars as Brian, Anna's father and the father of the preparator, bringing gravitas and experience to a role that promises to be both grounded and emotionally charged.
Rising star Austin Haynes, who viewers may recognise from Adolescence and All Creatures Great and Small, appears as Tom, Anna’s son.
And in one of the drama’s most gripping roles, Bobby Schofield (This City Is Ours, Time) plays Joe, Anna's brother, who has abused her son and who was also a victim of abuse.
In fact, Jimmy McGovern specifically had Schofield in mind when creating the part.
“We did write [the role in Unforgivable] for Bobby Schofield,” McGovern shared in a BBC interview. “Which is dangerous to do because often they'll say 'no' and you've written with them in mind.
“Thank God he said 'yes'. I think he's fantastic in this.”
Other cast members include Mark Womack from (The Responder, Moving On), Paddy Rowan (Time, The Bay), Phina Oruche (Anthony, Magpie Murders) and Fin McParland in his TV debut.
Unforgivable trailer
The trailer for BBC's Unforgivable is very intense. It opens with an upset Anna (Friel) and Brian (Threlfall) in a car, while Joe (Anna's brother and David's son, payed by Schofield) says, "Can I come to the funeral, Dad?", and he spits down the phone in response, "No, how could you possibly come?".
It's then revealed that Joe is serving time (rehabilitative care) and is supported by Katherine (Maxwell Martin, an ex-nun asks him, "Have you done it before, what you did to Tom? Had you done it to anybody else?".
In later snippets, Anna comes face to face with her criminal brother in a graveyard and looks terrified. She tells her dad, who looks understandably shocked. It cuts to Anna visiting Joe in prison, telling him, "I hate ya. How could someone you love be capable of something like that?" and ends with Joe saying "No one hates me more than I hate myself", while it shows scenes of him being chased by a gang.
Where can I watch Unforgivable?
Written by Jimmy McGovern, directed by Julia Ford (known for Showtrial, The Bay and Safe), and produced by LA Productions, the 90-minute standalone drama is set to premiere on Thursday 24th July at 9:00 PM on BBC Two and iPlayer.
Arabella Horspool is a Commercial Content Writer for Yours at Bauer Media. She's a bookworm who has watched hundreds of dramas and is passionate about TV, film and theatre. She enjoys cooking, scrapbooking, playing board games and loves going on walks with her three dogs.