BBC Two

Mother’s Day – Reviews

Mother’s Day aired on Monday 3 September on BBC Two and was met with critical and audience acclaim. This important and emotional drama about the events surrounding the 1993 Warrington bombings starred Daniel Mays, Anna Maxwell Martin, Vicky McClure.

On the day before Mother’s Day 1993, Colin and Wendy Parry’s lives are torn apart when their youngest son Tim is killed in a terrorist attack by the IRA in Warrington’s town centre. The attack shocks ordinary people on both sides of the Irish Sea.

Review roundup:

Telegraph: ★★★★★ Maxwell Martin and Mays gave performances of exceptional depth and power: she a mother struggling to grieve privately for her lost child; he a father convinced some public good must be mined from so senseless a loss.

Guardian: ★★★★ Daniel Mays is also excellent as Colin Parry, channelling his grief in a different direction, towards ensuring his son didn’t die for nothing, and instead becomes a symbol of peace.

The Times: ★★★★ [Mays] put in potent, restrained performance, conveying a man who found catharsis in speaking to the media, reminding people what a “cracker” Tim was.

Warrington Guardian: the couple are portrayed brilliantly by Daniel Mays and Anna Maxwell Martin.

Independent: Powerfully nuanced performances by Anna Maxwell Martin and Daniel Mays as Tim Parry’s parents.

iNews: Moving performances from Anna Maxwell Martin and Daniel Mays.

Express: Anna Maxwell Martin and Daniel Mays portray a convincing couple.

Mother’s Day is available to watch online until March 2019.

We encourage you to visit and suppport the organization that the Parry family started as a way to honour the life of their son Tim: Peace Centre.

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Mother’s Day – Tonight – BBC Two

Mother’s Day airs this evening at 9PM on BBC Two.

This factual drama Written by Nick Leather (Murdered For Being Different, Broken)  and directed By Fergus O’Brien (Against the Law) Mother’s Day focuses on two ordinary women living either side of the Irish Sea, brought together in the wake of the tragedy:

On the day before Mother’s Day 1993, Colin and Wendy Parry’s lives are torn apart when their youngest son Tim is killed in a terrorist attack by the IRA in Warrington’s town centre. The attack shocks ordinary people on both sides of the Irish Sea.

Sue McHugh, an unassuming and normally shy Dublin housewife, is deeply affected by the tragedy. Spurred into action by the events in Warrington and the hope that she can make a difference, Sue urges people across Ireland to demonstrate that the killings on all sides must stop. But has Sue underestimated the challenge of brokering peace in a community that has known only conflict?

As the grieving Parrys search desperately for answers to their son’s senseless killing, they form an alliance with Sue, her husband Arthur, and her Peace ’93 movement, travelling to Dublin in a bid to bring about peace and ensure Tim’s enduring legacy is one of hope and tolerance. Based on real events.

Daniel Mays (Against The Law, Rogue One) will play Tim’s father Colin Parry, Anna Maxwell Martin plays Wendy Parry, with Vicky McClure and David Wilmot (The Alienist, Black Sails) as Susan and Arthur McHugh.

We hope that you will watch this important, moving factual drama.

For Tim and Johnathan.

The BBC has information and support if you, or someone you know, have been affected by the issues raised in Mother’s Day.

Peace Centre

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Mother’s Day – Press

Mother’s Day is scheduled to air on BBC Two on Monday, 3 September. Be on the lookout for several press and print interviews with Daniel Mays, the cast and creative team:

Television:

Thursday, August 30th – BBC the One Show – 7PM (scheduled with Anna Maxwell Martin). BBC link is available until 30 September.

August 22nd: BBC London News Interview

Print & Online:

August 21st:

Warrington Guardian

Liverpool Echo

August 26th: Q&A video from the Peace Centre premiere

August 29th: The Big Issue

August 30th: Radio Times

August 31st: Telegraph

Radio:
August 30th: Nick Leather -Mother’s Day writer- interview on Front Row

 

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Mother’s Day – Trailer

The BBC has released the trailer for the upcoming 90 minute drama about the 1992 Warington IRA bombing – Mother’s Day. This emotional look at the families and the aftermath of that horrific and shocking event stars Daniel Mays, Anna Maxwell Martin, and Vicky McClure.

On Twitter, Daniel Mays said: “Can’t recall a drama I’ve acted in over the years that emotionally resonated with me as much as . Colin, Wendy & Sue, my gratitude knows no bounds in allowing us tell to your story. For Tim & Johnathan.”

Written by Nick Leather (Murdered For Being Different, Broken) Mother’s Day focuses on two ordinary women living either side of the Irish Sea, brought together in the wake of the tragedy.

Anna Maxwell Martin (Motherland, Good Omens) plays Wendy Parry, the mother of 12 year old Tim Parry who lost his life in the attack which left two boys dead and many others injured. Vicky McClure (Line of Duty, The Replacement) plays Susan McHugh, the Dublin mother of two so outraged by the loss of young life that she organised one of the largest peace rallies in Irish history, leading thousands through the streets in protest at the continued violence of the Troubles.

Daniel Mays (Against The Law, Rogue One) will play Tim’s father Colin Parry, with David Wilmot (The Alienist, Black Sails) as Arthur McHugh.

Mother’s Day will air on BBC two on 3 September .

You can see Tim and Jonathan’s legacy at work at the Tim Parry Jonathan Ball Peace Foundation. If you are able, we encourage you to donate to this wonderful foundation as they wage peace on all fronts.

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Mother’s Day – First Look

BBC Two has released a first look at the cast of Mother’s Day:

Written by Nick Leather (Murdered For Being Different, Broken) Mother’s Day focuses on two ordinary women living either side of the Irish Sea, brought together in the wake of the tragedy.

Anna Maxwell Martin (Motherland, Good Omens) plays Wendy Parry, the mother of 12 year old Tim Parry who lost his life in the attack which left two boys dead and many others injured. Vicky McClure (Line of Duty, The Replacement) plays Susan McHugh, the Dublin mother of two so outraged by the loss of young life that she organised one of the largest peace rallies in Irish history, leading thousands through the streets in protest at the continued violence of the Troubles.

Daniel Mays (Against The Law, Rogue One) will play Tim’s father Colin Parry, with David Wilmot (The Alienist, Black Sails) as Arthur McHugh.

Mother’s Day will air this Autumn on BBC Two.

Tim Parry Johnathan Ball Peace Foundation

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Good Omens – San Diego Comic Con

Good Omens was part of the Amazon Studios panel and San Diego Comic Con earlier.

Those in Ballroom 20 were treated to a behind the scenes look at the series and a trailer (still to be released publicly but was one of the St. James Park scenes with Crowley and Aziraphale):

 

Amazon has also released the teaser poster:

img_3387

Daniel Mays stars as Arthur Young the unwitting father of the antichrist.

Commenting on his casting back in August 2017, Daniel Mays says: “Beyond overjoyed to be jumping on board Good Omens. It’s not everyday you get to play the father of the antichrist! Neil Gaiman’s scripts are out of this world and the cast they’ve assembled are second to none. Can’t wait to get cracking!

Described as equal parts humor and horror, fantasy and drama, Good Omens takes place in 2018 when the Apocalypse is near and Final Judgment is set to descend upon humanity. The armies of Good and Evil are amassing, Atlantis is rising, and tempers are flaring. Everything appears to be going according to Divine Plan — except that Aziraphale, a somewhat fussy angel, and Crowley, a fast-living demon, are not looking forward to the coming war, and someone seems to have misplaced the Antichrist.

Neil Gaiman, writer, says: “Almost 30 years ago Terry Pratchett and I wrote the funniest novel we could about the end of the world, populated with angels and demons, not to mention an 11 year-old Antichrist, witch-finders and the four horsepeople of the Apocalypse. It became many people’s favourite book. Three decades later, it’s going to make it to the screen. I can’t think of anyone we’d rather make it with than BBC Studios, and I just wish Sir Terry was alive to see it.”

Joe Lewis, Head of Comedy and Drama, Amazon Studios, says: “Spanning not only the universe but also the entirety of time, Neil Gaiman has created a story that may be the largest ever told on television. We’re excited to be working with BBC Studios to bring Neil and Terry Pratchett’s incredible book to life and to Prime members everywhere.”

The End is Nigh…in 2019! Good Omens will launch globally on Prime Video in over 200 countries and territories in 2019 including in the UK, where it will also air on BBC Two at a later date after it’s online debut in the US.

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Mother’s Day

Daniel Mays is currently in production on the BBC single drama “Mother’s Day” a new factual drama for BBC Two about the events, aftermath and public response to the Warrington bombing of March 1993.  This 90 minute factual drama is directed by Fergus O’Brien (Against the Law).

From the BBC Press Site:

Filming has begun on Mother’s Day, a new factual drama for BBC Two about the events, aftermath and public response to the Warrington bombing of March 1993. Casting includes Anna Maxwell Martin, Vicky McClure, Daniel Mays and David Wilmot.

  • Casting includes Anna Maxwell Martin, Vicky McClure, Daniel Mays and David Wilmot
  • Filming is now underway in Belfast

Written by Nick Leather (Murdered For Being Different, Broken) Mother’s Day focuses on two ordinary women living either side of the Irish Sea, brought together in the wake of the tragedy.

Anna Maxwell Martin (Motherland, Good Omens) plays Wendy Parry, the mother of 12 year old Tim Parry who lost his life in the attack which left two boys dead and many others injured. Vicky McClure (Line of Duty, The Replacement) plays Susan McHugh, the Dublin mother of two so outraged by the loss of young life that she organised one of the largest peace rallies in Irish history, leading thousands through the streets in protest at the continued violence of the Troubles. Daniel Mays (Against The Law, Rogue One) will play Tim’s father Colin Parry, with David Wilmot (The Alienist, Black Sails) as Arthur McHugh. Further casting includes Simone Kirby and Conor Mullen.

Anna Maxwell Martin says: “I know that many will recall the bravery and dignity shown by the families affected by the Warrington bombings. It’s a real honour to be telling their story.”

Vicky McClure says: “Susan McHugh’s actions back in 1993 remain just as inspirational today as they were 25 years ago. I feel truly privileged to play her in this incredibly moving new film.”

Writer Nick Leather says: “As someone who grew up in Warrington and was on my way into town on the day of the bombing, bringing this astonishing story to the screen has been a career-long mission. Over the last year, I’ve been fortunate to work with a wonderfully supportive team at the BBC, including the director Fergus O’Brien, and have found the Parry and McHugh families to be even more inspiring than I did as a kid. I hope people are as moved and affected by this drama as we have been making it.”

Piers Wenger, Controller of BBC Drama, says: “It is with great power and poignancy that Mother’s Day looks at how the worst of tragedies can affect both those directly involved and communities further afield, inspiring them to act. We’re immensely proud to tell this story. ”

Patrick Holland, Channel Controller of BBC Two, says: “Nick Leather’s script takes us into the heart of a family’s grief whilst also following the extraordinary unwillingness to let another death be in vain. With the outstanding Anna Maxwell Martin and Vicky McClure this promises to be a remarkable and powerful film.”

Aysha Rafaele, Executive Producer for BBC Studios, adds: “From my previous work with Nick Leather and Fergus O’Brien, I can’t think of a better team to bring this powerful story to the screen. Working closely with the real families involved, Nick has written a remarkable script and it’s a real joy to assemble such a first rate cast to play these roles.”

Mother’s Day (1×90’) is produced by BBC Studios for BBC Two, and will be directed by Fergus O’Brien (Against The Law) and produced by Scott Bassett (Murdered For Being Different). It was commissioned by Piers Wenger, Controller of BBC Drama, and Patrick Holland, Controller of BBC Two. Executive Producers are Tommy Bulfin for the BBC and Aysha Rafaele for BBC Studios.

Best of luck to the cast and crew as they begin filming this important factual drama.

Stay tuned for updates from filming.

Follow Daniel Mays on Twitter @DanielMays9

©DanielMays.co.uk

Against the Law-Broadcast Awards Nomination

Against the Law starring Daniel Mays has been shortlisted for Best Single Drama in the 2018 Broadcast Awards. This BBC Two Factual drama also stars Richard Gadd and Mark Gatiss. Written by Brian Fillis and directed by Fergus O’Brien it aired in July 2017 as part of the BBC Gay Britannia Season.

2017 sees the 50th anniversary of the 1967 Sexual Offences Act, which decriminalised homosexual acts in England and Wales between adult males, in private. While it would take several decades before homosexuals would reach anything like full equality in this country, this legislation marks the beginning of this journey.

But the dramatic events that led to this Act took place over ten years before and are at the heart of Against the Law, a powerful factual drama starring Daniel Mays and Mark Gatiss. Mays plays Peter Wildeblood, a thoughtful and private gay journalist whose lover, under pressure from the authorities, turned Queen’s evidence against him in one of the most explosive court cases of the 1950s – the infamous Montagu Trial. Wildeblood, and his friends Lord Montagu and Michael Pitt-Rivers, were found guilty of homosexual offences and jailed. But the public thought the trial unfair and forced a reluctant government to set up a committee to investigate whether homosexuality should be legalised. The committee was led by Sir John Wolfenden. With his career in tatters and his private life painfully exposed, Peter Wildeblood began his sentence a broken man, but he emerged from Wormwood Scrubs a year later determined to do all he could to change the way these draconian laws against homosexuality impacted on the lives of men like him. He was the only openly gay man to testify before the Wolfenden committee about the brutal reality of being gay in this country at that time. In 1957 the committee recommended that the laws be changed. It would take a further ten years before these recommendations would become law.

Woven through this powerful drama is testimony from a chorus of men who lived through those dark days, when homosexuals were routinely imprisoned or forced to undergo chemical aversion therapy in an attempt to cure them of their ‘condition’. There is also testimony from a retired police officer whose job it was to enforce these laws and a former psychiatric nurse who administered the so-called cures. All these accounts amplify the themes of the drama and help to immerse us in the reality of a dark chapter in our recent past, a past still within the reach of living memory.

The Broadcast Awards are held 7 February 2018 in London.

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Against the Law Wins 2017 Pink News Award!

Against the Law starring Daniel Mays, directed by Fergus O’Brien, and written by Brian for BBC Two as part of the BBC’s Gay Britannia Season was nominated and WON the Pink News Special Award for 50th Anniversary coverage of the partial decriminalisation of homosexuality.

Daniel Mays attended this evening’s Pink News Awards in London (18 October). The Awards celebrate the contributions of politicians, businesses, campaigners and community groups to improving LGBT+ life in the UK and beyond.

Congratulations to all who were nominated and won this evening!

Watch the video of the evening’s awards at Pink News Facebook page.
Against the Law’s winning announcement with speeches from Fergus O’Brien and Daniel Mays is at 1hr28 mark.

Photos from tonight:

attends the Pink News Awards 2017 held at One Great George Street on October 18, 2017 in London, England.
attends the Pink News Awards 2017 held at One Great George Street on October 18, 2017 in London, England.
attends the Pink News Awards 2017 held at One Great George Street on October 18, 2017 in London, England.
attends the Pink News Awards 2017 held at One Great George Street on October 18, 2017 in London, England.

With thanks to Pink News and its voters.

Against the Law is available on DVD.

Follow Daniel Mays on Twitter @DanielMays9

©DanielMays.co.uk

Daniel Mays Joins The Cast of Good Omens

It was announced today that Daniel Mays has joined the cast of Amazon and BBC Two’s Good Omens as Arthur Young, the unknowing father of Adam Young, the antichrist.

Commenting on his casting, Daniel Mays says: “Beyond overjoyed to be jumping on board Good Omens. It’s not everyday you get to play the father of the antichrist! Neil Gaiman’s scripts are out of this world and the cast they’ve assembled are second to none. Can’t wait to get cracking!”

Sian Brooke will play Deidre Young, Arthur’s wife and the mother of Adam Young, played by Sam Taylor Buck.

Described as equal parts humor and horror, fantasy and drama, Good Omens takes place in 2018 when the Apocalypse is near and Final Judgment is set to descend upon humanity. The armies of Good and Evil are amassing, Atlantis is rising, and tempers are flaring. Everything appears to be going according to Divine Plan — except that Aziraphale, a somewhat fussy angel, and Crowley, a fast-living demon, are not looking forward to the coming war, and someone seems to have misplaced the Antichrist.

Neil Gaiman, writer, says: “Almost 30 years ago Terry Pratchett and I wrote the funniest novel we could about the end of the world, populated with angels and demons, not to mention an 11 year-old Antichrist, witch-finders and the four horsepeople of the Apocalypse. It became many people’s favourite book. Three decades later, it’s going to make it to the screen. I can’t think of anyone we’d rather make it with than BBC Studios, and I just wish Sir Terry was alive to see it.”

Joe Lewis, Head of Comedy and Drama, Amazon Studios, says: “Spanning not only the universe but also the entirety of time, Neil Gaiman has created a story that may be the largest ever told on television. We’re excited to be working with BBC Studios to bring Neil and Terry Pratchett’s incredible book to life and to Prime members everywhere.”

Daniel joins previously announced cast David Tennant, Michael Sheen, Miranda Richardson, Jack Whitehall, and others.

Filming began in London over the last week.

Good Omens was commissioned for Amazon Prime Video and for BBC Two by Patrick Holland, Controller, BBC Two; Shane Allen, Controller, BBC Comedy Commissioning and BBC commissioning editor Gregor Sharp. It is being produced by the comedy team at BBC Studios, the BBC’s commercial production arm, Narrativia and The Blank Corporation, in association with BBC Worldwide.

BBC Worldwide distributes rights for Good Omens internationally, after the series premiere on Prime Video. The series will be brought to the screen by the highly acclaimed director/executive producer Douglas Mackinnon, whose credits include Knightfall, Dirk Gently, Doctor Who, Outlander and the standalone Victorian episode of Sherlock: The Abominable Bride, winner of the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Television Movie last year.

Good Omens will launch globally on Prime Video in over 200 countries and territories in 2019 including in the UK, where it will also air on BBC Two at a later date.

We will have more on this truly exciting new project in the near future.

Follow Daniel Mays on Twitter @DanielMays9

©DanielMays.co.uk