'Safe House'

Spring 2015

TV series (4 episodes)

Wr. Michael Crompton

Dir. Marc Evans

Role: Robert (ex-policeman).

News

2015 Jan 7 ITV Drama trail:

Nov 3 ITV Border set report:

Eccleston quotes. On open water swimming

So I've really experienced it: it's exhilarating. It's not a great thing to think about, you know, but once I'm in there doing it and I do do it in a wet suit and in one sequence I've got a wet suit on and I'm fully clothed because the character panics. It's really exhilarating and a great thing to say for when I'm an old man I can say that I did it.

Trying the Coniston Chill Swim and the Great North Swim

I'd love to do all that. I've really enjoyed the swimming but I'm a big runner. I've not been able to run much here because of the work but I have done a couple of 10 milers and I'm aware of your great fell runner Joss Naylor. I've got the latest book on Joss - the beautiful hardback - very interested in that. I've done some beautiful runs while I've been here, I ran from Water Yeat from Coniston and back.

Local experience

Also the locals... you know? Cockneys and Londoners are very friendly but London itself is very impersonal and it's been very refreshing to have the warmth of the Lakelanders again. We've been made to feel very welcome. I think we've, you know, we've brought a very positive feel to Coniston. We've been made particularly welcome here.

Video 1 - extra Christopher Eccleston interview

Video 2 - full report, CE featured

Video 3 - extract with Andrew Benson

Oct 6 Official casting announcement from ITV:

Cast announced for atmospheric thriller Safe House to be produced by Eleventh Hour Films

Acclaimed British actor Christopher Eccleston (The Leftovers, Thor: The Dark World) will be joined by Marsha Thomason (White Collar) and Paterson Joseph (The Leftovers, Law & Order: UK) in a new four-part drama series Safe House from Eleventh Hour Films. Safe House is a tense thriller set in the beautiful wilderness of the Lake District.

The cast will also include Jason Merrells (Emmerdale, Waterloo Road), Nicola Stephenson (All At Sea, Holby City), and Peter Ferdinando (Doctor Who, A Field in England) and is set to commence filming today; Monday 6th October.

The 4-part drama tells the story of a married couple: Robert (Christopher Eccleston) a former detective and Katy (Marsha Thomason) a teacher who are asked by close friend and police officer Mark (Paterson Joseph), to turn their remote Guest House into a Safe House.

Their first 'guests' at the Safe House, are a family in fear of their lives after they are violently attacked by someone who claims to know them. For Robert protecting the family resurrects fears and anxieties bound up in a terrifying night eighteen months ago – where he was protecting a star witness who was about to testify against her gangland husband. Unexpectedly, he was shot, and she was killed. As a consequence of running the Safe House, Robert re-questions this incident and uncovers a web of lies.

Inspired by a real couple, Safe House is a distinctive character-driven drama created and written by Michael Crompton (Kidnap & Ransom, Carrie's War), and directed by award-winning Marc Evans (Hinterland, Collision) and produced by Andrew Benson (Strikeback, Mad Dogs). It is being developed by Eleventh Hour Films' Paula Cuddy, who is also an Executive Producer, alongside Jill Green.

Safe House is potentially a returnable series for ITV and Eleventh Hour Films and was commissioned by ITV's Director of Drama, Steve November and Controller of Drama, Victoria Fea.

"We're delighted to commission Safe House from Jill Green and Eleventh
Hour Films. It's a compelling four-part drama from Michael Crompton with great characters and genuine twists which keep you guessing right to the end."

Jill Green (Foyle's War, Collision, The American) said: "This brilliant idea for a psychological thriller has attracted a strong cast – and will keep viewers gripped."

Oct 2 Michael Crompton tweets about Christopher Eccleston's involvement in the project.

May 1 Original commisioning announcement from ITV:

ITV commissions atmospheric thriller Safe House from Eleventh Hour Films
ITV has commissioned a new four-part drama series Safe House from Eleventh Hour Films. Safe House is an atmospheric thriller set in the beautiful wilderness of the Lake District.
The drama tells the story of a married couple who turn their remote Guest House into a Safe House. Inspired by a true story, Safe House is a compelling character-driven drama created and written by Michael Crompton (Kidnap & Ransom, Carrie's War).
ITV's Director of Drama Steve November and Controller of Drama Victoria Fea have commissioned Safe House.
"We're delighted to commission Safe House from Jill Green and Eleventh Hour Films. It's a compelling four-part drama from Michael Crompton with great characters and genuine twists which keep you guessing right to the end."
Safe House is EHF's first production to be originated and developed by the indie.
Jill Green (Foyle's War, The American), Managing Director and Executive Producer at Eleventh Hour Films said: "Safe House is a quality drama with intelligently crafted characters delivering a complex and engaging story that will keep the viewer gripped."
Safe House has been developed by EHF's Head of Development Paula Cuddy (Strike Back, Wallander) and will be directed by award-winning director Marc Evans (Hinterland, Collision). The drama is a 4 x 60' commission and will begin filming this autumn.

Mar 18 Series green-lit (Michael Crompton's tweet). It's been two years of development.

'Now That You've Died'

2013 Aug 9

Play by Patrick Ness

Directors: Hector Harkness & Kate Hargreaves

Role: Narrator

Venue: The Roundhouse, London

Support RNIB and make more books available to the blind and partially sighted

 

Audio:

Listen to the audio of the show (save link as to download) - more info - please support RNIB by way of thanks.

Also part of The Guardian's podcast (including discussion with Patrick Ness).

 

Video:

Interview with Christopher Eccleston

Behind the scenes

Extras:

Insight Radio podcast

"Every year RNIB hammers home the message that more books need to be made accessible to blind people. The campaign is called Read For RNIB. This year the charity pulled out all the stops to raise awareness – as Insight Radio's Leeanne Coyle found out."

Includes extracts and the after the show message. 

Here's the video script of the latter, kindly provided by RNIB.

Congratulations, you made it.

I'm Chris Eccleston. I am sure all you want to do now is sit down, relax and have a nice cup of tea. And don't worry; you will have that opportunity in just a few minutes time.

But first I need you to listen for just a while longer to understand why you've been invited here today by Royal National Institute of Blind People.

You've just experienced something quite unique, a book without words, a story without reading, a play performed in total darkness. The point is that a story is about much more than just the words on a page. Today you have experienced reading in a whole new way.

In the UK there are almost two million people who are blind or partially sighted, and the sad fact is, their choice of books is significantly more limited than it is for sighted people. Just seven per cent of all books are fully accessible for them.

I find it hard to imagine what my life would be like without being able to access books and scripts or enjoy a bedtime story with my little boy. For many blind and partially sighted people, reading is even more important, it can be a lifeline. It's the key to helping them live independently as part of an inclusive society.

You probably aren't aware but RNIB's National Library Service sends out millions of books every year in braille, giant print and in talking book audio format.

But it's not just about Talking Books – RNIB provides so much more. It has a team which transcribes everything from newspapers and magazines such as OK! Magazine and National Geographic. It even provides sheet music and instructions for game boards.

RNIB works with the publishing industry to increase the number of books that are accessible, and with the eBook industry to make sure that new technology isn’t limited to people who can see.

And that's what Read for RNIB Day is all about. Raising money and awareness to help RNIB continue this important work and to provide guidance to the 100 people who today will have embarked on their own sight loss journey.

Now is your opportunity to take action and support Read for RNIB Day on Friday October 11. We need you to use your influence today to help us spread the word; tweet about this experience, share with your friends, colleagues and audiences, blog to your hearts content, encourage everyone across Britain to visit the website and get involved.

RNIB can currently only reach one in three people who need it most – help us change that story and open up a world of reading for blind and partially sighted people.

Thank you.

Help Us Change The Story. Read For RNIB Day. 11th October.

 

Articles:

From Read for RNIB site:
• Hollywood support for Read for RNIB Day
• Read for RNIB Day with Patrick Ness and Christopher Eccleston [recap]

• Article on tickets

• Working with Patrick Ness and Christopher Eccleston

• The Bolton News - Dr Who star Christopher Eccleston: 'Reading books should be for everyone'

• The Independent - Patrick Ness interview: Night of the living dead 

• Review by Frances Hardinge [blog]

Christopher Eccleston Meets Wayne Rooney

2011-5-27 On the occasion of UEFA Champions League final match between Manchester United and Barcelona (19:45, Saturday, 28th of May), Christopher Eccleston interviewed Wayne Rooney for ITV. Watch it on their site (UK).

Additionally, Eccleston provided the traditional intro to the match at Wembley, the programme also included a cut-down version of the Rooney interview, with some 'behind the scenes' clips.

Video (youtube): intro --- interview with extras | More images

ITV.com:

Actor and die-hard Manchester United fan Christopher Eccleston says Wayne Rooney is primed for a big performance in Saturday's Champions League final - if his interview with the Manchester United striker is anything to go by.

The former Doctor Who and star of films including '28 Days Later', 'Gone in 60 Seconds' and 'Shallow Grave' met Rooney as part of a piece filmed exclusively for ITV ahead of Saturday's big match at Wembley. And Eccleston says that judging by Rooney's mood he could be United's matchwinner.

"He walked in looking supremely relaxed, confident about Saturday, radiating health," Eccleston told ITV.com "It was a really good sign - I think he's primed for a big game."

Having never met the England man before, and despite admitting that Paul Scholes ("the most complete player I've ever seen") is his favourite United star, Eccleston admitted he was blown away by the experience.

"It was one of the best days of my life," he said. "I meet actors all the time and they don't turn my head. But to meet a professional footballer of Wayne's calibre - it was one of the best experiences I've ever had."

Eccleston said he was particularly impressed by Rooney's composure under the media spotlight.

"Wayne does this a lot, he's an old hand at being interviewed. Twenty or thirty years ago footballers had no need to deal with the press, but these days they're constantly under the glare of the media.

"For him to handle questions with such ease was very impressive."

'A good feeling'

The 47-year-old actor was born into a Manchester United-supporting family in Salford, a mile from Old Trafford, and watched his first match just as Sir Matt Busby's great side began their slow decline.

He was barely a toddler when United last won the European Cup at Wembley, in 1968, sleeping through the game while his mother listened to the game on the radio. Over four decades on, Eccleston will be attendance for United's return to Wembley - and though he's unlikely to sleep this time, he says he will try to avoid pre-match nerves.

"The most nervous I ever got was in 1976 against Southampton [in the FA Cup Final], which we lost," he said. "I burst into tears and it made my dad cry. I got nervous and it broke my heart so I try not to get too worked up. I've actually got a good feeling - I'm very excited, it's going to be a great game."

Not that Eccleston isn't averse to a bit of emotion. Asked to predict the outcome of Saturday's final, he faultered. "What I would love is for Scholes to come on in the last 20 minutes and score the winner," he concluded.

'The Shadow Line' - Radio Inters Plus

• May 8 - Neil Sackley, BBC Radio Solent - on 'The Shadow Line' and running
programme info

• May 5
= MacAulay and Co, BBC Radio Scotland - on 'The Shadow Line', 'Cracker', 'The Fuse', 'The Plot'
programme info
= Bernie Keith, BBC Radio Northampton - on The Smiths and Morrissey, 'Lennon Naked', 'The Shadow Line', TV drama, football, British/American industries, 'The Plot' and 'The Fuse'
programme info
= David White, BBC Radio Cornwall - on 'The Shadow Line', British drama, Cornwall, 'Doctor Who', 'Doctor Who' in Cornwall [actually Hartnell's 'The Smugglers']
programme info
= Andrew Easton, BBC Radio Hereford & Worcester - on 'The Shadow Line', Isle of Man, 'Doctor Who', Manchester United
programme info
= Andy Potter, BBC Radio Derby - on 'The Shadow Line', drama on BBC, career, whether he'd like to write/direct/produce, regrets, work ethics, 'The Fuse'
programme info
= Bob Walmsley, BBC Radio Leeds - on 'The Shadow Line', British and American industries, career, 'Doctor Who'
programme info
= Judi Spiers Show, BBC Radio Devon - on 'The Shadow Line', 'Heroes', 'Hearts and Minds', 'Doctor Who', 'The Plot', Peter Vaughan
programme info
= Alan Simpson, BBC Radio Ulster - on 'The Shadow Line' and Manchester United
programme info

• Apr 30 - Graham Norton, BBC Radio 2 - on 'The Shadow Line' and life & career
programme info / pic

• Apr 27 - Front Row, BBC Radio 4 - Mark Lawson interviews H. Blick and C. Eccleston - includes audio clip from the series (feat. CE)
iPlayer / programme info

2010 Jul 15 - 3FM (Isle of Man) - on 'The Shadow Line', the island and filming there, career, 'dream roles' and future, 'Doctor Who', his 'legacy'
original post

'The Shadow Line' - Articles

Out of the Shadows
TV & Satellite Week, 30 Apr - 4 May
Preview, CE inter


© TV & Satellite Week

We're World Beaters!
TV Times, 30 Apr - 4 May
CE inter


© TV Times

The Plot Thickens
Radio Times, Apr 30 - May 4
Feature by Mark Lawson


© Radio Times

Scans provided by Jen - thank you.

More Articles.

'Hillsborough' Q&A - Video

2010-12-21 Christopher Eccleston q&a from Clapperboard Presents 'Hillsborough' screening at FACT, Liverpool, Dec 6. Videos from flasheartfilms.

'Hillsborough' - Screening and Q&A

2010-11-19 As promised almost a year ago, Clapperboard's 'Hillsborough' screening and q&a with Christopher Eccleston will take place Monday 6th December, 7:00pm @ FACT (88 Wood Street, L1 4DQ, Liverpool, UK).

Tickets: Picturehouse or FACT

Images from the event - also here --- Jen's report --- Videos

Sarah Kelly from Clapperboard UK told ATBN:
"The film was chosen by Chris himself. When we approach any of the artists who take part in Clapperboard Presents we ask them to pick their favourite film, and screen that. Chris is a great supporter of the work Clapperboard does with young people across the North West. We hope to work with him again in the future."
As per usual, the session will eventually be made available online: "The Clapperboard Presents Q&A's are always recorded and go on our website a few weeks later. We are also creating a DVD with all past Clapperboard Presents Q&A's which will be available to purchase shortly."

Clapperboard Presents:

Hillsborough, written by Jimmy McGovern, directed by Charles McDougall, starring Christopher Eccleston, is a dramatisation of the events that unfolded on 15th April 1989 and follows three Liverpudlian families before the match, during the tragedy and at the ensuing court battles which tried to decide who was to blame and what went wrong.
Christopher Eccleston plays the part of Trevor Hicks, whose story formed the focus of the script. Hicks lost two teenage daughters in the disaster and went on to campaign for safer stadia, as well as helping form the Hillsborough Families Support Group. It was reported by many newspapers that McGovern’s drama was an influencing factor in the set up of a new inquiry in 1997.

Actor Christopher Eccleston will participate in a Question and Answers session with the audience, chaired by Professor of Film Roger Shannon, Media Department Edge Hill University.

Income raised from Clapperboard Presents... will go toward the Clapperboard Youth Project. Tickets prices are £11 each with concessions £8 direct from FACT box office 08717 042063.

• Liverpool Echo November 30, 2010

A few months before it was first broadcast, 14 years ago, Christopher Eccleston told the ECHO of Jimmy McGovern's Hillsborough: "This will show what television is really for."

Today, as he looks forward to attending a special screening of the drama-documentary at Fact in Liverpool, followed by a question and answer session, he stands by that quote – and another one: "Hillsborough is the most important piece of work I’ve ever done and ever will do."

The families of those who died and the survivors may still be waiting for justice, but this 102 minutes of television had a major impact on the country.

Recalling its power, Christopher – who played Trevor Hicks, the then chairman of the Hillsborough Family Support, whose two daughters, Sarah, 19, and Victoria, 15, died in the 1989 disaster – says: "Beyond Merseyside, no one knew the truth about what happened at Hillsborough. People had swallowed the lies that the right-wing Press told, together with what the government and the police put out there.

"Jimmy wrote it to correct those lies and, most importantly, to allow the families to grieve – because the lies devastated and destroyed the grieving process."

Before he could take the part, Christopher had to speak to the man he was portraying: "I did feel a great deal of responsibility and the first thing I did was visit Trevor Hicks to get his blessing."

Christopher, who was Trevor's best man when he remarried, in March 2009, adds: "He has said to me since that he was initially sceptical about the whole enterprise. He gave me quite a rigorous interview – he wanted to know what my motives were for doing it. Then he gave me his blessing, I accepted the role and he gave me total access to his life and his experiences.

"All the actors met the Hillsborough Family Support Group, which was completely involved – they visited the set and gave us information and opened their hearts to us."

But despite the weight of responsibility, Christopher reveals: "In the build-up to its broadcast, I felt very confident because I knew there wasn't a word of untruth in the piece. Jimmy made sure of that because the lawyers were watching."

His fellow cast members included Ricky Tomlinson, Mark Womack and Annabelle Apsion. Did a strong bond and camaraderie develop between everyone, or is "camaraderie" the wrong word given the nature of the work? "It does sound like the wrong word, but everyone was on the same money and we had just one caravan on set for 15 women and one caravan for 15 men, so there were arms and legs coming out of the windows as everyone got dressed."

And although the actors were portraying the Hicks, Glover and Spearritt families, they and the drama-documentary, itself, were, of course, representing all 96 families, although Christopher says: "I know it was agonising for Jimmy that he couldn't tell every story. Jimmy is a sensitive bloke – that's why he's a writer."

After it was broadcast at 9pm on Thursday, December 5, 1996, Hillsborough was debated on phone-ins across the country – many callers said it was the first time they had been presented with the full truth about the disaster – and thrust back onto the news agenda as the government and South Yorkshire police came under new pressure.

But Christopher admits: "I'm not sure I expected the reaction it got – I'm not sure any of us did. I think I was surprised at the scale of it. I know Jimmy had something powerful to say but I was surprised, though heartened, at the strength of the reaction.

"It was doing two things – addressing the nation's conscience and demonstrating the power of television. There is a sense now that television has, largely, turned into an idiot box – and it certainly wasn't that when I was young."

But countless TV executives, motivated by the three Rs – ratings, ratings, ratings – have since gone down the reality show route, or, in ITV's case, as Christopher puts it: "Idiots in the jungle wearing bikinis and eating cockroaches."

He adds: "Jimmy had just given ITV Cracker and they asked 'What do you want to do next?' He could have done anything, but he wanted to tell the truth about Hillsborough."

Five months after it was screened, Labour came to power and new Home Secretary Jack Straw ordered a "scrutiny of new evidence".

Christopher says: "The drama-documentary played a small part but, really, 90% of it was down to the efforts of the Hilsborough Family Support Group from 1989 onwards."

Regarding future prospects of justice for the families, he says: "I'd like to think it's inevitable but I don't want to jinx it."

And now, almost 14 years on from the original broadcast, Christopher is delighted to be heading to Fact next Monday for the special screening, with proceeds going to the Clapperboard Youth Project.

Clapperboard UK Ltd is a non-profit-making and charitable organisation which works with people aged from 12 to 19 to help bring creativity into their lives.

Christopher says: "It's a great project and when Clapperboard director Maureen Sinclair asked me to pick a piece of work I didn't want it to be about me. I thought it would be appropriate if it was something about Liverpool."

• From a recent article

TV & Satellite Week: What role are you proudest of?
Christopher Eccleston: Trevor Hicks in Hillsborough. My involvement fulfilled a dream, because I believed what we were doing had real weight and urgency, and needed to be made.

• The Mirror November 30, 1996 interview with Christopher Eccleston

For friends and family of those who died at Hillsborough, the agony lingered on long after images of the tragedy had faded. Christopher Eccleston, star of Cracker and Shallow Grave, understands the legacy of those harrowing events better than most. In Hillsborough, Chris plays Trevor Hicks, a dad who lost two teenage daughters in the crush. And while researching the role, he spent weeks talking to the bereaved father.

"I listened to Trevor's story and it was a privilege to spend as much time as I have with him," Chris says. "It is so important that Trevor and the rest of the family's stories are heard so that we can better understand what happened."

As soon as he read the script, Chris agreed to appear in the drama which tells the grim story of how 96 soccer fans were crushed to death at Sheffield Wednesday's ground in April 1989. Cracker writer Jimmy McGovern decided to pen the story when he was approached by families still struggling to come to terms with the aftermath of Hillsborough.

"When you put the part of Trevor together with the fact that it's a Jimmy McGovern script, it was a role which I really had to play," says Chris. "There were so many challenging scenes as an actor but I believe one of the toughest was when Trevor begs his wife, Jenni, to try and get on with what was left of their lives by washing some bedsheets.
"But she could not do it because they still held the scent of their dead daughters, and she was trying to cling to every single memory."

The pounds 1 million Granada special is a two-hour drama made by the company's drama and documentary departments. It is expected to spark anger from South Yorkshire police who snubbed an invitation to help with the production. McGovern was still working on the script when a court recently awarded pounds 1.2million to 14 police officers said to be "mentally scarred" by the tragedy. This encouraged him further to tell the families' side of Hillsborough.

His film focuses upon three families - the Glovers, the Hicks, and the Spearritts, who all lost loved ones. Key scenes of the build-up to the horrifying crush inside the Hillsborough ground were recreated on a piece of waste ground in Clayton, Manchester. To make it authentic, casting directors trawled Liverpool streets to sign up extras before bussing them to the location. But TV producers decided not to film the horrific scenes of people being crushed in pens.

The ghastly events have left a lasting impression on Chris who is currently unemployed thanks, he says, to a lack of quality scripts.

"There is so much dross around at the moment, I just don't want to work. I'd never take a role just for the sake of it," he says. "I'd prefer to wait for something else by McGovern.
"He's an outstanding writer. He's not controversial. He just tackles real issues."

Also, April 16, 1998:

TV writer Jimmy McGovern described the football tragedy's ninth anniversary as a "sad day". McGovern, who wrote the powerful drama-documentary Hillsborough, said: "It is sad for the families and sad for the country as a whole.
"The least you could expect from a Labour Government is to reopen the inquiry.
"It doesn't cost much commitment to social justice."
After yesterday's memorial service Hillsborough actor Christopher Eccleston said he felt privileged to have been asked to take part. He said that on hearing Jack Straw's Parliament statement in February he had been "disgusted" that there was to be no new inquiry into the disaster. Mr Eccleston added: "It was a disgraceful performance from a politician's point of view."

- - -

During the service candles were lit in front of the Kop by actors Scot Williams and Christopher Eccleston, who played Joe Glover and Trevor Hicks in the drama documentary Hillsborough. [...] A lesson was read by Charles McDougal, director of the programme.

Read more:
• Report from Jimmy McGovern Q&A at 2009 ScreenLit Festival
• Jimmy McGovern's article for The Guardian
• About the film at BFI's ScreenOnline

'Hillsborough' is available on DVD.

Total TV Guide - 'You Be The Judge'

13-19 November 2010
// Scans provided by Jen

Christopher Eccleston stars in a new series of one-off dramas by Jimmy McGovern that asks viewers to decide whether the Accused are innocent or guilty

With his intense demeanour, offbeat handsomeness and prodigious talent, Christopher Eccleston, 46, has put in memorable performances in Doctor Who, Our Friends In The North and Lennon Naked, to name but a few.
He's also well known for his work with Jimmy McGovern (Hillsborough, Cracker) and the pair reunite in a new series, with Christopher Eccleston playing lapsed Catholic plumber Willy in the first of six new dramas penned by the writer.
Depicting the crime and the punishment, each stand-alone drama tells of how six people came to be in the dock of a courtroom.

"Jimmy has been the spine of my work CV, really," says Christopher. "This is the sixth time I've worked with him and without his writing and those opportunities, my career wouldn't be where it is.
"Jimmy credits his audience with having the intelligence to make their own decision. He says, 'This is how people behave. How do you feel about them?'
"And what we're hoping with this series is to get the audience debating about what the final verdict should be."

Willy's initial dilemma is when and how to tell his wife Carmel that he's leaving her for his mistress.
But when his much-loved daughter comes home and announces she's getting married, Willy gets embroiled in a series of events that find him squarely on the wrong side of the law. But how much is he really to blame?

"I have sympathy for Willy, but things are not entirely beyond his control," says Christopher, a little sternly.
"But I'm not judging him harshly, because I'd probably do the same things that he did."

Christopher is notoriously cagey about his own private life but chuckles wryly when it comes to Willy's affair with a much younger woman.

"Willy, in mid life, has had his head turned - and I've got sympathy for him there! I don't condone what he did, but he's human.
"There's nothing that Willy does in the drama that I personally find unforgivable - and that probably says a lot about me. I've learnt during my own life not to judge other people, only myself."

Willy's wife Carmel is played by Pooky Quesnel, 45, who appeared in McGovern's recent daytime series Moving On.

"I've known Pooky since I was 17," says Christopher. "We did a play together at sixth-form college. We were from different backgrounds [Chris is from a working-class family in Salford], but we had this shared interest in being actors, which was unusual in the area we were from.
"Then she went off to Oxford to do a degree, and I wandered round the world doing not much until I pitched up at drama school.
"So this is the first time we've co-starred since the sixth form! She's a fantastic actress, and not somebody people have seen a huge amount of."

Christopher, who lives in London, says he never watches himself on TV.

"I know when I've delivered the goods or not, and if I haven't I certainly don't watch it - why put yourself through it?" he says, apparently unconvinced that a lacklustre performance from Christopher Eccleston is about as rare as hens' teeth.
"You also watch yourself age on screen - and nobody wants to see that. You look at yourself and go, 'I didn't know I was receding! What's going on?'"

© Total TV Guide

More on 'Accused'

TV & Satellite Week - 'In The Dock'

November 13-19, 2010
// Scans provided by Jen

Christopher Eccleston and writer Jimmy McGovern team up once again to create more TV gold

From Cracker to Hillsborough, whenever actor Christopher Eccleston collaborates with writer Jimmy McGovern, the result is must-see TV, and their latest effort, Accused, is no exception.
Like McGovern's BAFTA-winning The Street, each episode of the compelling six-part BBC1 series centres on a different character, each of whom ends up in the dock accused of a crime.
Eccleston stars in this week's opener as Willy, a plumber who is about to tell his family he has been having an affair when his daughter announces that she is getting married. Willy can't afford to pay for the wedding, but then he finds a package in the back of the cab that he thinks could be the answer to his problems, setting in course a series of events that spiral out of his control.
We caught up with Eccleston to find out more...

How would you sum up Accused?
It's a human drama rather than a courtroom drama. In each episode, we meet a different character on trial, and we are aware they have transgressed and are about to be judged. Then the focus is on how and why they did what they did. There are a number of things Willy could have done wrong, but the audience is kept guessing until the end.

How would you describe Willy?
He has a good life, but it has become too predictable, so he throws in a hand grenade. He's a good man who has always worked hard and loves his family, but wanting to give his daughter a special wedding leads him to make fatal errors of judgement.

Will we be on his side?
That question is what fascinates me. We are hoping the series will provoke debate in the nation's front rooms and that, when we return to the courtroom at the end for the verdict, the audience will be the jury.

You have worked with Jimmy McGovern a lot. What do you enjoy about his writing?
As an actor, if the words aren't good, you look bad, but Jimmy always makes me look like a good actor. He credits the audience with intelligence and doesn't give them easy options.

You appeared in the sci-fi drama Heroes in America. Would you do another series over there?
I would if it was well-written, but I have a fierce attachment to my own country and culture. I enjoyed Heroes, but it was hard for me to care about it in the way that I cared about Our Friends In The North. I have always wanted the work that I do to have some gravity, and I need that to fire myself up. If I do something just for the money and the glamour, then I'm rubbish. I can't deliver if I don't believe in the project.

Is there anything left that you would still love to do?
I'd like to do some comedy and more theatre. I became a film and television actor by default, and I am fortunate that I have made a good living from it, but I would have developed differently as an actor if I'd done more theatre.

You played John Lennon earlier in the year. Would you like to play another real-life person?
I wouldn't mind playing Arthur Scargill. Playing a real person is interesting, because you can study them physically and psychologically. But everybody else has that information, too, so they have strong views about your performance.

What role are you proudest of?
Trevor Hicks in Hillsborough. My involvement fulfilled a dream, because I believed what we were doing had real weight and urgency, and needed to be made.

What's next for you?
I've just finished filming a BBC2 drama called The Shadow Line. It is a psychological thriller and I play a devoted husband who has to do things that morally compromise him in order to support his wife.


The Eccleston and McGovern double act

Accused is not the first time Christopher Eccleston has worked on a project with writer Jimmy McGovern...

Cracker (1993-4) Eccleston made an impact as ill-fated DCI Bilborough in his first project with McGovern.
Hearts and Minds (1995) A drama based on McGovern's own teaching experience, in which Eccleston played an idealistic teacher at a Liverpool comprehensive school.
Hillsborough (1996) Played bereaved father Trevor Hicks in the BAFTA-winning ITV drama about the 1989 football disaster in Sheffield.
Heart (1999) Eccleston was cast as a heart transplant patient pursued by the donor's mother in the moving big-screen drama.
Sunday (2002) The Emmy-nominated Channel 4 drama about the events of Bloody Sunday in 1972 featured Eccleston as British army officer General Ford.

© TV & Satellite Week

More on 'Accused'

Ian Wylie - 'Christopher Eccleston: I Owe My Career To Jimmy McGovern'

2010-11-09 MEN article | From Ian Wylie's blog (enhanced version of the article):

[...] Christopher Eccleston insists, "I've worked solidly in television, film and theatre for the last 21 years. I've no idea what the real world's like."

The Salford actor has a nice line in modesty as he teams up again with award-winning writer Jimmy McGovern, the creator of Cracker, Hillsborough and so much more.

"Jimmy has the magic of making average actors like me look good," says Eccleston, who takes the lead in the first episode of Accused (BBC1, Monday, 9pm). [...]

It's a powerful and clever formula which begins with Eccleston as plumber Willy Houlihan, a father in turmoil, cheating on his wife and plunged into money worries when a company goes bankrupt, unable to pay him for his last job.

"I don't think he's ever been in trouble with the law before. He's very good at his job. Very honourable and decent. He married his childhood sweetheart, they had their children in their mid-twenties. He sounds very much like a man confronting mortality in his middle years. A thoroughly decent everyman who makes all too human errors."

McGovern said this week that TV drama should reflect reality and have strong points to make. His new series certainly does that. "I hope what Accused demonstrates is that audiences do not go to bed talking about tracking shots, costumes or lighting. They go to bed talking about human motivation," explains Eccleston.

"People sit down to watch drama, to watch other people in extraordinary circumstances or whatever. And the people who provide that are writers. Stories well told. Drama does not come from actors, producers or directors. We all go to work because of writers who sit alone in rooms and think up ideas. The most difficult area of making television is the writing of the script."

He adds: "I think myself and Jimmy were both very influenced by Alan Bleasdale and that era of television. I watched BBC4's repeat recently of Yosser's Story in Boys From The Blackstuff and it's just as powerful. In fact, it takes on resonance because we're heading for mass unemployment again. It's actually a very simple story, simply told.

"You can sound like an old fart and talk about the golden age. There's no doubt at that time there was some dross around also. But basically, in terms of television drama, what was at the centre was the idea of the writer as king.

"It's very important that Jimmy McGovern is always given a voice on British television because he leads the way. He sets the standard and has done for 20 years."

Seen on screen earlier this year as John Lennon in Lennon Naked, the former Doctor Who star maintains: "There are many actors who could have played Willy and many actors who could have played (DCI David) Bilborough in Cracker. I was just fortunate. My face fitted at the time. Jimmy's rhythm's I do understand, yeah. I get his writing. I'm not the only actor who could do that."

[...] One scene sees the angry plumber wielding a sledgehammer. "I followed through with the sledgehammer and hit myself on the knee, which gave the crew a laugh. I was fine. It was just sore for a couple of hours," says Eccleston.

There's no doubt that he is one of the greatest actors of his generation, with a CV that also includes the likes of Our Friends In The North, The Second Coming and Hearts and Minds. He rates the latter, also written by McGovern, as his favourite, playing an idealistic young teacher at a comprehensive school.

"The best work I've done, I think. It was a four part series for Channel 4 and I was in every scene, the first time I'd led a series. It was a huge thing for me and happened to be about something close to my heart, the education of working class children. And was quite an autobiographical piece of Jimmy's because he'd been a teacher.

"I was reasonably late to the profession. I came out of drama school in '86 and I didn't get a professional job until '89. My first job was theatre in 1989. So I was 25. Three years out, I was thinking about giving it up.

"Without McGovern, I wouldn't be where I am. Cracker gave me a face on television. Hillsborough is the most important piece of work I've ever done and ever will do. He came along at a very important time for me because I was a young actor and it seemed that the idea was, 'Well, you just make money and have fun.' And that wasn't enough for me.

"I was that typical young man who was very idealistic, who actually wanted to make television that would last. I would hope with something like Hillsborough and possibly Our Friends In The North that I've done that.

"To be involved in a piece of television like Hillsborough which has brought to the attention of the public the lies told by the press, the police and the footballing authorities, and the failure of the judicial system to mete out justice, was very important.

"I was brought up with the idea that television and art could do that kind of thing. It sounds very pompous but that's what I believed. I didn't think it was just Pop Idol, television. I thought it was a place where the nation spoke to itself and confronted itself.

"McGovern had so much power after Cracker, he could have done anything – feature films, feathered his nest. What did he do? He went to the Hillsborough Family Support Group and said, 'I want to tell your story.' And then he told the dockers' story and then he told the Sunday story.

"There's not going to be a lot of money in that for Jimmy. That was an act of conscience. It's very rare. We should be very proud of having a guy like that in our midst."

Accused begins on BBC1 at 9pm next Monday (Nov 15)

Extras:

The TV writer as king?

"We don't have an excess of great painters, we don't have an excess of classical musicians but we do have some of the greatest writers the world's ever seen. So obviously we need to keep that at the centre of our culture in terms of television and theatre. We do seem to be a literary nation. We do seem to be interested in the spoken word, the written word. It's our strength. And that's why we forged the reputation with British television. In British television now, everybody's always speaking about American television. When I came into the industry it was the other way around."

So far, I’ve seen the first and second stories. Both powerful in their own way?

"The episode is difficult to talk about because you can give so much away. This is not high concept drama. It's just drama that credits its audience with a great deal of intelligence in terms of making a moral, psychological judgement of each of the central characters throughout the six episodes. We meet each character in court, we learn that they have transgressed and then we move away from the court and the drama is about how and, most importantly with McGovern, why they did what they did. And then at the end, we have the verdict. Which is a great dramatic device.

"When we did the readthrough for Willy Houlihan's episode, there was still a great deal of debate between Jimmy and the director about what the verdict should be. So we held a vote and it was split. And what we're hoping is that the audience will be split about.

"Jimmy's not particularly that interested in the legal stuff, he's interested in – as he spoke about when he first came to prominence with Cracker – the search for the pure motive. That's always been Jimmy's thing. He X-rays each character and looks for purity. Very Catholic, you could argue."

Did the debate have any influence on the eventual court verdict?

"Nobody is going to tell Jimmy McGovern what to do. I think Jimmy always knew what should happen. And I happen to agree with Jimmy's decision."

Clever storytelling structure?

"What the director David Blair has done in the edit ... because, of course, I worked on the script, the edit can change a thing radically. And I think what Blair has done very cleverly with his editor is weave in. Suddenly we're jolted out of the flow of Willy's story, into where he's headed and it creates a tension. Also it was hard for me, because obviously I know exactly what's going to happen next, but viewing it, it's not going to be clear to the viewers what Willy has done and how he's done it. There are lots of possibilities."

Willy is a conflicted lapsed Catholic. You are an atheist. You've said you used your imagination for the role?

"How do you act? You've learned your lines and you use your instincts and your imagination ... that's only interesting in the way that it informs McGovern's work. When I first read Cracker, for instance, when it came through my door, I was drawn to his writing in a very odd way because there seemed to me to be a need to confess in McGovern's writing. The writing of Fitz, for instance. I think Fitz says, 'I rehearsed the death of my father for years.' I thought, 'That's so extraordinary, it's got to be true. This writer really need to confess to his audience.' And they respond to that, don't they? There's this interesting ingredient in McGovern's writing, a very uncompromising honesty."

One scene is set in a casino. You're not a betting man?

"No, I'm not a betting man. But Jimmy sketches in that Willy has been. He walks into that casino and the croupier says to him, 'Alright Willy, I thought you'd given it up?' And I think Jimmy's been a gambling man. It's been a motif in a lot of his dramas. And again, with that roulette wheel, like the verdict, is a great dramatic device."

His next role in The Shadow Line?

"I wrapped that last week. It's a six-parter for BBC2, written and directed by Hugo Blick, who people predominantly know from Marion and Geoff. It's a psychological thriller, very difficult to describe. Very writer led, again, and a meditation on morality and the shadow line between good and bad, viewed through police and criminals and where they intersect. And about what people will do for money, and what people will do for their loved ones, which creates the grey areas, I think, certainly in my character. What people will do for money, what people will do for their pensions, actually. What people will do to secure their future. And what it does to them spiritually."


More on 'Accused'

TV Choice - 'Christopher Eccleston, Accused'

By Martina Fowler

Christopher Eccleston is one of our finest actors, but although he is just as intense in conversation as he is on screen — and woe betide you ask too much about his private life — he’s courteous, modest, and has the disarming habit of calling you by name throughout your conversation with him. (Later when I check with other female journalists, it turns out he’s pulled exactly the same stunt with them! Damn!)

He’s starred in Our Friends In The North, Dr Who, and Hollywood films such as The Others, with Nicole Kidman, but he’s also well known for his long-standing collaboration with Jimmy McGovern in shows such as Cracker and Hillsborough. Now he’s appearing in the first of six stand-alone dramas penned by Jimmy McGovern, which chart how six people came to be in court. The series boasts an impressive cast, including Mackenzie Crook (see our interview with him in next week's TV Choice, on sale Tuesday, 16 November), Juliet Stevenson and Andy Serkis.

Christopher plays lapsed Catholic plumber Willy, who is on the brink of telling his wife Carmel (Pooky Quesnel) that he’s leaving her for a younger woman, when their daughter arrives home and announces she’s getting married. But Willy’s well-meaning attempts to pay for the wedding soon see him heading for the dock….

What’s it like working with Jimmy McGovern again?
It’s a pleasure and an honour. I first worked for him in 1993, when I was about 30, and I think this is the sixth time I’ve worked with him. The piece of work I’m proudest of, Hearts And Minds, was written by Jimmy. Without his writing and those opportunities to work with him, my career wouldn’t be where it is.

Do you have sympathy for Willy?
Yeah, because he’s intensely human, as are all of McGovern’s characters. That’s what I think appeals to audiences about Jimmy’s writing — he credits his audience with the intelligence to make their own decisions.

One thing you can say about Willy is that he’s definitely trying to do the best for his kids.
I think that’s very moving about him, yeah. I think he loves his children, particularly his daughter. I think he admires his daughter because she’s not asking for a big wedding — she will be just as happy upstairs at The Crown — and he’s moved by that and proud of how she is. He tries to give her the best. I think fathers across Britain will hopefully identify with that.

Does it feel odd to be cast as the head of a family, with three grown-up kids?
[Chuckles] Yeah, it does. But that’s the beauty of what I do for a living. I can pretend to be all kinds of things.

The drama after yours stars Mackenzie Crook. Have you seen it?
That is an unbelievable episode. I’ve not seen the finished version but I heard the read-through, and that is an extraordinary piece of writing. Great cast. We read Willy’s episode and we read that story. And it was electric, the read-through for that second episode. Electric!

The six dramas are going to form a talking point because everyone will have their own opinions about them…
A lot of the psychological pressure, of course, is applied by Willy’s own conscience. I think it’s important to stress that Willy is a man with a conscience.

Do you still live in Eccles?
No, I live in London at the moment. I’ve lived in London for about 16 months. I lived in Los Angeles for a couple of years before that, before that I was based in Manchester. I don’t live anywhere, particularly, which sounds romantic — it’s not! I go where the work is. But at the moment, I’m based in London. I’ve not put down roots anywhere, particularly.

Do you tend to watch your own performances and analyse them?
I try to avoid watching myself. I know when I’ve delivered the goods or not, and if I’ve not delivered the goods for whatever reason, I just don’t watch it — why put myself through it? You know, it’s not false modesty, and it’s not neurotic, it’s just a fact. If you’re in something, you can’t judge it because you know exactly what’s going to happen. And also, you, for instance, know yourself, you hear your voice on a tape machine, you watch yourself on a family video — I bet you’re pretty critical of yourself. Well, actors are exactly the same. So, if I can possibly avoid it, I avoid it.

Source

More on 'Accused'

3FM Interview w/ Christopher Eccleston

2010-07-15 Whilst filming in the Isle of Man, Eccleston spoke to the local radio 3FM about 'The Shadow Line', the island and filming there, his career, 'dream roles' and future, 'Doctor Who', his 'legacy'.

Listen here.

3FM:

Christopher Eccleston has established himself as one of the UK's biggest acting exports with major roles in TV and Film on both sides of the pond.

Perhaps his biggest role to date was when he took on the Dr Who reboot in 2005, bringing a tired character back to life and along with writer and director Russell T Davies turning it into one of the most popular shows in the Western World.

He's currently filming a gritty 6 part drama for BBC2 on the Island, The Shadow Line.

He kindly took time out of his hectic schedule to talk to 3FM, we asked him about this new project, how he's finding the Isle of Man and of course Dr Who.

3FM also posted an excerpt here.

Mojo - 'All Back To My Place'

Mojo // August 2010 nr. 201

Christopher Eccleston
Lots of Planets Have A North

What music are you currently grooving to?
The Meters - I heard them in a bar in New Orleans, it really gets me going in the morning. Terry Callier because of the beauty and precision of his voice, and a great James Brown compilation In The Jungle Groove. Also Van Morrison's a perennial for me.

What, if push comes to shove, is your all-time favourite album?
Marvin Gaye's What's Going On. I had identical twin bothers, eight years older than me, and I thought they were very cool. They brought this home - politics you can dance to. It reminds me of sunny afternoons in the back garden with my brothers, but, it's such a heavy record.

What was the first record you bought? And where did you buy it?
It was, I'm afraid, a Manchester United single, I think it was in '76, I bought it on a stall on Salford market.

What do you sing in the shower?
Listen To The King by Van Morrison.

Which musician have you ever wanted to be?
I wanted to be Rod Stewart when he was in the Faces, but he led me to the singers I'd really like to be - Solomon Burke, Otis Redding, Al Green. To be able to sing like that... masculinity in its true form!

What is your favourite Saturday night record?
Family Affair by Mary J Blige, Got To Give It Up Parts One and Two by Marvin Gaye, The Payback by James Brown. My ideal night would be a pub with a very good jukebox and no mobile phones, TVs or Space Invaders machines.

And your Sunday morning record?
Aretha Franklin's I Never Loved A Man The Way I Love You, Van Morrison's Veedon Fleece and the Ronnie Lane track The Poacher.

Christopher Eccleston stars in Lennon Naked on BBC4 this month

© Mojo

NB In the same edition of the questionnaire is Andre Williams, who appeared with Eccleston in Almereyda's film 'New Orleans Mon Amour' (hence full page).

'Lennon Naked'

12 Jun 2010
TV film 
Dir. Edmund Coulthard 

Wr. Robert Jones
Role: John Lennon.

Note on versions:
British TV - The Beatles & Lennon music soundtrack
Region 2 DVD - John Lennon music soundtrack
USA version - censored + Lennon music soundtrack

TX
USA: Nov 21, PBS
Jul 6 Roma FictionFest
UK: Jun 23, 9.30 pm, BBC Four, BBC HD
Japan: Jun 12, 8 pm, NHK BShi
Jun 2 Screening at BFI 
May 4 Screening at BAFTA + report + q&a audio

Gallery --- Sites at: 2 | Entertain --- PBS --- BBC --- IMDb --- Blast! Films

DVD release info - review 

Video:
Trailers: at BBC site (UK) - on the blog
Excerpts: Magical Mystery Tour [Alt from Blast! Films] - 'You Are Here' Exhibition
Materials and - in the US - whole film available online for a month after TX at PBS

Audio: 
Radio reviews w/ excerpts from the film - Brief excerpts from the junket (via I. Wylie) - Naoko Mori LA inter


Pre-TX reviews:
USA
Lesley Smith (PopMatters Nov 21), Tom Jicha (Sun Sentinel Nov 21), Mark Dawidziak (Cleveland Nov 20), Neal Justin (Star Tribune Nov 19), David Wiegand (San Francisco Chronicle Nov 19), Dean Robbins (Isthmus Nov 18), Michael Toland (KLRU Nov 18), Matt Roush (TV Guide Nov 18), Dave Shiflett (Bloomberg Nov 18), Ellen Gray (Phily Nov 18), Brian Lowry (Variety Nov 17)
UK
Damien Love (Herald Scotland Jun 21), Andrea Mullaney (The Scotsman Jun 21), Neil McCormick (Telegraph Jun 19), David Smyth (Evening Standard Jun 18), Ali Hughes (Jun 6 - post-BFI), Penders (May 11 - post-BAFTA)

Alex (in-house)

Articles: 
Jun 21 Orig. inter. Laura Kelly - Christopher Eccleston - The Big Issue
Jun 21 Orig. inter. Keith Watson - Former Dr Who star Christopher Eccleston gets Naked - Metro
Jun 19 Orig. inter. Amy Raphael - Imagine John Lennon played by Doctor Who [...] - The Guardian
Jun 18 Junket plus Andy Welch - Christopher Eccleston reveals all about Lennon Naked - AOL
Jun 18 Junket plus Ian Wylie - Lennon Naked: Christopher Eccleston - Manchester Evening News
Jun 18 BAFTA rehash Lisa Sewards - Imagine... Doctor Who's playing Lennon - Mail Online + review by David Wigg
Jun 16 Junket Laura Davis - Christopher Eccleston on playing John Lennon [...] - Liverpool Daily Post
Junket Adrian Lobb - Mind games - TV Times
Junket Richard McClure - All you need is love - TV & Satellite Week
Orig. inter. Martyn Palmer - 'TV is my way into my country, my culture' - Radio Times
Jun 14 Off Radio Times Eccleston quit Doctor Who to be his 'own man' - Wales Online
Jun 14 Junket Lennon star Eccleston bares all - Wales Online
Jun 12 Orig. inter. Paul English - I couldn't believe producer wanted me to play Yoko Ono [...] - Daily Record [Naoko Mori on the film and the role]
Orig. inter. Look at him - Mojo [CE on the film and the role]
May 7 From BAFTA Ian Wylie - Naked Lennon? I can stomach that, says Chris - Manchester Evening News

News quick navigation:

• Jun 15 BBC Press Pack
• Mar 25 BBC Four Spring/Summer season
• Feb 24 BBC News article on biopics
• Jan 13 BBC Winter/Spring season
• Dec 30 Variety article
• Nov 27 BBC Four Press Release
• Nov 15 Set Report Also: Images off-site at Capital Pictures

News (most recent first):

• TX - November 21 is the American transmission date for the film (on PBS, check with your provider/local station). The DVD will be released Nov 23 (details tba). Also, the DVD (vanilla) is out in Netherlands Sep 23.
• Audience: 792,900 (4%) watched the film on BBC Four (peaking with 882,800 (4.3%)).
• Jun 15 BBC released the press pack for the film. Introduction with writer and director. CE on the role:
  

  Award-winning actor Christopher Eccleston reveals why taking on the role of one of Britain's enduring and enigmatic icons was difficult to refuse.
  
  "I'd been watching and reading about John Lennon avidly for over 20 years or more. I'm absolutely fascinated by him – he seems to have been kind, brutal, funny, arrogant, insecure, passionate and brilliant, in short – human.
  "I wanted to play Lennon because of Robert Jones's script. He captured Lennon's character and the world in which he lived with imagination and great originality. I had three weeks from accepting the role to prepare, so I read, watched and listened to everything I could get my hands on," says the 46-year-old actor, who starred in the relaunch of Doctor Who in 2005.
  
  "I re-read the Philip Norman biography and watched many documentaries and videos, but the chief source was the interview John gave to Jann Wenner, for Rolling Stone magazine," explains the star of critically-acclaimed dramas The Second Coming, Flesh And Blood and Hillsborough.
  "I think Lennon was intensely human and his flaws were amplified by fame. He had to wrestle with his qualities and his demons in a very public forum. Lennon had a very contradictory nature. I was hugely sympathetic to what happened to him when he was a young boy of only five years old – his mother and father told him to choose between them. It was insightful because I felt that incident drove him on in both good and bad ways.
  "The breadth and originality of his and the Beatles music is astounding, for example the leap from Love Me Do to Tomorrow Never Knows. I've got most of The Beatles music and music by John. There is a real confessional quality to his work. My personal favourite of John's, and I think a key to his life and this film, is Julia."
  
  The Salford-born actor, who trained at the Central School of Speech and Drama, also sought help with perfecting Lennon's accent.
  
  "I had a brilliant dialect coach in Jill McCullough. John had a very distinctive voice, accent and physicality, the challenge was to capture his spirit without just resorting to impersonation. The costume and make-up departments were really brilliant and took great care in to perfecting the shapes and the look of Lennon, on a tiny budget."
  
  The 90-min film which includes the famous bed protest also features the iconic Two Virgins cover in which an unabashed John and Yoko bare all for the cameras. But for Chris and his co-star Naoko Mori this was more of a challenge.
  
  "Nudity – that's the hard stuff to do, but you just have to get on with it," says Chris. "I'd worked with Naoko before but we weren't naked in Doctor Who!" laughs Chris. "We had a good rapport on set... with nudity, actors always watch each other's backs, literally, instead of looking anywhere else."
  
  So what's next?
  
  "I have just finished filming the first episode of The Accused, by Jimmy McGovern. I've worked with Jimmy a lot. I'm excited. It's a really good script."

  Naoko Mori:

  "I'd worked with Chris before in an episode of Doctor Who and felt we'd worked really well together. I have always admired his work and had a lot of respect for him. He really is a tremendous actor – and a wonderful man."


• Guardian:

  There are a few new shows this year though, starting with one-off Lennon Naked, in which Christopher Eccleston plays the Beatle during the "bed-in" years. Another solid Eccleston performance, and some great lines: "I was on acid, she was on the wane." Lennon says of meeting Brigitte Bardot.

• TX - UK, June 24 23 (press release).
• TX - Japan, June 12 (film's page at broadcaster's site); USA, autumn (tba, PBS Masterpiece).
• BFI screening to take place June 2nd with Q&A. More.
• May 6 Blast! Films page for the film - more here on the blog.

• May 4 The advance screening was held at BAFTA together with Q&A. Report here on the blog.
• BBFC have issued the film with "15" certificate (for strong language and one scene of hard drug use). Run time is 82 min 14 s.
• The film will have its international première at Roma FictionFest (July 5-10). UPDATE: To be screened out of competition. -- Article - in Italian; calls it one of the three major premières and mentions that CE won Best Actor at the festival in 2007 for 'Perfect Parents' -- Variety report -- THR report
• Advance screening and Q&A at BAFTA May 4.
• Now part of Fatherhood Season on BBC Four:

  John Lennon’s role as a father, and the impact of the brief and unhappy reappearance of his own absent father into his life, is the focal point of this drama, in which Christopher Eccleston stars.


• Mar 25 TRAIL - here on the blog or UK only at BBC Four Spring/Summer press release (link on the right).

  Christopher Eccleston plays John Lennon in a single film charting his transition from Beatle John to enduring and enigmatic icon.
  Spanning a period of wildly fluctuating fortunes for Lennon between 1967 and 1971, writer Robert Jones articulates the burden of genius, as well as issues of fatherhood and fame.
  
  The unexpected death of Beatles' manager Brian Epstein in 1967 marked a turning point in Lennon's life. This film focuses on the turbulent and intense period of change that followed, and how John was haunted by his troubled childhood.
  
  Made in high definition, Lennon Naked also reveals the impact of re-establishing contact with his long lost father, and the events that led John to shed everything both personally and creatively, including calling time on The Beatles.
  Meeting Yoko Ono was the catalyst for this new era and the film explores the development of their extraordinary relationship, their growing disillusionment with Britain and what caused Lennon to abandon the UK to start a new life in America, a process which ultimately inspired him to record arguably the most powerful solo work of his career.

• DVD for pre-order at HMV. Or at BBC Shop.
• Trailer had been screened during BBC Showcase 2010 in Brighton (21-24 Feb).
• TX: According to BBC News article, release now set for 'summer' (Naoko Mori had mentioned late spring/June; listen to her talk about the film and CE here).

  Lennon Naked will be the second film of the past 12 months to tackle the subject of one of British music's most enduring and enigmatic icons - John Lennon.
  
  Nowhere Boy, the debut feature by artist Sam Taylor-Wood, portrayed the precocious teenage Lennon before the Beatles and his complex relationship with his domineering aunt and free-spirited mother.
  The new BBC film, which stars former Doctor Who actor Christopher Eccleston, shows Lennon at the opposite end of his career from 1967 to 1971, fame-weary and disillusioned with the very band that made his name.
  
  The impact on Lennon of the death of the Beatles' manager, Brian Epstein comes under the microscope as does his break-up with wife Cynthia and his meeting with Yoko Ono and the subsequent period of his life which resulted in his defining song, Imagine.
  Lennon Naked has been based, in part, on an historic "jaw-droppingly open" interview that Lennon gave to Rolling Stone editor Jan Wenner in 1970. During the course of the interview, Lennon spoke at length about the break-up of his band and his fractious relationship with Paul McCartney.
  
  "It's an extraordinarily revealing interview about Lennon's character," says Lennon Naked director Ed Coulthard.
  "He's very bitchy about The Beatles, he slags people off and it's very bitter. He also says he knew he was a genius at the age of 12.
  "It was that last comment that captured me, really. It got me thinking about him and that late destructive period of his life."
  
  [listen to the J. Lennon interview in full off-site here - ATBN]
  
  Fan fears
  The film is set to be one of the highlights of the BBC's summer schedule and has Beatles fans salivating, if not also feeling a little apprehensive.
  
  "Fans have an image of John and the biggest fear that any Beatles fan has, is that it doesn't capture what he was feeling at the time," says Ernie Sutton from the British Beatles Fan Club.
  "If it gives the impression that John wasn't bothered about his divorce from Cynthia or the break-up of the band and loss of Brian, that would be a real let down.
  "John had a caring side and was really quite thoughtful. If he comes across as just an angry person then it won't give an accurate portrayal."
  
  But Lennon Naked, at least according to the director, is not in the classic rock biopic mould.
  Rather than cramming Lennon's 40 years into a neat hour and a half, the film centres on a specific period in his life.
  But does this mean the film will avoid any number of dreaded rock biopic cliches?
  
  "I think that you've got to avoid the moments that we know about already which will just seem really corny. That's why Nowhere Boy really worked because it's his early years," says Radio 1 film reviewer James King.
  
  Lennon Naked shows Lennon telling the assembled Beatles the band is finished, surely a potential stumbling point. But Coulthard insists he should have avoided any.
  
  "I think the two pitfalls are that you make a hagiography, that is just a cardboard cut-out version of an artist's popular image or you choose to tell a negative story," he says.
  "The best films of this kind, and what I aspire to, is something in between that has light and shade. It is three-dimensional and has some complexity to it and gets you to a deeper sense of who this person was."


• Jan 13 BBC announced Winter/Spring line up - see image and watch the clip w/ short extracts.
  The Sun provides an original photo of Lennon. Further explanation.
• Dec 30 Variety:

  John Lennon is the next famous Brit to get the BBC4 biopic treatment. "Lennon Naked," set in the late 1960s as the Fab Four begin to fall apart, stars former "Doctor Who" thesp Christopher Eccleston as Liverpool's most famous son. [...]
  
  "Lennon Naked," a co-production between U.K. shingle Blast! Films and the BBC, may gain much-deserved international traction for these films, which deserve a wider audience than can be achieved on a niche net such as BBC4.
  
  "Potentially the Lennon film has the ability to reach a bigger audience because it is a more contemporary story than some of the previous films we've done," says BBC4 controller Richard Klein.
  
  "A lot of the things that Lennon is seen dealing with in our story -- coming from a broken family, drugs, divorce, the art world, celebrity -- are very modern subjects that will resonate strongly with today's audience."
  
  What all these films share are strong scripts ("Enid" was written by Lindsay Shapero while the Lennon biopic was penned by Robert Jones) and the opportunity for actors to engage at a deep level with the main character's personality.
  Lavish sets, crowd scenes and special effects are conspicuous by their absence.
  
  "They are all low-cost films that extract a huge creative dividend," says Ben Stephenson, the BBC's head of drama commissioning.
  "The focus is on a single, central performance and the script, which makes them incredibly attractive from an actor's perspective. The main actor or actress is on screen for pretty much every scene." [...]
  
  Coming so soon after Sam Taylor-Wood's portrayal of Lennon's teenage years in the feature "Nowhere Boy," isn't there a danger of over-dosing on Beatles nostalgia with "Lennon Naked?"
  
  "I don't think so," counters Klein. "Our story covers the years from 1967 to 1971 so it shows a completely different period in Lennon's life.
  "It covers areas that everyone wants to know about, including why did Lennon break up the Beatles and why did he leave London to go and live in New York."
  
  It also promises an intense performance from Eccleston, who may end up rivalling Bonham Carter's interpretation of Blyton.

• Following the sighting of Christopher Eccleston on set for a new film about John Lennon on Nov 14, official information has been made available Nov 27.
  
  BBC4 Press Release:
  

  Christopher Eccleston is to star in Lennon Naked, a major one-off drama from Blast! Films for BBC Four.
  Lennon Naked charts his transition from "Beatle John" to enduring and enigmatic icon. It covers a period of wildly fluctuating fortunes from 1967-71; a time of worldwide adulation at one extreme, a combination of frustration and despair at the other.
  Writer Robert Jones articulates the burden of genius, as well as issues of fatherhood and fame in this 90-minute film.
  Ben Stephenson, Controller, BBC Drama Commissioning says: "Securing Christopher Eccleston to play John Lennon is further testament to the calibre of drama on BBC Four." [...]
  
  When The Beatles' manager Brian Epstein died unexpectedly in 1967, it was a turning point in John Lennon's life. The film focuses on the turbulent and intense period of change that followed, and how John was haunted by his troubled childhood.
  The film reveals the impact of re-establishing contact with his long lost father Freddie and the events that led John to shed everything both personally and creatively – from divorcing his long-suffering wife Cynthia, to changing his name and ultimately calling time on The Beatles.
  
  Meeting Yoko Ono was the catalyst for this new era and the film explores the development of their extraordinary relationship. Together they experimented with both the musical and artistic avant garde but in doing so become outsiders.
  It looks at their growing disillusionment with Britain and what caused John to abandon the UK to start a new life in America. A process that included John harnessing the power of radical Primal Scream psychotherapy to lay the ghosts of his past and go on to record arguably the most powerful solo work of his career.
  
  Key cast also include Christopher Fairbank as Freddie Lennon, Naoko Mori as Yoko Ono, Claudie Blakley as Cynthia Lennon, Rory Kinnear as Brian Epstein, Allan Corduner at Art Janov, Michael Colgan as Derek Taylor and Andrew Scott as Paul McCartney.
  
  Lennon Naked is currently filming in London; the 90-minute drama is written by Robert Jones (The No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency, Party Animals) and will air in 2010. The director and co-producer is Edmund Coulthard (Tales From Pleasure Beach, Soundproof); co-producer is Katherine Lannon (The Secret Life Of Mrs Beeton, The History Of Mr Polly) for Blast! Films, and BBC executive producer is Kate Evans.

  Naoko Mori, as Doctor Sato in the TV series 'Doctor Who' (ep. 4 'Aliens of London', 2005), and Rory Kinnear, as Father Dillane in 'The Second Coming' (2003), had previously appeared alongside CE. Also, Michael Colgan was Gerard Donaghey in 'Sunday' (2002).
  
  Naoko Mori and CE in 'Doctor Who' (2005)


• BBC News:

  Former Doctor Who star Christopher Eccleston is to play John Lennon in a BBC drama marking 30 years since the singer's murder in 1980.
  Lennon Naked will tackle the death of Beatles manager Brian Epstein, Lennon's developing relationship with Yoko Ono and his departure from the fab four.
  The 90-minute drama ends in 1971 - the year Lennon released his album Imagine and he and Ono moved to New York.

  Other secondary articles: Guardian, The Stage, c21media.net, Ireland On-Line.

• Nov 15 'Set report' that broke the news first, at Daily Express:

  The former Dr Who star started his first day of filming as the Beatle yesterday for a BBC drama called John Lennon – Naked.
  The dramatic scenes being shot in London depicted the day Lennon and his then girlfriend Yoko Ono were arrested.
  The reconstruction is believed to be of when the real couple were taken into custody on October 18, 1968, following a drugs raid at the flat in London where they were staying.
  
  In the real event, police read a warrant through a bedroom window to Lennon and Ono, who days earlier had revealed she was pregnant, despite the fact they were both still married to other people.
  Police who broke down the front door found 200 grams of marijuana and half a gram of morphine inside the basement flat in London's Montagu Square. [filmed in Gordon Square, North London - ATBN]
  
  The property, near the famous Abbey Road studios where The Beatles recorded their greatest hits, belonged to Lennon's band-mate, Ringo Starr.
  Days after the raid, Yoko had a miscarriage.
  Lennon later pleaded guilty to possessing the drugs because he was worried that his lover would be deported. He was fined £150.

Audio:
Naoko Mori guested on LA Talk Radio (Feb 7). Be advised it's a novelty show - site and source (there you can hear the whole programme, or if you want just the Mori interview, start at the minute 65).


Notes:
Daniel Tatarsky's tweet had the first mention of the project: "Just heard: Christopher Eccleston (Aged 45) to play John Lennon from the 24 to 31. I guess Sheila Hancock will be Cynthia. 4:54 AM Oct 16th from web"