Jimmy McGovern’s latest drama continues his theme of tackling hard hitting issues, using thought provoking films that not only entertain but he hopes, also educate.

Common, which stars Nico Miralegro as John Joe, a young boy who wanted to impress his older friends, looks at the impact that Joint Enterprise law has on the families of those convicted under its rules.

John Joe agrees to give his friends a lift to pick up a pizza, unknowingly he is driving them to a location where they intend to attack another man. During the scuffle an innocent bystander is stabbed by one of the group. The boy dies and the story quickly develops to see all of the group – including John Joe- charged with murder under Joint Enterprise law.

McGovern is no stranger to tackling difficult stories, but he says this film was different, ‘It was a little bit easier to write as it’s fiction. So whilst it’s still truthful you don’t have to check every little fact, when you’re writing that means you can fall back on your imagination a little more.

For me the important thing with this film is that the enormity of murder and injustice came across. We used to hang people – I believe Joint Enterprise is on a par with that. I’d say the theme is the underdog. Fighting injustice. David faces Goliath – he must win or there’s no story.

David Blair explains how he brings Jimmy’s ideas from script to screen.

‘The script will arrive and that’s when the casting begins. We should be in a golden age of drama production in the UK – the quality of actors and production staff is second to none.

Working with a Jimmy script is always great. He writes really economically which allows the film to expand and flourish. For example the scenes we shot in the mortuary were never rehearsed with the body. The very first take made the film – we were all just so excited by it because it was so real. ‘

So how does a young actor react when they’re sent a script by Jimmy McGovern?

‘You get sent a lot of shit scripts!’ says actor Nico Miralegro. ‘So when something like this lands and it’s exciting and powerful, truthful and heartbreaking – you just want to be involved with it. When I first read it, it was just a story. I knew nothing about Joint Enterprise and to be honest I didn’t want to know too much as I wanted to be able to play the character truthfully. 

And is it difficult to play a role in a film that you know is contentious? ‘You just look at the team around you and you know you’re in safe hands.’

The debate around Joint Enterprise is becoming increasingly prominent but what were the biggest changes in getting this story right?

‘Speaking to the mother’s of the boys’ says Nico, referring to a group of mother’s McGovern worked closely with during the making of the film and whose own sons had been convicted under Joint Enterprise.  ‘You just wanted to do their story justice’.

‘It had to be balanced’ adds David. We needed to remain impartial’.

And the ambition of the film?

‘Simply to raise awareness’, says McGovern. ‘People should know that this law exists and that innocent people are being convicted under it’.

Common is a LA Productions film for BBC One.

For pictures of the BBC Academy Q & A session, click here.