Adolescence

In the same year, Adolescence and Andor have showed that high art can have mass appeal, and that creative risk-taking isn’t just for niche, independent projects. If anything, it can give a show more reach. Keir Starmer invited the creators of Adolescence to 10 Downing Street. Meanwhile, Andor – Tony Gilroy’s take on Star Wars – manages to break new ground in a franchise that’s decades old. The Guardian called it “the best thing to happen to Star Wars since The Empire Strikes Back.”

The words “Be good” are tattooed on Jack Thorne’s wrist. It says much about one of our most lauded and in-demand TV dramatists. Two Thorne hits, Adolescence and Toxic Town, have made headlines this year; another two – The Hack and Lord of the Flies – are likely to make waves; and filming has begun on Channel 4 series Falling, starring Paapa Essiedu and Keeley Hawes in what is billed as Thorne’s “first ever love story”.

The drama, which will be directed by Peter Hoar, follows nun Anna (Hawes) and priest David (Essiedu) as they fall in love. Their romance is as true as it is unexpected, and the two quickly find themselves trying to balance it with their commitments to the community, and to God.

Also making appearances are Jason Watkins (The Lost Honour of Christopher Jefferies), Adrian Scarborough (Gavin & Stacey) and Susan Brown (Mr Bates vs The Post Office). Newcomers Holly Rhys and Shayde Sinclair round out the cast.

The original 1984 television film follows two families in Sheffield after the Soviet Union drops a nuclear bomb on the city. The rule of law quickly deteriorates, and survivors find themselves at the mercy of looters, traffic wardens armed with rifles and their own, rapidly deteriorating health.

In a flashforward some years later, the decimated population of Britain is seen trying to maintain a primitive society whose children can barely use language.

Over two decades, the ambitious, Sheffield-based independent production company Warp has built an enviable reputation for making edgy, compelling content, often featuring marginalised voices, and made for both the big and small screen. Titles include the award-winning feature film thriller Dead Man’s Shoes and, for Channel 4, This is England and The Virtues.

Warp has helped nurture the careers of such key talent as Stephen Graham and Jack Thorne, who have returned to work for them again and again.