On the eve of the 2016 US presidential election, when Donald Trump was getting his first inkling that he would be elected to the world’s highest political office, Russell T Davies was texting the controller of BBC drama about an idea they had long been discussing. “I wrote to Piers Wenger and said, ‘If he wins tomorrow, it’s time I write this show now’ – and he said yes,” recalls Davies.
Set in a Britain rocked by political, economic and technological changes, the six-part drama follows the Lyons family as their busy live converge one night in 2019.
Over the next fifteen years, the drama tracks the twists and turns of everyday life to find out if this ordinary family can change the world.
Starring in the family saga is two-time Oscar winner Emma Thompson (Love Actually) as Vivienne Rook, an outspoken and controversial public figure whose rise to power brings an uncertain future.
Halfway through 2018, it already seems clear who some of the leading contenders will be in the actor categories of next year’s Bafta and RTS awards: Benedict Cumberbatch and Anthony Hopkins for their title roles in Patrick Melrose and King Lear, and Ben Whishaw and Hugh Grant as Norman Scott and Jeremy Thorpe in A Very English Scandal.
Years and Years follows the Lyons, a busy Mancunian family. There’s Daniel who is getting married to Ralph, Stephen and Celeste worrying over their children, man-eater Rosie and estranged Edith. At the head of the chaotic family is Gran, the regal Muriel. When their lives all converge on one crucial night in 2019 the story is propelled into the future following the lives and loves of the Lyons over 15 years in a Britain rocked by volatile political, economic and technological advances.
Best known for his roles in Four Weddings and a Funeral, Bridget Jones's Diary and Notting Hill, Grant returns to television to play the shamed politician.
A Very English Scandal is based on the book by author John Preston, and is written by Russell T Davies (Doctor Who) and directed by Stephen Frears (Florence Foster Jenkins).
