The final episode of Channel 4’s It’s A Sin has been devastating audiences across the UK since its air online and on our TV screens this past weekend.
And now, one of the show’s stars has explained why it’s so important to today’s society.
It’s A Sin is a five-part drama series, largely filmed in Greater Manchester, created by revered screenwriter and producer Russell T Davies – who is best-known for his work in Doctor Who, Queer As Folk and Casanova, and has also previously set and filmed a number of his other shows in Manchester too, including trilogy series Cucumber, Banana & Tofu in 2015, and Years & Years in 2019 – and it explores the lives of three young gay men affected by the AIDS crisis of the 1980s.
The series is loosely inspired by Davies’ own real-life experiences, who was also an 18-year-old gay man at the start of the AIDS crisis.
The show has a seriously-impressive line-up of up-and-coming talent and big names too, with popstar and actor Olly Alexander leading the series, alongside newcomers Omari Douglas and Callum Scott Howells, and supporting roles coming from veteran actors Stephen Fry, Neil Patrick Harris, Keeley Hawes and Shaun Dooley.
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Since its air on All4 on 22nd January, and every week on Channel 4 since, the series has exceeded all expectations.
It’s now been heralded by Channel 4 as its “most binged new series ever”.
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But it’s the show’s final episode, in which Valerie Tozer – played by Keeley Hawes – the mum of Olly Alexander’s character Ritchie, “goes on the warpath” as terrible confrontations are made, that has proved to be the one to rip the nation’s hearts out.
During an online panel discussion for BFI at Home, Keeley described Valerie as “a complicated but, at the same time, she’s incredibly straight-forward character,” but it admitted that it was the last episode in particular that really sold the show to her when she was given the scripts to read.
For weeks, fans of the show on social media have been debating why an actor of Keeley Hawes’ stature and experience would accept a role as supporting as this one.
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But they finally figured out why once the final episode aired.
Keeley said: “I got a message from my agent saying the first four scripts were on the way but to keep going because even though I was only in a handful of scenes, I’d be in a lot of episode five,
“Even on the strength of the handful of scenes I would have wanted to be part of it, but then came episode five and it was amazing. I couldn’t believe my luck. It’s such an interesting period of time that hasn’t really been done in this way.”
In fact, just reading the scripts proved to be an emotional experience for Keeley.
“They were so real,” she explains.
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“I sat and read every episode, one after the other, and laughed and sobbed. I find the sadness of it hard to talk about, even now.
“It has become apparent that I can’t talk about this show without crying.”
But despite the emotional impact of the show and the challenges that such an element brought with it, both during and after filming, Keeley admits it was still very much a rewarding and “glorious” shoot.
Filming also allowed Keeley to tap into some of her own personal experiences of the era, particularly in regard to HIV and AIDS, with her admitting: I grew up very close to St Mary’s Hospital in Paddington where there was an HIV wing – I think it was one of the first ones at the time,
“I remember walking past that quite often and feeling a sense of foreboding.
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“A teacher at my primary school, when I was a bit older, went away and was ill and died of AIDS but it wasn’t something people wanted to say out loud. Nobody wanted to put a name to it, he was just ‘unwell’. It all came flooding back. I grew up in that decade and feel quite sentimental about it, but I wouldn’t want to relive it.”
When asked what she hopes audiences will take away from the show, Keeley says she wants it to educate people who weren’t around at the time.
“I don’t think my 20-year-old son has much idea about this,” she explains.
“It’s not something studied in schools because HIV is something you live with, you don’t die from it in the same way, it’s not a death sentence, so I think it will act as a reminder to some or even be news to younger generations”.
And, she also believes that the timing of the show – airing in the middle of England’s third national lockdown amid the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic – has been “accidentally extraordinary”, saying: “People say we’ve never lived through anything like this COVID pandemic but we have.
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“The way people were treated before they knew what AIDS was, the alienation of those people who were suffering in isolation, people with PPE and so on, all the conspiracy theories about a gay cancer.
“There are so many parallels to now, before we got a clearer understanding of COVID.
“I follow this brilliant Instagram page called The AIDS Memorial [@theaidsmemorial] and everyday, people post pictures of people they’ve lost with the hashtag #whatisrememberedlives – each and every story is different, from the 80s to the present day.
“Reading them makes all the lives in It’s A Sin feel more real, because some of them are so similar and they’re people that deserve to be remembered.”
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You can watch all five episodes of It’s A Sin on All 4 here.
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Liam Gallagher says he’ll ‘gig in Lidl’ if Co-op Live still isn’t ready – and they sound pretty game for it
Danny Jones
Following the ongoing palaver with Co-op Live, Liam Gallagher has joked that he’d happily play his scheduled gigs in a Lidl if the arena still isn’t ready – at least we think he’s joking…
With Liam Gallagher having been named as one of the first acts booked to play Co-op Live last year, many are now wondering whether the venue will even by June, with the former Oasis frontman set to play four Definitely Maybe 30th-anniversary sets. That being said, he’s come up with a solution if not.
Vintage LG, we’ll give him that.
Obviously a bit of a tongue-in-cheek quip at the venue being sponsored by a supermarket and convenience store chain, it could have been any other competitor that the ever-witty youngest Gallagher brother picked but it somehow made it extra funny that he chose a budget brand like Lidl.
However, with the 51-year-old already having fun with stunts like voicing the tannoys on the Metrolink last year, for instance, we wouldn’t put it past him to take this joke a little further.
Better still, not that we’re getting carried away or anything but Lidl themselves seem pretty keen on the idea too; they even spent the time to build an entire setlist for the fictional show. Fair play.
Can you imagine? Liam Gallagher swapping the occasional tambourine shake for beeps from a barcode scanner as he moves back and forth on the conveyor belt. We know it’s absolute nonsense and we definitely shouldn’t be even remotely considering it… BUT it’s the stuff of dreams and strange things have happened.
A lot of stranger things have happened this week alone. As for the latest with Co-op Live, the Chairman and CEO of key-backers Oak View Group, Tim Leiweke, issued a full statement sharing his “sincere apologies”and insisting that they understand “there is work to be done to rebuild your trust in us.”
With the likes of Olivia Rodrigo, Peter Kay, The Black Keys and more having their gigs pulled by the venue due to numerous issues, including an air conditioning unit falling from the ceiling, fans are understandably fearful that other upcoming events could face delays or general misfortune.
Much like the venue itself, we imagine we’ll be playing catch-up on this whole saga for the foreseeable, but here’s a recap of the story so far:
Featured Images — Lidl GB/Exit Festival (via Flickr)/The Manc Group
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Gavin and Stacey will return with a 2024 Christmas special for its final episode
Danny Jones
After some pretty big rumblings earlier this year, it’s finally been confirmed that Gavin and Stacey will be returning for a Christmas special this year and what will be its last-ever episode.
The beloved British comedy last aired back in 2019 with their previous Christmas special and fans of the show have been crying out for more ever since.
Well, it turns out they’ll be getting just one more go around the block as co-creators James Corden and Ruth Jones revealed that they have now finished writing their third and final Xmas special which will tie a festive bow on the trio of series which started all the way back in 2007.
Sharing a picture of the script on social media, the pair wrote: “Some news… It’s official!!! We have finished writing the last ever episode of Gavin and Stacey. See you on Christmas Day, BBC One. Love Ruth and James”.
However, what was actually going on was a bit of a red herring as she carefully chose to talk down any notions of another series but didn’t categorically dismiss the potential Christmas special.
In fact, she actually went on to add: “All I can say is, if there was something to say on that front, James [Corden] and I would happily announce it, we would.”
And that’s exactly what they’ve done. Well played, Nessa.
As for details surrounding the final chapter in the Gavin and Stacey story, we have very few details at this stage but fans of the iconic show will already be wondering how they might pick up from where certain threads left off.
Production companies Baby Cow, Corden’s Fulwell 73 and Jones’ Tidy Productions are all behind the special and, given the momentous occasion, it will likely have a primetime slot on the TV guide when it finally rolls around this holiday season.
So get your remotes, baubles and bhunas at the ready because Gavin and Stacey is coming back for one last time and it’s sure to be a TV event that people all across the UK will remember for years to come.