What we know so far about the second series of Morven Christie and Lee Ingleby’s groundbreaking BBC1 drama
With filming now underway in the Lake District on the much-anticipated second series of BBC1 drama The A Word, TV Times unveils what’s in store…
The story so far The first run, which screened in March 2016, won universal acclaim for the touching and authentic way it followed parents Paul and Alison Hughes (Line of Duty’s Lee Ingleby and Grantchester’s Morven Christie) after their five-year-old son Joe (Max Vento) was diagnosed with autism.
The A Word series one trailer:
https://youtu.be/MXJvWVl2KKM
Two years on The six new episodes pick up the story two years later and Joe, now aged seven, is finding he doesn’t really fit in.
“Different is what Joe feels, and fears might be something bad,” explained writer Peter Bowker. “It’s up to the whole family to help Joe make sense of who he is and his place in the world. But to do that, they must first be honest about themselves.”
A new direction Lee and Morven are delighted to be reprising their roles.
“Peter Bowker is a fantastic writer and has put a lot of heart and soul into it,” Lee explained. “I’m very lucky and proud to do such a lovely drama.”
Meanwhile, Morven promised that Alison is as fiery and blunt as ever. “She's gone from not wanting anyone to know about Joe’s condition to the opposite approach – in series two she jumps into the heart of the autism community,” she said.
Peter added: “If the first series was about diagnosis and denial, then the second series is about the journey that is undertaken when you ‘go public’ about the fact that your child is different. This series is both about being the family with a child that is different in a small community as well as being a part of the wider ‘autism community’ and all that this entails.”
Who’s back? Aside from Lee, Morven and Max, Mollie Wright and Christopher Eccleston will reprise their roles as Joe’s older half-sister Rebecca and Alison’s widowed dad Maurice. Greg McHugh and Vinette Robinson return as Alison’s brother Eddie and his wife Nicola.
When is it on? The A Word series two is set to screen in the autumn.
