Groundbreaking BBC gay drama Mr Loverman gets release date
Ariton Bakare and Lennie James will play lovers Morris and Barry in the TV adaptation of Mr Loverman. (BBC/Fable Pictures/Des Willie)
The BBC has confirmed the release date for its new queer eight-part drama Mr Loverman, based on the 2013 novel of the same name by British author Bernardine Evaristo.
The groundbreaking new series stars Line of Duty and The Walking Dead actor Lennie James as 74-year-old Antiguan-born Hackney resident Barrington Walker, a gregarious family man with a huge, five-decade secret.
He’s been married to his wife Carmel (played by queer Lost Boys & Fairies star Sharon D. Clarke) for 50 years, but has been having a hidden, passionate affair with his best friend Morris De La Roux (His Dark Materials’ Ariyon Bakare) for 60 years.
At this stage, their marriage is a miserable one: Carmel suspects Barrington is cheating on her with other women, and his daughters are growing increasingly resentful of him.
Little do they know that the reality is much more surprising, and has the potential to fracture their family forever.
As he prepares to enter the fourth quarter of his life, Barrington has to make a decision that could change the family’s lives for good.
Time’s Tamara Lawrance and The Stroy of Tracy Beaker’s Sharlene Whyte star as Barrington and Carmel’s two adult daughters, Maxine and Donna.
Death In Paradise actor Tahj Miles plays Daniel, Donna’s son and Carmel and Barrington’s grandson.
The BBC has now confirmed that the hotly anticipated and historic new series will arrive on screens on Monday 14 October.
Viewers will get to see the first two episodes of the series at 9pm and 9:30pm BST on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.
The BBC describes Mr Loverman as “a life-affirming story about family, love, and being true to yourself”.
It’s thought to be the first prime-time drama to explore the lives of LGBTQ+ members of the Windrush generation.
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