Broken (BBC-1 2017, Sean Bean, Anna Friel)

Sean Bean stars as Father Michael Kerrigan, a Catholic priest presiding over a Northern urban parish, in Jimmy McGovern’s new landmark six-part drama Broken.

Modern, maverick, and reassuringly flawed, Father Michael is a man who must be confidante, counsellor and confessor to a community struggling to reconcile its beliefs with the realities of daily life in contemporary Britain.

After mass, Father Michael meets Christina Fitzsimmons (Anna Friel), a mother of three who works at the local betting shop, and is saving money for her daughter’s First Communion. But when her attendance in Church sparks an unfortunate chain of events, she is left with no way to feed her children and keep a roof over their heads. Pushed to the edge when tragedy strikes, Christina makes a desperate plan to alleviate her situation. Will she go through with it, or can Father Michael – suspicious that all may not be as it seems – offer the family a lifeline?

Elsewhere, Father Michael visits his mother and brothers, sparking memories of his childhood, and revealing that he is a man with secret struggles of his own.

The series was scheduled to premiere Tuesday 23 May but the series was held back a week because of the devastating Manchester terrorist attack.

cast
Sean Bean as Father Michael Kerrigan
Anna Friel as Christina Fitzsimmons
Paula Malcolmson as Roz Demichelis
Aisling Loftus
Adrian Dunbar as Father Peter Flaherty
Mark Stanley as PC Andrew Powell
Muna Otaru as Helen Oyenusi
Danny Sapani
Lauren Lyle
Rochenda Sandall

key behind the scenes crew
Jimmy McGovern as Writer / Executive Producer
Colin McKeown as Producer / Executive Producer
Donna Molloy as Producer
Ashley Pearce as Director
Noreen Kershaw as Director
Sean Bean as Executive Producer
Lucy Richer as Executive Producer

show type
Drama

broadcast from
Tuesday 30 May 2017
6×60 minute episodes

network and production companies
BBC One – LA Productions

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