The BBC have announced that their adaptation of the Bernadine Evaristo novel Mr Loverman will go to air on 14th October.
The series star Lennie James best known for his roles in The Walking Dead, Fear the Walking Dead and Line of Duty. He plays 74-year-old Antiguan-born Hackney resident Barrington Walker, who has kept a secret from his family for over five decades.
His marriage to wife Carmel is at an all-time low, and she suspects he’s cheating on her with other women. The reality is he’s been having an affair with his best friend Morris for over 50 years. Sharon D. Clarke, who has appeared in Doctor Who and the recent series Lost Boys and Fairies plays Carmel in the series.
The role of Morris De La Roux will be played by Ariyon Bakare, who previously appeared in the series His Dark Materials.
For the role James is playing much older than his actual age, he’ll turn 59 later this week.
Speaking to The Guardian James said he was attracted to the story because it’s not the usual depiction of the Windrush generation who emigrated from Carribean countries to the United Kingdom between 1948 and 1971.
“It’s not the obvious ‘No blacks, no Irish, no dogs’ story that has been told frequently,” James said, “and that’s one of the things I love about it.”
The actor said that often there’s the impression that everybody left the Caribbean for the same reason and in Mr Loverman, you realise that people left for very different reasons, that the opportunities here weren’t just financial.
James began his career as a playwright but in recent years he’s been a fixture as an actor on TV series both in the UK and the USA. He’s had roles in US series including Jericho, Low Winter Sun, The Walking Dead and Fear the Walking Dead. In the UK he’s been just as prolific appearing in Critical, Line of Duty, and Save Me.
The novel the new series is based on is the seventh work from British-Nigerian author Evaristo. It was first published in 2014.
In 2019 Bernadine Evanisto was the joint winner of The Booker Prize for her novel Girl, Woman, Other. She shared the award with author Margaret Atwood who was recognised for her novel The Testaments. Evaristo is the first Black woman to win the esteemed prize.
There’s no news yet on the eight-part program screening in Australia.
