''Broken'' is a six-part

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

television drama series, created by

Jimmy McGovern James Stanley McGovern (born September 1949) is an English screenwriter and producer. He is best known for creating the drama series '' Cracker'' (1993–1995), for which he received two Edgar Awards from the Mystery Writers of America. He als ...

, that first broadcast on

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, p ...

on 30 May 2017. The series focuses on Michael Kerrigan (

Sean Bean Sean Bean (born Shaun Mark Bean on 17 April 1959) is an English actor. After graduating from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, Bean made his professional debut in a theatre production of ''Romeo and Juliet'' in 1983. Retaining his Yorkshire ac ...

), the priest of a Roman Catholic parish in a northern English city, who despite suffering from his own troubles stemming from a traumatic childhood, tries to guide several of his most vulnerable parishioners through the trials and tribulations of everyday life. The series was directed by Ashley Pearce and

Noreen Kershaw Noreen Kershaw is an English television actress and director. She trained at the Manchester Polytechnic School of Theatre and, at Liverpool's Everyman Theatre, originated the title role of the play '' Shirley Valentine'', later made famous by ...

; while

Shaun Duggan Shaun Duggan (born 1970) is a BAFTA nominated English writer based in the UK. He has repeatedly collaborated with Jimmy McGovern. He has written several plays and has worked extensively for television including ''Brookside'' (Channel 4) and '' E ...

, Colette Kane and Nick Leather all contributed to McGovern's scripts. The series was released on DVD on 10 July 2017. Bean won a BAFTA for Best Actor while Friel was nominated for Best Supporting Actress.

Cast

Main

as Father Michael Kerrigan *

Adrian Dunbar Adrian Dunbar (born 1 August 1958) is a Northern Irish actor, director and singer, known for his television and his theatre work. Dunbar co-wrote and starred in the 1991 film '' Hear My Song'', nominated for Best Original Screenplay at the BA ...

as Father Peter Flaherty *

Anna Friel Anna Louise Friel (born 12 July 1976) is an English actress. Born in Rochdale, Greater Manchester, she has been acting professionally since age 13. Friel achieved fame with her portrayal of Beth Jordache on the British soap opera ''Brookside'' ( ...

as Christina Fitzsimmons *

Muna Otaru Maimuna "Muna" Otaru is a Liverpool-born British actress known for her role as Mad in the film ''The Keeping Room ''The Keeping Room'' is a 2014 American Western film directed by Daniel Barber and written by Julia Hart. The film stars Brit ...

as Helen Oyenusi *

Mark Stanley Mark Robert Speight, known professionally as Mark Stanley, is an English actor. He portrayed Grenn in the HBO series ''Game of Thrones''. He is also known for his roles in the films ''Kajaki'' and '' Our Kind of Traitor'', and the series ''Dick ...

as PC Andrew Powell *

Aisling Loftus Aisling Sinead Katie Loftus (born 1 September 1990) is a British actress. She began her career as a child actress and gained prominence through her roles in the BBC dramas ''Five Daughters'' (2010) and '' Dive'' (2010), the play '' Spur of the M ...

as PC Dawn Morris *

Paula Malcomson Paula Malcomson (born 1 June 1970) is a Northern Irish actress. She is sometimes credited as Paula Williams. She is known as Trixie in ''Deadwood'' (2004-2006), Maureen Ashby in ''Sons of Anarchy'' (2010), and as Abby Donovan in '' Ray Donovan' ...

as Roz Demichelis *

Ned Dennehy Ned Dennehy (born 8 December 1965) is an Irish actor who has appeared in multiple films and television programmes. He is best known for his role as Mider in ''The Mystic Knights of Tir Na Nog''. He also appeared in ''Blitz'', ''Harry Potter and t ...

as Karl McKenna *

Danny Sapani Danny Sapani (born 15 November 1970) is a British actor who works in British, American, and Indian films. He is best known for appearing in ''Misfits'', '' Doctor Who'', ''Penny Dreadful'', ''The Crown'', '' Star Wars: The Last Jedi'' and '' Bl ...

as Daniel Martin

Supporting

Clare Calbraith Clare Michelle Calbraith (born 1 January 1974) is an English actress, born in Winsford, Cheshire, and raised in Liverpool and Cheshire, whose appearances include roles in the ITV period drama series '' Home Fires'' and ''Downton Abbey'', toge ...

as Mariella Fitzsimmons *

Paul Copley Paul Mackriell Copley (born 25 November 1944) is an English actor and voiceover artist. From 2011 to 2015 he appeared as Mr. Mason, father of William Mason, in 16 episodes of ''Downton Abbey'', and from 2020 to 2021, he appeared in the ITV soa ...

as Joe Kerrigan * Iain Hoskins as Policeman * Vanessa Earl as Beth Kerrigan * Steve Garti as Eddie Kerrigan *

Jerome Holder ''The Story of Tracy Beaker'' (informally known as '' Tracy Beaker'' or ''TSOTB'') is a British television programme series adapted from the book of the same name by Jacqueline Wilson. It ran on CBBC for five series, from January 2002 to Decem ...

as Vernon Oyenusi *

Lauren Lyle Lauren Lyle (born 12 July 1993) is a Scottish actress best known for her recurring role as Marsali MacKimmie Fraser in the Starz television drama '' Outlander'', and peace protester Jade Antoniak in the BBC drama ''Vigil''. Lyle also plays th ...

as Chloe Demichelis * David McClelland as Christopher Kerrigan * Faye McKeever as Caroline Powell * Eileen Nicholas as 'Nan' Fitzsimmons *

Naomi Radcliffe Naomi Radcliffe (born 1971) is an English actress. She was born in Oldham, Lancashire to Albert Radcliffe—a Canon of Manchester Cathedral—and Petrina, a teacher. She was educated at The Blue Coat School in Oldham and the Royal Welsh College ...

as Pauline Pickering * Sam Rintoul as Young Michael Kerrigan *

Rochenda Sandall Rochenda Sandall (born 1988) is a British actress who played Lisa McQueen in ''Line of Duty'', and has featured in other productions including '' Small Axe'' and ''Doctor Who''. Biography Rochenda Sandall was born in about 1988 in Grimsby, a ...

as Jean Reid * Matthew Wilson as PC Ian Wakefield

Production and filming

The series, produced by

LA Productions LA Productions Ltd is a British independent television and film production company based in Liverpool, UK. It was founded in 2000 by Brookside co-creator, Colin McKeown MBE, and is known for producing socially-conscious television drama, most ...

, was commissioned in 2015; with filming taking place throughout 2016. This series was filmed in

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

, although the city is not directly mentioned in the series itself. Some scenes are shot in trains, implying that Father Michael commutes between his Merseyside parish and his

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

mother and second-generation siblings in Sheffield. The featured church is

St Francis Xavier Church, Liverpool St Francis Xavier's Church is a Roman Catholic church in Salisbury Street, Everton, Liverpool, Merseyside, England. The church is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II* listed building. It is an active ...

Episodes

Broadcast

The series was originally due to begin on 23 May, but the broadcast was postponed following the

Manchester Arena bombing On 22 May 2017, an Islamist extremist suicide bomber detonated a shrapnel-laden homemade bomb as people were leaving the Manchester Arena following a concert by American pop singer Ariana Grande. Twenty-three people were killed, including ...

the previous night, and was replaced in the schedules by a repeat of ''

Planet Earth II ''Planet Earth II'' is a 2016 British nature documentary series produced by the BBC as a sequel to ''Planet Earth'', which was broadcast in 2006. The series is presented and narrated by Sir David Attenborough with the main theme music composed ...

''. This was due to the nature of the storyline in the first episode, which focuses on mum-of-three Christina Fitzsimmons (

), who after losing her job, resorts to keeping her mother's death a secret in order to continue claiming her state pension.

References

External links

* * {{Jimmy McGovern 2017 British television series debuts 2017 British television series endings 2010s British crime television series 2010s British drama television series BBC television dramas English-language television shows Television shows shot in Liverpool