''Consenting Adults'' is a 2007
BBC Four
BBC Four is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was launched on 2 March 2002 television film which portrays the events of the
Wolfenden Committee, chaired by
Sir John Wolfenden. The film is set in the 1950s and depicts social attitudes towards homosexuality in Britain at that time, while also focusing on Wolfenden and his homosexual son
Jeremy Wolfenden
Jeremy John Le Mesurier Wolfenden (26 June 1934, England – 28 December 1965) was a foreign correspondent and British spy at the height of the Cold War.
Biography
The son of John Wolfenden, chairman of the Wolfenden Report which recommended t ...
.
The Committee first met on 15 September 1954 and published its report on 4 September 1957, recommending that "homosexual behaviour between consenting adults in private should no longer be a criminal offence". The report led to the passage of the
Sexual Offences Act 1967, which partially decriminalised homosexuality in England and Wales.
The film was commissioned as part of a season of programming marking the 40th anniversary of the partial decriminalisation of homosexuality in England and Wales in 1967.
Cast
*
Charles Dance as John Wolfenden
*
Sean Biggerstaff as Jeremy Wolfenden
*
David Bamber as Dr Carl Winter
*
Samantha Bond as Jill Wolfenden
*
Dallas Campbell
Robert Dallas Campbell (born 17 September 1970) is a British television presenter and television and stage actor, best known as a presenter on the factual Channel 5 series ''The Gadget Show'' in 2008 and BBC One science series '' Bang Goes t ...
as Sergeant Harry
*
Mark Gatiss as Police Constable Butcher
*Paul Kendrick as Clive
*Jamie Martin as Colin Parker
*Charles Reston as Michael
*
Matt Ryan as Charley Bullard
*
Mel Smith as Maxwell Fyfe
*Tim Wallers as Spellman
*
Colin Stinton as
Alfred Kinsey
Reception
The film was nominated for
BAFTA Scotland
BAFTA in Scotland is the Scottish branch of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts. Formed in 1986, the branch holds two annual awards ceremonies recognising the achievement by performers and production staff in Scottish film, televi ...
’s Best Drama Award on 18 November 2007, and Sean Biggerstaff won BAFTA Scotland's Award for Best Actor (Television).
External links
BBC Four program description*
LGBT history in the United Kingdom
2007 television specials
BBC television dramas
2007 drama films
LGBT-related drama films
2007 LGBT-related films
2007 films
2000s British films
British drama television films
2000s English-language films
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