''Danny and the Human Zoo'' is a British drama

television film A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...

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 31 August 2015. The ninety-minute film, written by

Lenny Henry Sir Lenworth George Henry (born 29 August 1958) is a British actor, comedian, singer, television presenter and writer. Henry gained success as a stand-up comedian and impressionist in the late 1970s and early 1980s, culminating in ''The Lenn ...

and directed by

Destiny Ekaragha Destiny Ekaragha is a British film director. She is only the third British black woman, following Ngozi Onwurah and Amma Asante, to have directed a feature-length film that was given cinema distribution in the UK. Career Ekaragha began her career ...

, is a fictionalised account of the former's life as a teenager in 1970s

Dudley Dudley is a large market town and administrative centre in the county of West Midlands, England, southeast of Wolverhampton and northwest of Birmingham. Historically an exclave of Worcestershire, the town is the administrative centre of the ...

Production

The film was commissioned by Charlotte Moore and

Ben Stephenson Benjamin Stephenson is a television executive, formerly controller of drama at the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) and currently Head of Television at Bad Robot Productions in the United States. Personal life Stephenson attended The H ...

. The head of BBC One wanted to give black actors more prominent television roles. The executive producers are Caroline Hollick,

Nicola Shindler Nicola Shindler (born 8 October 1968) is a British television producer and executive, and founder of the independent television drama production company Quay Street Productions, having founded and run Red Production Company from 1998 to 2020. S ...

and Polly Hill.

References

External links

* * *{{British Comedy Guide, tv, danny_and_the_human_zoo 2015 British television series debuts 2015 television films 2015 films Television series by Red Production Company BBC television dramas 2010s English-language films