''Gifted'' is a one-off British drama thriller

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 ...

, written and devised by

Kay Mellor The name Kay is found both as a surname (see Kay (surname)) and as a given name. In English-speaking countries, it is usually a feminine name, often a short form of Katherine or one of its variants; but it is also used as a first name in its own ...

, that first broadcast on

ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...

on 29 October 2003. Starring

Kenny Doughty Kenny Doughty is an English actor and director, best known for playing DS Aiden Healy on ITV's Crime Drama '' Vera.'' Early life Doughty was born in Barnsley, South Yorkshire. He attended Charter School, which became the Kingstone School on B ...

Claire Goose Claire Goose (born 10 February 1975) is a British actress. She played Tina Seabrook, a nurse in BBC One's ''Casualty'', DS Mel Silver in '' Waking the Dead'', and Sergeant (later Inspector) Rachel Weston in ITV's ''The Bill''. She also narrated ...

and

Christine Tremarco Christine Tremarco (born 1977) is a British television actress whose career began in 1992. She is best known for portraying the role of Davina Shackleton in the BBC One school-based drama series '' Waterloo Road'' (2007–2009) and also in BBC ...

, the film follows top-flight footballer Jamie Gilliam (Doughty), who is accused of rape by Sharon Harrison (Tremarco), a part-time lap dancer. When Gilliam strongly denies the accusations made against him, Harrison drops the case following intense scrutiny from the press, leading her best friend, Maxine Norris (Goose), to look deeper into the case. The film was produced by Rollem Productions, and directed by Douglas Mackinnon. 6.19 million viewers tuned in for the initial broadcast. ''Gifted'' was released on DVD via IMC Vision on 7 February 2005.

Broadcast

Reports in ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'' in October 2003 suggested that ''Gifted'' was under review to be shelved, due to striking similarities with ongoing news stories involving a group of then unidentified Premiership footballers involved in the rape of a seventeen-year-old girl. However, despite these reports, the transmission date was brought forward three weeks, from 19 November to 29 October.

Reception

Carol Midgeley for ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

'' reviewed ''Gifted'', writing; "What a piece of luck for ITV that

’s drama about a footballer accused of date rape came to fruition just as the alleged gang rape of a 17-year-old girl by a group of Premiership footballers was being splashed across the Sunday papers. Call me a cynic, but I'm guessing the press office was cock-a-hoop. The fact is that no amount of champagne press launches and glossy publicity packs could compete with the real life, gory details of a girl being “roasted” as a way to work up the viewing public's appetite." Kathryn Flett for ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the w ...

'' added; "Kay Mellor is a fundamentally fluffy writer. The plot regularly fell apart at its seams, the direction was so emotionally distanced from its subject that it could have been the work of

Amanda Burton Irene Amanda Burton is a Northern Irish actress. Her notable credits include Heather Haversham in the Channel 4 soap opera ''Brookside'' (1982–1986), Beth Glover in the ITV drama series ''Peak Practice'' (1993–1995), Sam Ryan in the BBC c ...

, many of the key parts were perversely miscast, the char actors were clichés and the dialogue often pathetically girly. n fact, there was so much else that was wrong with ''Gifted'' that it is hard to know where to end the criticism, but I'll have a go because I think I've been hard enough."

Cast

as Jamie Gilliam *

as Maxine Norris *

as Sharon Harrison *

Paul Popplewell Paul Popplewell (born 18 April 1977) is a British actor. He became a professional actor at 16, leaving college after gaining the lead role of Simon in the BBC television drama ''Criminal'', for which he won Best Actor at the Golden Chest Film Fe ...

as Sean Dwyer *

David Hayman David Hayman (born 9 February 1948) is a Scottish film, television and stage actor and director, known for his role as DCS Mike Walker in ITV drama ''Trial & Retribution'', as Jonas Franks in BBC period drama '' The Paradise'' and as Brace in ...

as Michael Sanderson *

Steve Evets Steve Evets (born Steven Murphy; 26 July 1959) is an English actor and musician, who found fame in the leading role in the 2009 film ''Looking for Eric''. Personal life Born in Salford, Lancashire, Evets joined the Merchant Navy after leaving ...

as Mr. Gilliam *

John Benfield Jonathan Edmund Fulford "John" Turner (9 November 1951 – 16 June 2020), better known by his stage name John Benfield, was a British character actor. Biography Benfield appeared in 75 television episodes or films starting in 1981 with small pa ...

as Harry Boothroyd * Caroline Carver as Faye Steadman * Andrew Dunn as DC Fairchild * Bill Fellows as Ian Norris *

John McArdle John McArdle (born 16 August 1949) is an English actor. He is most notable for playing Billy Corkhill in the soap opera ''Brookside'', with many other smaller appearances in other soaps and dramas. Playing a regular character in ''Brookside'' ...

as Steve Moran *

as Linda Norris * Mary Jo Randle as Mrs. Gilliam * Nick Reding as Adam Gosling * Joanna Rowden as DS Dickson *

Abdul Salis Abdul Wahab Mumuni (born 6 July 1979), known professionally as Abdul Salis, is a British actor. He played paramedic Curtis Cooper on ''Casualty'', the longest-running medical drama broadcast in the UK. He is the son of Ghanaian parents who mo ...

as Rowan Angelis *

Pip Torrens Philip D'Oyly "Pip" Torrens (born 2 June 1960) is an English actor. Known for playing urbane, authoritative figures, Torrens portrayed courtier Tommy Lascelles in the Netflix drama ''The Crown'', aristocrat Lord Massen in the HBO series ''The ...

as Richard Neilson * Richard J Scott as Football Team Captain

References

External links

*{{IMDb title, id=0385723, title=Gifted (2003) ITV television dramas 2003 films 2003 television films 2000s British films British thriller films British thriller television films British English-language television shows