''My Left Nut'' is a Northern Irish comedy-drama television miniseries produced by Rollem Productions for

BBC Three BBC Three is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was first launched on 9 February 2003 with programmes targeting 16 to 34-year-olds, covering all genres including animation, comedy, cur ...

. Based on the stage-play of the same name by Michael Patrick & Oisín Kearney, and drawing heavily on Patrick's own teenage years, the series follows 15-year old Mick (Nathan Quinn O'Rawe) as he discovers a swelling on his left testicle. The series was written by Patrick and Kearney and directed by Paul Gay. The series was released on

and BBC iPlayer in the United Kingdom on 1 March 2020, followed by weekly airings 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, ...

Premise

The series follows teenager Mick as he attempts to deal with his home and school life after discovering a swelling on his left testicle. His father having died years previously, Mick confides in his mother ( Sinead Keenan) as he plucks up the courage to go to the doctor - all whilst trying to keep his swollen testicle from his friends Tommy and Conor, and his prospective girlfriend Rachael.

Cast

* Nathan Quinn O'Rawe as Michael "Mick" Campbell. * Sinead Keenan as Patricia Campbell, Mick's mother. *

Brian Milligan Brian Milligan (born 1982/1983) is a Northern Irish actor best known for his role in the television crime drama '' The Fall''. Early life Milligan grew up in Belfast with his 5 siblings. He attended secondary school at Lagan College. Milligan ...

as Jimmy Campbell, Mick's dead father. * Jessica Reynolds as Rachael, Mick's prospective girlfriend. * Levi O'Sullivan as Conor, Mick's friend. * Oliver Anthony as Tommy, Mick's friend. * Sade Malone as Siobhan, Rachael's friend. * Lola Petticrew as Lucy, Mick's sister. * Jay Duffy as Danny, Lucy's boyfriend. * Odhran Carlin as Finn, Mick's brother. * Roger Thomson as Dr Gibbon, Mick's GP *

Gerard Jordan Gerard Jordan is a Northern Irish actor from Belfast. Career He is best known for his recurring roles in the Northern Irish TV series ''Pulling Moves'' (2004) and in BBC's '' The Fall'' (2013–2014), and for his portrayal of Biter in the HBO ...

as Tommy's da.

Episodes

Production

Micheal Patrick and Oisín Kearney originally wrote ''My Left Nut'' as a

one man show A solo performance, sometimes referred to as a one-man show or one-woman show, features a single person telling a story for an audience, typically for the purpose of entertainment. This type of performance comes in many varieties, including auto ...

through the 'Show in a Bag' initiative run by Fishamble: The New Play Company in partnership with

Dublin Fringe Festival The Dublin Fringe Festival is an annual curated arts festival in Dublin, Ireland focusing mainly on theatre. The festival allows artists to submit their work via an application which is subsequently reviewed by the programme manager. The festiva ...

and The Irish Theatre Institute. The theatre play was a semi-fictionalised version of Patrick's teenage years growing up in Belfast with a swollen testicle, it premiered at the Dublin Fringe 2017 before showing at Summerhall as part of Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2018. At the same time, Patrick and Kearney were part of BBC Writers' Room Belfast Voices, through which they pitched the idea of adapting their play for television to Rollem Productions. Principal photography began on location in

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdom ...

in August 2019. Specific locations in Belfast included St Mary's Christian Brothers' Grammar School, the Strand Cinema,

Belfast Harbour Belfast Harbour is a major maritime hub in Belfast, Northern Ireland, handling 67% of Northern Ireland's seaborne trade and about 25% of the maritime trade of the entire island of Ireland. It is a vital gateway for raw materials, exports and c ...

and

Ormeau Road Ormeau Road is a road in south Belfast, the capital of Northern Ireland. Ormeau Park is adjacent to it. It forms part of the A24. History The road, as currently laid out, dates from the first decades of the 19th century when a bridge was buil ...

Reception

The show received generally positive critical reviews, getting particular praise for its blend of comedy and drama, being described as "equal parts charmingly funny and strangely sincere" by ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'', and being compared favourably to similar series such as ''

Derry Girls ''Derry Girls'' is a British teen sitcom created and written by Lisa McGee that premiered on 4 January 2018 on Channel 4. The channel's most successful comedy since ''Father Ted'', the series was inspired by McGee's own experiences growing up ...

'' and ''

The Inbetweeners ''The Inbetweeners'' is a British coming-of-age television teen sitcom, which originally aired on E4 from 2008 until 2010 and was created and written by Damon Beesley and Iain Morris. The series follows the misadventures of suburban teenager ...

''. Liam Fay in ''

The Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News UK, w ...

'' said: "There are echoes of everything from The Inbetweeners to Derry Girls, but the show has its own distinctive voice." My Left Nut won Best Drama at the 2020 Royal Television Society Northern Ireland Awards and won Best Drama, Best Writers (Michael Patrick & Oisín Kearney) and Best Actor (Nathan Quinn O'Rawe) at the 2021 Royal Television Society Yorkshire Awards. It was also nominated for Best Drama at the 2020 Broadcast Digital Awards.

References

External links

My Left Nut on BBC
* {{IMDb title, 10880104 BBC comedy-drama television shows 2020 British television series debuts 2020 British television series endings Television series about teenagers Television shows set in Belfast Television shows set in Northern Ireland