''No Child of Mine'' is a 1997 British

docudrama Docudrama (or documentary drama) is a genre of television and film, which features dramatized re-enactments of actual events. It is described as a hybrid of documentary and drama and "a fact-based representation of real event". Docudramas typic ...

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 ...

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 ...

starring

Brooke Kinsella Brooke Kinsella (born 17 July 1983) is a British actress, author and anti-knife crime campaigner. A graduate of the Anna Scher Theatre School, Kinsella has been acting since childhood. She has had various roles on television and in film. Her mos ...

. It documents the true case of a girl named Kerry who was

sexually abused Sexual abuse or sex abuse, also referred to as molestation, is abusive sexual behavior by one person upon another. It is often perpetrated using force or by taking advantage of another. Molestation often refers to an instance of sexual assau ...

throughout her childhood. It premiered on Tuesday, February 25, 1997 in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

Plot

13-year-old Kerry, whose last name is not disclosed for safety reasons, endures problems at home with her parents fighting each other and eventually separating. Shortly after, her mother's new boyfriend, Graham, moves in with them and begins physically and sexually abusing her. Her mother, Linda, also occasionally takes part in the abuse, making her daughter perform oral sex on her. Kerry's father, Jim, a construction worker, attempts to manipulate her into

prostitution Prostitution is the business or practice of engaging in Sex work, sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, n ...

, something she is unaware of until a few truck drivers "borrow" her. Kerry's situation worsens at home and she decides to run away after Jim attacks Linda and Graham for abusing Kerry. One of her class teachers, Paul suddenly becomes aware of her situation and attempts to have her placed in childcare. The class teacher,

social worker Social work is an academic discipline and practice-based profession concerned with meeting the basic needs of individuals, families, groups, communities, and society as a whole to enhance their individual and collective well-being. Social work ...

s, and friends attempt to file charges of sexual and physical abuse on Kerry's behalf against her mother's boyfriend. However, the

Crown Prosecution Service The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) is the principal public agency for conducting criminal prosecutions in England and Wales. It is headed by the Director of Public Prosecutions. The main responsibilities of the CPS are to provide legal adv ...

later declines to continue the case, arguing there is not enough legal evidence to support the allegations. Kerry is placed into

foster care Foster care is a system in which a minor has been placed into a ward, group home (residential child care community, treatment center, etc.), or private home of a state-certified caregiver, referred to as a "foster parent" or with a family mem ...

, but struggles to settle in and repeatedly destroys property, making it impossible for the foster family to keep her. Kerry is then placed into a care home. She is seduced by a pimp (who knows exactly how Kerry feels about living with a stubborn mother and stepfather like hers who don't understand her), and for some time willingly leases herself for profit. A social worker in the childcare home also begins to sexually abuse her. Feeling helpless, Kerry frequently visits her class teacher and tries to move in with him, but he is unable to care for her. He consults his friend and child-support agent to have Kerry placed somewhere safe, but her case cannot be given any more priority than that of any other child. Towards the end of the film, Kerry runs away and finds a small and peaceful care home in a rural location. They decline her offer of money, which she obtained by prostituting herself. Traumatized, Kerry does not speak for the past 5 days there. Then 12 days later, as she begins to trust the people in the home, she begins to reveal her story after a woman in the home saw inside that Kerry's been through an abusive life. While her abusers did not suffer any legal consequences, she was finally free from her abuse. It's then revealed that she went on to study at a university.

Cast

as Kerry *

Colin Salmon Colin Salmon (born ) is a British actor. He is known for playing Charles Robinson in three James Bond films and James "One" Shade in the ''Resident Evil'' film series. He has had roles on many television series such as ''Doctor Who'', ''Merli ...

as Paul * Bill Geraghty as Jim *

Sharon Small Sharon Small is a Scottish actress known for her work in film, radio, theatre, and television. Perhaps best known for her portrayal of Detective Sergeant Barbara Havers in the BBC television adaptation of ''The Inspector Lynley Mysteries'' by ...

as Linda * Geoffrey Church as Graham *

Ginny Holder Ginny Holder is an actress best known for playing Thandie Abebe-Griffin on the BBC medical drama series ''Holby City ''Holby City'' (stylised on-screen as HOLBY CIY) is a British medical drama television series that aired weekly on BBC On ...

as Bridget * Darren Tighe as Mick * Kate Byers as Matty *

Katie Lyons Katie Lyons (born 18 August 1981 in Southampton) is an English actress, most noted for her performance as Naughty Rachel in the Channel 4 sitcom ''Green Wing''. She has also appeared in ''Doc Martin'', ''The Bill'', ''EastEnders'', ''The Cather ...

as Tracy * Jill Marie Cooper as Lucy (as Jill Cooper) * Billie Holmes as Paula * Anna Waters as Donna * Bridget Hodson as Miss Lewis * Alex Knight as Steve * Phil Herne as Shane * Ravin J. Ganatra as Len *

Edward Highmore Edward Thomas Highmore (born 3 April 1961) is an English actor. He was born in Kingston upon Thames, London. Life and career Best known for playing Leo Howard in the 1980s BBC drama ''Howards' Way''. He also appeared in '' Doctor Who'', playing ...

as Ray * Karl Jenkinson as Derek * Judy Norman as Vanessa * James Powell as Peter * Jason Hall as Mike * Julie Smith as Carly * Ralph Van Dijk as Male Doctor * Melanie Ramsay as P.C. Kate Booth * Lavinia Bertram as Female Doctor * Nita Gale as Sally * Jason Stracey as Vic * Annie Hayes as Pam * Natalie Ratcliff as Denise * Barry McNicholl as Gary * Kay Dacey as First Girl * Diane Adderley as Childline Voice (voice)

Production

The film was written by

Guy Hibbert Guy Hibbert is a British screenwriter and playwright. He has won four BAFTA TV awards, including Best Writer for the 2009 film ''Five Minutes of Heaven''. This film was premiered at the 25th Sundance Film Festival, where Hibbert won the World Ci ...

for

Meridian Broadcasting ITV Meridian (previously Meridian Broadcasting) is the holder of the ITV franchise for the South and South East of England. The station was launched at 12:00 am on 1 January 1993, replacing previous broadcaster Television South, and is owned an ...

. It was produced and directed by

Peter Kosminsky Peter Kosminsky (born 21 April 1956) is a British writer, director and producer. He has directed Hollywood movies such as ''White Oleander'' and television films like ''Warriors'', ''The Government Inspector (television drama), The Government In ...

References

{{reflist

External links

No Child of Mine
on

IMDb IMDb (an abbreviation of Internet Movie Database) is an online database of information related to films, television series, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and personal biographies, ...

No Child of Mine
on

filmaffinity FilmAffinity is a movie recommendations website created in 2002 in Madrid, Spain by the film critic Pablo Kurt Verdú Schumann and the programmer Daniel Nicolás. As of 2016, the site listed 125,000 movies and series and had 556,000 reviews wri ...

British television films Films about child sexual abuse Films about child abuse 1997 films Prostitution in British television Films about dysfunctional families Films about domestic violence ITV television dramas Television series by ITV Studios Television shows produced by Meridian Broadcasting