''Reg'' is a one-off

BBC Television BBC Television is a service of the BBC. The corporation has operated a public broadcast television service in the United Kingdom, under the terms of a royal charter, since 1927. It produced television programmes from its own studios from 193 ...

fact-based drama about the campaign by

Reg Keys Reginald Thomas Keys (born 1952) is the father of a British serviceman killed in the Iraq War. He stood in the 2005 general election as an anti-war independent candidate for in Sedgefield, a constituency held by the then Prime Minister, Tony Bla ...

to obtain answers following the death of his son Tom in the Iraq War, by standing in the 2005 general election as an anti-war independent candidate in Sedgefield, a

constituency An electoral district, also known as an election district, legislative district, voting district, constituency, riding, ward, division, or (election) precinct is a subdivision of a larger State (polity), state (a country, administrative region, ...

held by the then Prime Minister, Tony Blair.

Production

Keys was portrayed by Academy Award-nominated actor Tim Roth and the programme was scripted by Jimmy McGovern. Talking on BBC radio programme '' Front Row'' in June 2016 about creating the drama, McGovern said: "I first thought about it over 8 years ago and I went down to see Reg and I tried to start it, but for some reason I just couldn't seem to start it. But it was always at the back of my mind: 'I know I've got to tell this man's story'". Of his main protagonist, McGovern has said "It was an honour to meet Reg Keys. He is a truly remarkable man, and it has been a privilege to tell this part of his story."

Cast

The cast of ''Reg'' included: * Tim Roth as

* Anna Maxwell Martin as Sally Keys * Elliott Tittensor as Richard Keys * Ralph Brown as

Bob Clay Robert Alan Clay (born 2 October 1946), known as Bob Clay, is a left-wing politician and former Labour MP in the United Kingdom. Early life Robert Clay was educated at Bedford School and Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge. Unusually for a ma ...

Zac Fox Zac is a masculine given name, often a short form (hypocorism) of Zachary or Zechariah. It may refer to: People: * Zac Alexander (born 1989), Australian professional squash player * Zac Brooks (born 1993), American National Football League playe ...

as Tom Keys * Charlie Anson as Major Bryn Parry Jones *

David Westhead David William Logan Westhead (born 1 June 1963) is an English actor. Early life Westhead was born in Ely, Cambridgeshire, Ely, Cambridgeshire. He studied drama at University of Bristol, Bristol University before going on to Royal Academy of ...

as Tony Blair's minder * David Yelland as Martin Bell * Tim Bentinck as Frederick Forsyth * Kevin Doyle as Returning Officer The Male Voice Choir featured in the choir rehearsal scene and in the funeral scene were Cor Meibion Y Fflint / Flint Male Voice Choir

Awards and nominations

Critical reception

In '' The Daily Telegraph'' Jasper Rees found ''Reg'' to be "a meticulous autopsy of a vast insult to the British body politic", noting "McGovern knows where to find the drama in stories of private grief battling institutional indifference" and adding "This was a quiet portrait of simmering rage, sometimes a bit too quiet. ��The Keys' Brummie " Brummie" is a

demonym A demonym (; ) or gentilic () is a word that identifies a group of people (inhabitants, residents, natives) in relation to a particular place. Demonyms are usually derived from the name of the place (hamlet, village, town, city, region, province, ...

for Birmingham; Keys was from nearby Solihull. stoicism was the cause of much understated acting – Roth was doggedly undemonstrative, Maxwell Martin temperate and reserved." Writing in '' The Guardian'', Lucy Mangan began by saying "I don't know where Jimmy McGovern gets the emotional energy or resilience from, I really don't" before judging that "There wasn't a weak moment in the film". Mangan found Anna Maxwell Martin "as quietly stellar as always" and that "Roth was extraordinary as a man scoured out by grief and left with only a single purpose to pursue. Implacable, purged of all need or desire for lesser considerations or emotions by his loss, he gave us a man and a performance boiled down to its very essence. There is nothing more honestly, nakedly powerful or moving. Thank you."

References

External links

Official BBC page
*
Official Flint Male Voice Choir Page
{{Jimmy McGovern British docudrama films 2016 films 2010s political drama films British political drama films Films directed by David Blair (director) 2010s British films 2010s English-language films