''Single Father'' is a four-episode 2010
BBC television drama
BBC television dramas have been produced and broadcast since even before the public service company had an officially established television broadcasting network in the United Kingdom. As with any major broadcast network, drama forms an importan ...
centred on Dave (
David Tennant
David John Tennant (''né'' McDonald; born 18 April 1971) is a Scottish actor. He rose to fame for his role as the tenth incarnation of the Doctor (2005–2010 and 2013) in the BBC science-fiction TV show '' Doctor Who'', reprising the rol ...
), a photographer attempting to look after his children as a
single father
A single parent is a person who has a child or children but does not have a spouse or live-in partner to assist in the upbringing or support of the child. Reasons for becoming a single parent include divorce, break-up, abandonment, becoming wid ...
after the death of his partner, Rita (
Laura Fraser
Laura Fraser (born 24 July 1975) is a Scottish actress. She has played Door in the urban fantasy series ''Neverwhere'', Kate in the film ''A Knight's Tale'', Cat MacKenzie in the BBC Three drama series ''Lip Service'' and Lydia Rodarte-Quayle i ...
), in a road traffic accident. The series also explores the complicated and growing romance between Dave and Rita's best friend, Sarah (
Suranne Jones
Sarah Anne Akers (née Jones; born 27 August 1978), known professionally as Suranne Jones, is an English actress and producer. She rose to prominence as Karen McDonald in ''Coronation Street'' between 2000 to 2004. Upon leaving, she furthered h ...
). The series began airing 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 10 October 2010 at a 9pm timeslot, with 5 million viewers.
Plot
Photographer Dave Tiler lives with his partner Rita, their three children, and Rita's older daughter of unknown paternity, Lucy. Dave also has an older daughter named Tanya (who has a son of her own, and works as Dave's assistant) from his first marriage. Rita works at a school with her best friend Sarah, who is unsure about whether to start a family with her partner Matt. The Tilers' lives are thrown into chaos when Rita is hit and killed by a police car; the children try to come to terms with the death of their mother, and Dave struggles to cope with raising them alone. Dave and Sarah share a grief-stricken kiss, and are unsure of their attraction to each other.
When Lucy starts a quest to find her real father, the shocking results leading Dave to question the paternity of his and Rita's other children. In anger at Rita's dishonesty in keeping Lucy's paternity and her relationship with the father a secret, and questioning Rita's fidelity, Dave sleeps with Sarah, who is angry and hurt when Dave starts post-coitally ranting about Rita. At the same time he begins to doubt if the three other children are really his. Dave faces growing financial problems, problems with his grief-stricken children, and potentially losing Lucy to her biological father. Meanwhile Matt discovers that Sarah has cheated on him with Dave, and sleeps with Tanya as revenge, leading to a showdown at Dave's house. Ultimately, Dave must slay the ghosts of the past, and decide whether to pursue new love with Sarah.
Cast
*
David Tennant
David John Tennant (''né'' McDonald; born 18 April 1971) is a Scottish actor. He rose to fame for his role as the tenth incarnation of the Doctor (2005–2010 and 2013) in the BBC science-fiction TV show '' Doctor Who'', reprising the rol ...
– Dave Tiler
*
Laura Fraser
Laura Fraser (born 24 July 1975) is a Scottish actress. She has played Door in the urban fantasy series ''Neverwhere'', Kate in the film ''A Knight's Tale'', Cat MacKenzie in the BBC Three drama series ''Lip Service'' and Lydia Rodarte-Quayle i ...
– Rita Morris
*
Suranne Jones
Sarah Anne Akers (née Jones; born 27 August 1978), known professionally as Suranne Jones, is an English actress and producer. She rose to prominence as Karen McDonald in ''Coronation Street'' between 2000 to 2004. Upon leaving, she furthered h ...
– Sarah, Rita's best friend
*
Isla Blair
Isla Blair Glover (born 29 September 1944) is a British actress and singer. She made her first stage appearance in 1963 as Philia in the London debut of '' A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum''.
Early life and education
Isla Blair w ...
– Beatty, Rita's adoptive mother
*
Warren Brown – Matt, Sarah's partner
*
Rupert Graves
Rupert Simeon Graves (born 30 June 1963) is an English film, television, and theatre actor. He is known for his roles in ''A Room with a View'', '' Maurice'', '' The Madness of King George'' and '' The Forsyte Saga''. From 2010 to 2017 he star ...
– Stuart, Lucy's biological father
*
Mark Heap
Mark Heap (born 13 May 1957) is an English actor and comedian. He is known for his roles in television comedies, including, ''Brass Eye'', ''Big Train'', ''Spaced'', ''Jam (TV series), Jam'', ''Green Wing'', ''Friday Night Dinner'', ''Upstart ...
– Robin, Anna's husband
*
Neve McIntosh
Neve McIntosh (born Carol McIntosh; 9 April 1972) is a Scottish actress.
Early life
Born in Paisley, Renfrewshire, McIntosh grew up in Edinburgh, where she attended Boroughmuir High School. She was a member of Edinburgh Youth Theatre in the l ...
– Anna, Rita's adoptive sister
*Natasha Watson – Lucy, Rita's 15-year-old daughter with Stuart
*Chris Hegarty – Paul, Rita and Dave's 11-year-old son
*Robert Dickson – Ewan, Rita and Dave's 9-year-old son
*
Millie Innes
Millie Innes (born 5 October 2000) is a Scottish actress, known for her roles as Maisy in ''Dani's House'' and Millie McDonald in ''Millie Inbetween''.
Early and personal life
Innes was born in 2000 to parents Julia and Campbell; she has a you ...
– Evie, Rita and Dave's 6-year-old daughter
*
Jenni Keenan Green
Jenni Keenan Green is a Scottish actress.
Background
Born in Paisley, Keenan Green attended the Dance School of Scotland (part of Knightswood Secondary School) in Glasgow to learn ballet. After graduating, she attended the Arts Educational Sch ...
– Michelle, Dave's first wife
*
Sophie Kennedy Clark
Sophie Kennedy Clark (born 1990) is a Scottish actress. She is the daughter of actress and singer Fiona Kennedy and the granddaughter of singer Calum Kennedy.
Career
Her first big break came when she starred as David Tennant's eldest daughte ...
– Tanya, Dave's 18-year-old daughter by his first marriage to Michelle, who also has a three-year-old son
*
Stephen McCole
Stephen McCole is a Scottish actor. He is best known for starring in the dark comedy series ''High Times'',Paul English"High Times duo Stephen and Paul McCole find fame in unlikely places" '' The Daily Record'', 28 June 2008. Retrieved 1 June 20 ...
– Jimbo, Dave's friend with whom he plays football
*Gabriel Green McGillivray – Samuel, Tanya's 3-year-old son
*Charlotte Pyke – Francine, Stuart's wife
*Mariam Metreveli – Jemma, Stuart's daughter with Francine
*Sesili Metreveli – Alice, Stuart's daughter with Francine
Production
As a
BBC Scotland
BBC Scotland (Scottish Gaelic: ''BBC Alba'') is a division of the BBC and the main public broadcaster in Scotland.
It is one of the four BBC national regions, together with the BBC English Regions, BBC Cymru Wales and BBC Northern Ireland. I ...
production, the series was mostly filmed on location in
Glasgow
Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...
. Some of the court scenes, including the exterior of the courthouse, were filmed at
Paisley Sheriff Court
Paisley Sheriff Court is a municipal structure in St James Street, Paisley, Renfrewshire, Scotland. The complex, which was the headquarters of Renfrewshire County Council and is currently used as a courthouse, is a Category A listed building.
...
and several of its staff were cast as extras. Some scenes were shot in Edinburgh at the
Caledonian Hotel, Point Hotel,
Calton Hill
Calton Hill () is a hill in central Edinburgh, Scotland, situated beyond the east end of Princes Street and included in the city's UNESCO World Heritage Site. Views of, and from, the hill are often used in photographs and paintings of the cit ...
and in
Princes Street Gardens.
Critical reception
''Single Father'' received mixed reviews from critics. Tim Dowling of the Guardian thought it "emotionally draining" and found Tennant "superb". However, John Preston writing in the Daily Telegraph thought it was "hopelessly contrived and lacking in either emotional veracity or plausibility".
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Single Father (Tv Series)
2010 Scottish television series debuts
2010 Scottish television series endings
2010s British drama television series
BBC Scotland television shows
BBC high definition shows
BBC television dramas
2010s British television miniseries
2010s Scottish television series
English-language television shows
Television shows set in Glasgow
Films shot in Edinburgh