There’s plenty of great TV to look forward to this autumn, but at the top of the list has to be Mr Loverman.
The BBC show, which was announced some years back, is finally set to air at the end of 2024 and we couldn’t be more excited. Based on the best-selling 2013 novel by Bernardine Evaristo (her seventh, in fact), it boasts a great cast, a great setting (London’s Hackney) and a fascinating plot.
Here’s what you need to know.
The book, which was written and adapted for the screen by Bernardine Evaristo, follows the story of Barrington Jedidiah Walker Esq, an Antiguan man who’s lived in London for most of his life.
“Seventy years old, Antiguan born, exuberant Hackney personality, Barry is renowned for his dapper taste and fondness for retro suits,” the show synopsis reads. “Carmel, his wife of 50 years, senses that Barry has been cheating on her with other women. Little does she know what’s really going on: a secret, decades-long passionate affair with his best friend and soulmate, Morris.”
The pair have been lovers ever since they were first boys in Antigua, but the book itself is the story of their journey towards coming out. The book itself was praised upon its release, and won the Jerwood Uncovered Prize in 2014.
Lennie James plays Barrington
BBC/Fable Pictures/Parisa Taghizadeh
Barrington is the heart of the story: a flamboyant older man who has been conducting a secret decades-long gay affair behind his wife’s back.
“I can’t wait to get Barrington’s swagger on and help tell this crucial and complicated love story,” James said when the news of his casting was announced. “As funny as it is sad. As full of heart as it is heartache…”
James himself is a British actor. He’s best-known for playing Morgan Jones in the series The Walking Dead and Fear the Walking Dead, and for playing DCI Tony Gates in the first season of Line of Duty. He’s also played Glen Boyle in the Sky medical drama Critical.
And Barrington will also be played in flashback by Keenan Munn-Francis, who’s also appeared in Black Dog and Passing Strange.
Sharon D Clarke plays Carmel
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BBC/Fable Pictures/Des Willie
Carmel is Barrington’s long-suffering wife, who remains ignorant of the affair. She’ll be played by Sharon D Clarke, who has been a screen and stage star for years. A three-time Olivier Award winner, she’s best known for playing Lola Griffin in Holby City, and for playing Grace O’Brien in Doctor Who. A singer and actor, she has also appeared in Queen musical We Will Rock You and won an Olivier for playing Caroline Thibodeaux in the 2018 production of Caroline, Or Change.
Ariyon Bakare plays Morris
BBC/Fable Pictures/Des Willie
Morris is Barrington’s lover, who’s always hoped that Barrington would one day move in with him. Bakare, who plays him, is a Londoner. He’s appeared in the BBC One soap opera Doctors as Ben Kwarme, BBC show His Dark Materials and in the Prime Video series Good Omens and Carnival Row.
Morris will also be played in flashback by Keenan Munn-Francis.
Not yet, but we’ll put one in here as soon as it lands. There are first-look images, however, which we’ve added to the post.
The show is set to air later this year on BBC iPlayer: keep your eyes peeled.