The BBC said they wanted to commission more LGBT TV shows and will air a two-part gay love drama from best-selling author Patrick Gale.
This is Gale’s first original TV drama. The two-parter will tell two gay love stories, set sixty years apart, which are linked by family, and by a painting that holds a secret that echoes down the generations.
“Man In An Orange Shirt is the most exciting screen project I’ve worked on to date: an original drama exploring strands of gay male experience since the 1940s. It has been such a privilege to be given such an open brief and then allowed to run with it,” he said.
“I don’t want to give too much away but after much experimenting, we’ve ended up with two hour-long films – one set in the 1940s and 50s, one set in the violently contrasted present; one depicting a love story made impossible by pressures from society, one a love story nearly derailed by the long-term fallout from the 1940s story.
“I hope they’ll appeal equally to straight and gay viewers, but also that they’ll leave either side feeling challenged about things they take for granted.”
Lucky Richer, Acting Controller of Drama Commissioning for the BBC added: “Patrick is an outstanding and best-selling novelist whose stories connect with readers worldwide. Distinctive, original voices are at the heart of BBC Drama and we are thrilled to be making his first original television drama for BBC One.
“Man In An Orange Shirt has all the hallmarks of a Patrick Gale novel: captivating stories with unforgettable characters who will strike a chord with us all.”
