Accused (New Drama frm Jimmy McGovern)

[Chloe O'brien]

I think this may start in a couple of weeks when Spooks fininsh. The trailers are looking good.

[Siobhan]

I think this may start in a couple of weeks when Spooks fininsh. The trailers are looking good.

so excited about this.. if it is even remotely like the street, it will be fantastic

[Perdita]

Monday 22 November
9.00-10.00pm BBC ONE
www.bbc.co.uk/drama

Spoiler:

Mackenzie Crook and Ben Smith star in AccusedBen Smith and Ben Batt star alongside Mackenzie Crook in Accused, an unflinching drama by Jimmy McGovern about two young friends who join the army where they learn that not obeying orders has deadly consequences.

Twenty-year-old Frankie Nash is back in Britain awaiting the verdict of the jury following his trial at Crown Court. He is strangely quiet and stoic considering the gravity of the charge against him.

Some months earlier, Frankie and his best mate Peter McShane are out on the town and up for it. But their bravado ends in a fight and they are arrested. Peter, a champion amateur boxer, is about to follow in his father's, Peter McShane Senior, footsteps and join the army. To avoid a prison sentence, Frankie decides to do the same.

Deployed to Afghanistan, they come under attack by the Taliban. In a terrifying skirmish and, in a life-or-death situation, Peter is so petrified that he can't return fire. He has endangered the lives of his comrades and Lance Corporal Buckley has seen everything – McShane is now a marked man.

Buckley summarily makes McShane the "camp bitch", systematically terrorising him and ordering his peers to do likewise. Mortified, Frankie begs Peter to get out and home, but Peter says he can't disappoint his father. The bullying reaches extreme levels and Buckley forces Frankie to humiliate and betray his friend.

The subsequent events are dire for everyone and ultimately result in Frankie's trial. What will the judgment be and are there any mitigating circumstances?

[Perdita]

The first programme airs Monday 15 November, 09.00-10.00pm BBC ONE

[Chloe O'brien]

Yeah thought it would fill Spooks space.

[Perdita]

Monday 29 November
9.00-10.00pm BBC ONE
www.bbc.co.uk/drama

Spoiler:

Juliet Stevenson and Peter Capaldi star in Accused, a heart-rending drama about fortitude and endless love, written by Alice Nutter and Jimmy McGovern.

As Helen Ryland is led up to the dock there is a defiant look in her eye. Nothing can hurt her now.

Some months earlier, primary school teacher Helen sends her son, Rob, off to his first day of temping work at a local factory, Maxfields. Tragically he is fatally injured in his first hour at work. Yet it is only later that night that Helen and her husband, Frank, learn that their only child is dead.

Utterly bereft, the Rylands go to Maxfields to find out what happened. However, while the owner, Alan Maxfield, is sympathetic, he is evasive about the details of the accident. Helen goes to see another boy, Michael Lang, who started work with Rob that fateful day. She wants to hear his version of events. But Michael and his wife, Leanne, are evasive and troubled by Helen's questions.

Helen knows something is wrong. With great fortitude and courage she decides to find out the truth and quash the invidious suggestion that Rob was somehow to blame for his own death. Frank is consumed by grief and sinks into depression but Helen fights on.

Time drags and Helen and Frank are worn down by the legal process of trying to get someone to accept responsibility for the death of their son. Increasingly incensed, Helen strikes out at the factory owner, committing a serious crime.

Helen has looked the jury in the eye and told them her story. Will they convict her?

[Chloe O'brien]

Oh this looks bloody good.

[Siobhan]

Oh this looks bloody good.

I am really excited about this starting.. normally I'm a celeb would take over everything but this is getting piority!!

[Katy]

I cannot wait for this!

[Perdita]

Monday 6 December
9.00-10.00pm BBC ONE
www.bbc.co.uk/drama

Spoiler:

Andy Serkis stars in this week's episode of Accused, an intense drama about a cab driver who is desperate to escape his life, written by Danny Brocklehurst and Jimmy McGovern.

As Liam Black walks to the dock to hear his fate he feels the depth of hatred and heartbreak directed right at him from those he loves. How did it come to this?

Liam has always been a cab driver but his inveterate gambling has become a way of escaping the limitations and stresses of his life and marriage. One day he takes Emma Croft to the airport and is smitten by her. She's young and vivacious. He gives her his card and says ring anytime; he really means it.

As usual Liam is skint but needs a present for his daughter, Katy, who has just got into a good school to do her A-levels. Opportunistically, he breaks into Emma's empty flat and steals her laptop as well as a necklace, which he presents to his daughter.

But his infatuation with Emma has begun to turn into something more compulsive and dangerous. When Emma calls from the airport, distressed having heard from her mother that she's been burgled, the opportunity has arisen for him to inveigle his way into Emma's life. Immediately, Liam sets about making himself indispensable to her.

It's a proud occasion for the Blacks. Liam and his wife, Roz, who has multiple sclerosis, accompany their daughter to the smart new school she's about to attend. Liam tells everyone how much he wants his daughter to be successful, unlike him.

But Liam's fixation with Emma is becoming obsessive. He invents a new history for himself, which she believes. When he discovers that her boyfriend, Neil, is not all he seems, Liam connives to breaks them up, but all too soon the uncontrollable impulses driving Liam result in tragedy.

Now Liam is in the dock; will the jury find him guilty as charged?