OHMYGOSSIP — Keeley Hawes knew she wanted to appear in ‘It’s A Sin’ before she had even read the script.
The 44-year-old actress plays mum Valerie in Russell T Davies’ new drama – which is based around a group of friends In 1981 at the start of the AIDS epidemic – and she was immediately sold on the five part Channel 4 show.
She told the Daily Mirror newspaper: “I said to my husband, ‘Oh my God, I’d love to be in that!’ Without having seen the scripts.”
Keeley wasn’t disappointed once she did read the scripts as she was introduced to the characters and their stories, which manage to be both uplifting and heartbreaking.
She added: “They were so real. There can be humour in death and Russell manages to find those light moments. I sat and read every episode, one after the other, and laughed and sobbed.”
The ‘Line of Duty’ star appears opposite ‘Broadchurch’ actor Shaun Dooley, 46, and he was also sold on the role of Valerie’s husband Clive without even seeing the scripts.
He explained: “When I read them I just wept, and at the read through with all these young kids, it was even worse. It’s the first read through I’ve ever cried at.
“It’s important someone like Russell tackles this. He hasn’t just done a massive paintbrush of devastation and horror, he’s filled it with life and energy and joy and love.”
Meanwhile, the 58-year-old writer recently admitted he was expecting a backlash for the show only focusing on gay men.
He said: “I know what the response will be, because we live in 2020. The response is going to be: what about the women who died? What about the lesbians who died? What about the children who died? What about the Africans?
“And I’m rolling my eyes thinking, yes, OK, I accept that. But if I’d written that, they’d say only a lesbian could write that; only an African could write that.
“So these days there’s simply no winning!”
Source: VacationHunter.Online
Find us also on Facebook @Ohmygossip.com