Famous Novel, Horrific True Crime & Prejudice!

Hello world! Welcome back to another blog. This is another TV instalment, where the show I’m going to be talking about include a drama based on the book by William Golding and adapted by Jack Thorne, a drama based on a horrific true story, and a drama exploring the prejudice that LGBTQ people still face today written by Russell T Davies. So without further ado, here are my thoughts on these three shows!

Lord of the Flies:

The first show I’m going to talk about is Lord of The Flies, based on the book by William Golding and adapted by Jack Thorne.

This tells the story of a group of boys forming their own community after being stranded on an island, which soon descends into chaos when the rules get broken. 

David McKenna took on the role of Nicolas/“Piggy”. I feel like he was the catalyst of the whole journey, as if he didn’t form the group together, they would be have ended up being rescued in the end. I did have to feel for him, as yes even though he wasn’t the strongest physically, mentally he tried to be the voice of reason, and keeping the younger boys entertained in times of need. Someone who was by his side throughout all of that was Ralph, played by Winston Sawyers. What I got from Ralph was that he wanted to be a good leader, and do it for the right reasons, wanting to have Piggy’s motivation and Jacks strength. But once he realised that things got out of hand after the rules were broken, and after two deaths, he realised the dangers of what leadership can bring you. But ultimately he was a good boy deep down, and was willing to take responsibility after the naval officer came to take the boys home. Lox Pratt took on the role of Jack, a choir boy who was the leader of his own tribe. What I got from him was that after seeing flashbacks moments before he got on the plane that led the fatal crash, he didn’t have a very good upbringing, and deep down was just a vulnerable boy wanting some attention. I think that’s why he went to extreme lengths when he formed his own tribe, as he wanted to gain some form of control. Ike Talbut took on the role of Simon. I don’t know what it was, but I was drawn to bud performance the most, and I think that’s mainly because I relate to him on being different. In this case, there were hints about Simon having strong feelings towards Jack, and I liked how they conveyed those feelings in a basic form (as at that age, I can only assume that kids their age don’t know what homosexuality is). And I do admire Lox and Ike’s on screen chemistry particularly in episode 2 when Simon helped Jack parapets for the pig hunt. 

During the show, the other boys did have a impact on the choices the four main boys made. Two of them were twins Eric and Sam, played by Noah and Cassius Flemyng. I don’t know what their fate was at the end, but deep down I think that once they got to Jacks tribe, there was no turning back. But if it wasn’t for encouraging Ralph to carry on, he and the other boys wouldn’t have been rescued. There were also Jacks henchmen Maurice, played by Cornelius Brandreth, who had good calculations when it came to navigating new spots on the island, and Roger, played by Thomas Connor, who may be a little boy, but after his transformation on the island, let’s just say that you don’t want to get on his bad side. 

There was also cute little boy Percival, played by Freddie Lee-Grey, who remembered a certain moment that maybe was something to calm him down amid the situation. I did also feel for him when the other boys teased him about it, but he soon ended up being in Jacks camp after Jack made his promise. I’m just glad he was okay at the end of the series. During the show we got to see snippets of the boys past. For Ralph, we got to see a glimpse of home life with his dad, and sick mum, played by Rory Kinnear and Rochelle Neil. I felt like Ralph’s dad was someone who wanted what was best for Ralph, but could also see how important being with his mum was, which was a very good parent indeed. There was also a cameo appearance from Daniel Mays, who took on the role of Petty officer Fred Wilkins, a friend of Ralph’s dad who comforted the young boy in times of need. Finally, Tom Goodman-Hill took on the role of the Naval officer who found the boys during Jacks plan to hunt Ralph. Without him, the boys wouldn’t have probably been found, and he gave them a real talking to about what real leadership is and how everyone should be treated. And his words were what they needed to take on board back at home. 

I don’t think I have any downsides to the show, but there were little things that I curious to see what happened after the boys were rescued. These would be if Jack changed his ways, the outcome of Sam and Eric, and also the news of Simons and Piggy’s death getting word to their loved ones and the impact it had on them. There were also moments that were definitely hard to watch, particularly for the death of some of the children. A lot of people think they don’t need to see an adaptation of a show if they’ve read the book, but it’s shows like this where I think they should, as the words being translated into screen comes across really well! 

Overall, I would give the show a 4.95. It was tense, moving, and gave me some real reflections on what leadership is and when the limitations on how extreme it can get are. William Golding should also be proud of Jack Thorne for bringing his story to life, and the young cast for taking the characters of his most famous work and putting it onto national television! 

Believe Me:

The next show I’m going to talk about is Believe Me, starring Daniel Mays, Aimee Ffion-Edwards, Miriam Petche and Aasiya Shah.

This follows the horrific true story of John Worboys, also known as the “black cab rapist”, and the victims journey to getting justice after not being believed by the police.

Daniel Mays took on the role of John Worboys aka “the black cab rapist”. I can’t begin to imagine what the preparation must be done to take on a role like that, but after seeing Daniel on an interview about it, he knew it would be a hard one to take on, particularly as he was thinking about his daughter in the process. But still, he gave me an insight as to the real John Worboys and his behaviour when women come in his cab. As an autistic person where we misunderstand some social ques for something else, it’s also great to see the red flags when it comes to people like Worboys, giving me a warning to watch out for those people in the future. Aimee Ffion-Edwards took on the role of Sarah Adams. What I got from her was that she was a fighter, and she’s someone where when not believed, she’ll make it quite clear, and you know what I don’t blame her. She also processed the trauma where she didn’t show any emotion, which the police deemed as “unusual”, but what they didn’t realise at the time was that some people process trauma differently. But they also said she could show emotion, so I can see why she went through the mill. But ultimately she was a fighter, and despite moments where she didn’t want to go back to it (understandable), she carried on until Worboys got the punishment he deserved. This shows that with resilience, determination and consistency you can get what you want, and we all need to be like Sarah. Aasiya Shah took on the role of Laila Mahmood. After seeing her in We Might Regret This, it was great to see her in a show linking to a sensitive topic to show her dramatic side. It’s also girls like Laila who maybe struggle more with traumatic experiences like this, incase they get shamed by their family, so I can see why she struggled to open up to her family, who only wanted what was best for her. But ultimately it her husband Arham (Taheen Modak), was there to listen when she finally opened up about her ordeal, so if Arham supported her, then I’m sure her parents would feel the same. Miriam Petche took on the role of Carrie Symonds who became Head of Comms for the conservatives, and you may recognise her as being Boris Johnson’s wife. What I got from her was that after her experience with Worboys, she used her voice to achieve great things, but after getting an article read by Justice Secretary David Gauke (Theo Fraser Steele), she could see she needed to do more than that. Even though it costed her career in politics, it was one of those scenarios where she would rather leave and be happy than be in a job that makes life a little bit more difficult. I know a lot of people have views on Boris and possibly Carrie in real life, but regardless of what you think they are human beings, and no one should have to go through what Carrie, Laila and Sarah went through. 

There were many people who impacted Sarah, Laila and Carrie, and all had their impact on putting Worboys in prison. These included a man called Billy, played by Muhannad Ben Amor, someone who lived at Sarah’s old home and noticed that Worboys was acting shifty when he allegedly “found her”. I don’t know if his findings were used in the end, but I could tell he wanted to help Sarah, and that his evidence could be crucial if the MET would’ve just listened to her. There was also her best friend Frankie, played by Laurie Kynaston, who after celebrity his birthday, was with her by her side and comforted her through the tough moments of the trial. And unlike the police he actually believed what happened to her from the start, showing that if you have friends like Frankie who will be by your side, it’ll encourage you to continue to get justice. Some of the police in the programme that failed to get the women’s stories heard were PC Dawn Bolito, PC Paul Stephens, DC Stephanie Ellis and DC Coldham (Meg Basham, Wilf Scolding, Alexa Davies and Ed Eales-White). I know they were only trying to do their jobs, but I could see why the victims were frustrated by not even acknowledging it as an assault, but as a “crime related incident” in Lailas case. But this programme was one where if anyone who is police were watching it then they should be able to take cases like sexual assault more seriously, believing that person straight from the off. There was also Nurse Rachel, played by Estella Daniels, who was very compassionate with Laila’s case, but was equally shocked when reading the article after giving out her realistic findings. I just hope that nurses like her will be able to realise how serious sexual assault cases really are and that they make sure their findings get triple checked to make sure they’re logged on. Two people who were on the side was Sarah’s partner Gav and ex Connor, played by Jordan Bolger and David Elliot. For Connor I didn’t like him at first for not believing Sarah (and how the police told him things that questioned otherwise), but he gradually came to realise she was telling the truth after the news of Worboys made headlines, and vowed to help her whilst taking care of son Jack and his step children, particularly in the last episode. For Gav, I’m glad he was the person to help her realise that she can find happiness again, and was supportive when she opened up about her trauma. But because of her fear of intimacy and her hyper focus on the case to sue the MET, it did make him feel distant from her. Yes I do get it to a point, but as I said Sarah was one of those people who won’t rest until she achieves her goal, so I think for anyone’s in Gav’s situation, I think it’s all about being patient, letting them accept that they need to do this, knowing that it’ll be worth it in the end. There was also Carrie’s mum Josephine, played by Amanda Drew, who gave evidence in court about her daughter and the night itself, knowing what was normal and what wasn’t, showing that she really cares for her daughter and knows what was normal for her and what wasn’t. There were people who were of higher ranking than the MET that helped Sarah, Laila and many other women to get Worboys arrested. These included DS Warrilow, played by David Fynn (who I almost didn’t recognise with the beard off), and DI David Reid, played by Liam Garrigan, along with the help of DCI Tim hearten-Kane. Thanks to them piecing numerous cases together and pointing out the police’s mistakes, they were able to give the women affected by Worboys a second chance to come forward, with officers like Warrilow and Reid making sure they’re monitored their wellbeing 24/7. Jonathan Aris took on the role as the prosecution Jeremy Gold QC. After seeing him in Red Eye, I know that he would do a brilliant job at this role, showing authority, power and confidence. This also shows how it’s people like Jeremy who gave the victims pressure to come forward with their stories, but the way Laila and Carrie handled it was brilliant. There was also lawyer Harriet Wistritch played by Phillipa Dunne, who after watching Phillipa in Amandaland, seeing her in a dramatic role was very refreshing. What I got from her was that Harriet was a realist but was willing to not give up on Sarah and Laila, so was very strategic on how to approach the MET in their case of suing them. There was also barrister Phillipa Kaufman, played by Rachel Stirling. Now she was a woman you do not want to mess with, and was able to grill members of the MET for missing out vital signs on the sexual assault investigations which definitely worked, and also used her job to reveal how long Worboys has really been abusing women in his cab for. This just shows that without barristers like Phillipa, the ladies abused by Worboys wouldn’t have gotten the justice they were looking for. Also shoutout to the day players in this show, which included Debbie from the press office played by Alexandra Evans, a psychologist played by Bryan Dick, and Dr Criassati played by Abigail Davies. For Debbie, she represented people from the press office who wanted to simply help survivors tell their stories, in the hope that it’ll help other victims come forward, and for the psychologist and Dr Criassati, I always wondered what goes through their mint when seeing to people like Worboys, and that if they do believe that what he said about “finding god” was true. But ultimately their job wasn’t the police, but more about the wellbeing of a prisoner, which they both did a really good job on. 

I don’t have any downsides to it per say, but more about how it was hard seeing the victims being put through that ordeal and not being believed. But a show like this is a perfect way to show the reality of that situation, and also putting steps in place to take cases like this seriously. 

Overall I would give the shoe a full house of 5 out of 5. It was shocking, tense, and it got me educated on how when not being believed, action is taken place. And like with shows like Mr Bates & The Post Office, I hope this will give victims who have been through sexual assault to come forward with their truth, and that the police will take it seriously. 

Tip Toe:

The final show I’m going to talk about is Tip Toe, starring David Morrisey and Alan Cummings, and written by Russell T Davies.

This story shows a war between neighbours Clive and Leo, all starting by simply asking for a spare key.

David Morrisey took on the role of electrician as Clive Goss. You know when someone’s done a character well when you make them feel exactly how you want them to feel. In this case, Clive was someone who was a lot of horrible things in one. A narcissist, a homophobe, a racist and a conspiracy theorist, thinking that things like dyslexia is made up, and how coronavirus wasn’t a real thing. But Morrisey really took on board a role that sadly it’s people like Clive that still exist today. There was a moment where maybe he was secretly LGBTQ deep down after coming to bar worker and drag queen Regime's (Dominic Holmes) aid in episode 4, but maybe from a limiting belief passed on from his family, maybe he denied it. Hence why he’s so aggressive. Alan Cummings took on the role of Leo Struthers, an owner of a bar called Spit & Posh, and he made his feelings about Clive’s thoughts on his sexuality very clear. But there were moments where he either still doesn’t understand certain parts or goes too far when it comes to speaking about equality, but I think that was down to the breakdown of his ex Curtis, who broke up with him prior to the events of the show, and also talking about how 3 gay boys took their own life and how he wanted to help the younger generation not make that same mistakes they made. Clive wife Marie, played by Pooky Quesnel, I wasn’t too sure about. As she was wanting to walk away from her marriage with Clive after his secret fling with a woman called Patricia (where in fact it was a completely different story), but she also had a similar opinion on Leo like Clive. Although I think what Clive did in the final episode made her realise what kind of man he really was, and I’m glad she took action for her own personal sanity at the end. There was also Melba played by Paul Rhys, who definitely sensed that even though the world is more accepting, there was still more to come, and Leo’s friend Steph, played by Elizabeth Berrington, who does understand Leo’s thoughts, but gives her opinion to balance things out. I think that’s why their friendship is so strong, as Leo’s thoughts along with Stephs outlook just stops things from going too far. And I love their chemistry on screen as well, showing me that they do get on in real life as well as on screen. 

Throughout the show there have been many other characters who impacted Leo and Clive’s life. One of them was George Goss, played by Jackson Connor. Secretly he knew deep down that he was homosexual, but also knew that because of Clive’s theories and Marie being unsure about it, he kept it quiet. But in episode 4 he managed to express himself and was more comfortable in his group, which soon turned downhill in episode 5 thanks to Clive and his mates influence, which sadly also got worse after reading the Que cards at the end of the series. I just hope people can learn that you can be your true self if anyone is in George’s situation. There was also his older brother Saul Goss, played by Joseph Evans, who had a secret account where if you’ve heard of OnlyFans, you’ll know what content gets put on there. I think he was initially shocked by George’s revelation, and maybe only mentioned to keep it on the downlow for his sake, as after helping Clive and Leo’s bar, he secretly may have got a hint of what Clive’s mind is seeing, hence why he was shocked about Clive going to extreme lengths in episode 5. There were also actors who if you’ve seen Hollyoaks, you’ll be able to recognise them. There would be Iz Hesketh, Gabriel Clark and Lily Best (who in Hollyoaks took on the roles of Kitty, Ollie and Lizzie Chen-Williams). They took on the roles of Zee (Hesketh), a transgender woman who played a bigger part in the show as she was on a journey to find a new name, escaping her old flat because of transphobia, and helping George embrace his true self, Mikey (Clark), a worker at Leo’s bar who forms a bond with Saul after talking about their OnlyFans accounts, and Beril, Zee’s flatmate who she called “Beril the peril”, and helps zee with choosing her name. There was also Leo’s collages Judy, played by Luyanda Unati Lewis-Nyawo, who comes to Leo’s defence when needed, particularly in episode 4, and Hanna, played by Shakespeare Kimotho, Zee’s girlfriend who corrects Leo about the pronouns they use. There was also an appearance from Benny from the brewery in episode 3, played by comedian Stephen Bailey, who had all the gossip (which makes me want to be friends with him instantly) and Diane, played by Denise welsh, who forms a bond with Clive before his rivalry with Leo began over their “theories”, but soon rejected him after he revealed what really happened with a woman called Patricia and why he did it. Finally, there was Clive’s so called friend Roddy, played by George Miller, who definitely had a strong influence on his actions. Mind you if it wasn’t for neighbour Bridget, played by Ania Marson, Roddy, Clive and those invoked wouldn’t have paid for the crimes they did. 

I don’t think I have any downsides to it other than the ending where it was quite hard to watch. It was quite extreme, and it shows how as mentioned before, there are some people like Clive who have these limiting beliefs about how LGBTQ+ people are “infectious” to mankind. I just hope society won’t go that extreme as Clive not just for LGBTQ+ people, but for anyone that doesn’t fit “the perfect society”. 

Overall I would give the shoe a 4.95 out of 5. It was tense, reflective and also a show where LGBTQ+ people deserve to be treated equally, and that they deserve to be respected and loved. I just hope this drama can also show how the impact of free speech can have massive consequences not just for the person thinking it, but for their loved ones as well. 

And that is it for my latest instalment of TV Reviews. Let me know which show you watched and your thoughts on them.

See you soon for another blog. Until next time…

This is The Autistic Actress signing off :)