It’s not a happy birthday for distraught dad Nelly
SAVE ME TOO Sky Atlantic, 9pm
IT HAS been two years since we last saw this gritty drama, written by and starring Lennie James as down-and-out, sofa-surfing Nelly. Thank goodness there’s a recap, but in short Nelly’s life was turned upside down when his estranged 13-year-old daughter Jody vanished.
Series one was an absorbing, bleak journey following Nelly as he took matters into his own hands to find her, via brothels, paedophiles, the dark web and auctions for young girls. Brilliantly written, series two of the distressing drama is just as good as the first so far.
It’s 17 months later and Nelly is sitting in his car clutching the steering wheel with bloodied knuckles. He’s still wearing his battered yellow puffer jacket, which he vowed he wouldn’t get rid of until he’d found Jody.
Flashback to earlier that day and we find out it’s Nelly’s birthday. He’s on a mission. Watch out for Mum actress Lesley Manville as a woman who Nelly has tracked down to help lead him to Jody via the criminal underworld. Elsewhere, Suranne Jones is excellent as Jody’s grief-stricken mum, trying and failing to get through a group therapy session.
A top cast also includes Adrian Edmondson as low-life auctioneer Gideon, Kerry Godliman as Nelly’s ex girlfriend, Susan Lynch as the pub landlady, and Stephen Graham and Jason Flemyng as Nelly’s mates Melon and Tam. The episode builds towards Nelly’s surprise party at the pub, something he’d rather not go to. With shaky camera action through-out, this is a tense, authentic story about people struggling against the worst of humanity.