CHILD SUPPORT
MORVEN CHRISTIE AND LEE INGLEBY TELL US ABOUT THE RETURN OF THE HIT DRAMA…
There’s a familiar sight at the start of series two of The A Word: young Joe Hughes walking through the Lake District with his headphones on. But there’s one small difference – this time, his mum Alison is walking right behind him. It shows how far the Hughes family have come since the first series: after struggling to accept Joe’s autism diagnosis, now they are finding ways to operate on his wavelength.
“We’re two years on, and Alison has worked really hard to get to a place of acceptance,” explains Morven Christie, who plays her, as we join the cast on set during the filming of the second series. “She’s also learnt how to communicate with Joe in a way that she wasn’t previously able to. She’s not being afraid of it, she’s just being accepting of who he is and trying to work with that. And that’s so much more interesting and truthful if it’s hard-won.”
While Alison’s relationship with Joe is in a better place this series, it doesn’t mean everything is straightforward for the family. A problem at Joe’s school brings up the question of whether mainstream schooling is right for him, and Paul worries about Joe’s future.
“Dare I say it – Paul is a typical bloke from the north who doesn’t necessarily talk about his feelings,” points out Lee Ingleby, who plays him. “He sweeps problems to the bottom and doesn’t address them until it gets a bit too much. There’s a line in it where Paul says, ‘I feel like I’m losing my boy’ – and it’s really sad.”
Alison, on the other hand, wholeheartedly throws herself into the autism community and makes friends at a local support group – which Paul is reluctant to attend.
SHE’S ACCEPTING WHO HE IS AND WORKING WITH THAT” MORVEN
“The thing about her is that she is sort of like a force of nature,” chuckles Morven. “I love her. She’s looking for people who have been in her shoes, and she’s also looking to help other people.”
The first series was highly praised for its sensitive and unsentimental approach – and the cast have been hearing stories of how the show has changed people’s perceptions.
“A woman contacted us after seeing the first episode, where Joe has his birthday party and they discuss how he’s never been invited to a birthday party,” recalls Lee. “And she said that as a result of that, somebody invited their autistic son to his very first birthday party. So when you hear something like that, you think, ‘Oh, nice one!’”