Scottish small-town seaside love story breaking new ground in TV drama
It started life as a short pilot for a new Scottish comedy-drama set in a swimming pool – and turned into an award-winning queer love story.
Unfolding in ten-minute instalments, the format of BBC Scotland’s coming-of-age series Float was bold enough.
But for creator Stef Smith, it was the opportunity to tell a story of the relationship between two young women, against the backdrop of a small Scottish seaside town, that set the show apart from anything that had come before.
The story of Jade (Hannah Jarrett-scott) and Collette (Jessica Hardwick), which won a Royal Television Society Award, was commissioned for a second series, which will premiere at the Glasgow Film Festival next month.
Speaking at a preview event in Glasgow, the writer said: “I don’t think anybody really anticipated the journey that Float would go on.
"I felt very strongly from the outset about representing a part of Scotland that we very rarely get to see on screen, never mind through a queer lens.
"One of the aims of Float was to look at queer culture outside of urban centres. I felt very strongly about showing that.
“It was also about looking at Scotland through a female lens. I feel like we’ve represented part of Scotland that we’ve not previously seen before.
"I wanted to let the characters be as multifaceted as possible.
"Although Float is very clearly a queer love story, those aspects of those characters are only part of them.”
The second series of the show – set 18 months after the first – sees the introduction of the mothers of both the main characters, as well as the new character of Theo, played by Isla Campbell, who forges a strong friendship with Jade.
Smith said: “There was something important for me about seeing the women that these women (Jade and Colette) had come from. Mother-daughter relationships are also unique.
"With Theo, I was keen to widen the LGBTQ+ world of Float. I want to see more representation of non-binary characters on screen. Sometimes you’ve got to write the things you want to see. "Queer characters are often given tragic narratives.
The thing I wanted in exploring Theo's character was for her to be a force of positivity, survival and continuing.
"Float is a step forward in the right direction, but it can’t just be us. There has to be more and we have to address the imbalance. I want Float to either be a window into a world that people don’t know much about or a mirror for people to see themselves in.”
Hannah Jarrettscott said: “It is really beautiful watching Float back. It has such a sensitive, sensual script, which is a joy to play as a gay actor. It’s nice to show that it's absolutely fine to be gay. It’s also really important to have the mums in the show, as there’s always going to be a battle there. It’s scary coming out to anyone.”
Made by Black Camel Pictures for BBC Scotland, Float was filmed in Helensburgh, Gourock and Inverkip.
Director Arabella Page Croft said: “We wanted the show to be really intimate and to get up close and personal. But I also wanted us to get off the ground and see rural life and how far that journey in and out is.”