The A Word returns, and Bradley Walsh leaves a life of crime
christopher eccleston on why he’s thrilled to return as grandad Maurice in the second series of the hit drama
Christopher Eccleston is delighted to be reprising his role as grandfather Maurice for the muchanticipated second series of BBC1’S groundbreaking drama The A Word.
‘Maurice is a gift of a character,’ says Christopher, 53. ‘I love playing him because I’d never really been asked to do comedy before, and there’s a strong comedic element to his characterisation.
‘I’ve really enjoyed trying to understand that side of acting, which I think is wrongfully put second to playing Hamlet. I think doing comedy is harder than playing Hamlet.’
The first run of The A Word, which aired in March 2016, won universal acclaim for the touching and realistic way it followed parents Paul and Alison Hughes (Line of
Duty star Lee Ingleby and Grantchester’s Morven Christie) after their five-year-old son Joe (Max Vento) was diagnosed with autism.
The six new episodes, filmed again on location in the Lake District, will pick up the family’s story two years on and Max, now seven, is finding that he doesn’t fit into the world around him. ‘We think it’s going to air in October; we wrapped filming earlier this month,’ reveals Christopher, currently on our screens as Reverend Matt Jamison in the third series of HBO drama The Leftovers on Sky Atlantic.
‘The central idea of the drama is communication, but writer Peter Bowker isn’t soapbox and so he has made autism a reality, as is dementia. Those two things are very current for families and
families get on with it, they don’t break down, they get stronger because of problems like the ones experienced by Max.’
The second series will also see Mollie Wright return as Joe’s older half-sister Rebecca along with Greg Mchugh and Vinette Robinson as Alison’s brother Eddie and his wife Nicola.