Baz Robbie’s shocking new role
Robbie Coltrane is to star as a fallen comedian i n an in c e n di ar y TV drama inspired by the historic sex cases i nvolving Jimmy Savile and Rolf Harris. Coltrane, famous for his roles as Rubeus Hagrid in the Harry Potter film series and the brilliant forensic psychologist Fitz in the TV crime series Cracker, will play fictional funnyman Paul Finchley in Channel 4’s f o ur- part National Treasure.
Though Coltrane’s character Finchley has been out of the limelight for years, he’s still regarded as a household name, because he was once huge on the telly as part of beloved comic duo. Ade edmondson has been in discussions for the role of the side-kick, but he may have a scheduling conflict.
but when detectives knock on Finchley’s door and accuse him of raping a woman decades before, in the Seventies, the veteran comic’s life comes crashing down.
Julie Walters has been signed to play the fallen idol’s wife in the show; and Andrea Riseborough is in negotiations to appear as their daughter.
Channel 4 announced plans for the series last year, but casting THe has been a closely guarded secret, until now.
cast were rehearsing with di r ector Marc Munden and studying writer Jack Thorne’s scripts in London this week in preparation for filming on l ocation i n Leeds f r om February 8.
The channel’s drama chief Piers Wenger commissioned Thorne to explore beyond the headlines and study the emotional impact of a life called into question. He’s a writer at the top of his game just now. in addition to National Treasure, plus the acclaimed This is england series, and the must-watch six-part Sky thriller The Last Panthers, he is also involved with the year’s most highly anticipated stage production: Harry Potter And The Cursed Child, which will open at the Palace Theatre this summer.
Hi st o r i c sex scandals investigated by the real- life operation Yewtree have kicked up a l ot of dirt on several public figures.
Just yesterday, unsavoury details from a leaked bbC report into how Savile got away with his predatory behaviour for so long made grim reading.
National Treasure, i understand, will dig deep into the psyche of a man whose f ame devours him, his family, and the woman who blows the whistle on him.