David Tennant and TV writer Jimmy McGovern are hoping their new project together will open discussions and debate on the impact that imprisoning teenagers has on them and their families.
Acclaimed BBC drama Time returns for a third season on Sunday, with writer Jimmy this time setting the plot around young offender institutions (YOIs). David Tennant joins the cast as veteran prison officer Bobby Bailey, who works as a custodial manager at a YOI. He is joined by Dear England actor Daniel Ryan, who plays fellow custodial manager Freddie Jennings. Happy Valley actress Siobhan Finneran also reprises her role as prison chaplain Marie-Louise.
Tennant on the realities of YOIs
On the realities of YOIs in real life, Tennant says: “The prison system is a necessary part of the justice system, but it’s often regarded as imperfect, and yet those working within it often have the best intentions.
“Clearly when you’re dealing with young men, boys, who are being excluded from society, being locked away, it’s particularly difficult to consider. They've done some very serious things and they’re paying the price for that, but I think it’s always important that, as a society, we look at what we’re doing – whether we’re doing the right thing and what it does to the boys we lock away.”
He adds: “It’s quite scary because there’s a lot of energy in that moment in a young man’s life, in a boy’s life. It’s all that potential and it’s bottled and contained, which doesn’t feel right somehow. There’s a real sense of danger in that.”
McGovern's research and concerns
McGovern, 77, who also created the series Cracker, says the production team visited several young offender institutions while researching the series. Referring to what he witnessed, he says: “I can’t do anything but It leaves you desperate to do something. In my opinion, what's going on in young offender institutions today is an absolute disgrace and why it's been allowed to continue for so long is beyond me. The keep apart system, which we've seen there, young boys, banged up in cells. It is absolutely ludicrous, and they allow it because it suits them.
“You’ve got all these young men banged up for much more serious offences than in the past – they are full of energy and confined to these cells for many hours of the day. I was a teacher for a while, and I know if you keep away from the kids, the less you see the kids, the less you want to see the kids. And it's the same in prisons and young offenders institutions. The less they see the inmates, the less they want to see the inmates. Keep them all banged up.”
He adds: "I just hope everybody says, `Has it got to be like this?' I hope it's picked up by Radio 4, and they actually discuss this, because it's all big things now with [prime minister] Andy Burnham, isn't it? But you judge a country on how it treats its prisoners. That's how you judge a country."
Plot and cast details
This series of Time, which was filmed in Belfast, features a new cast of young talent, including Louis McCartney, Ollie McNulty and Chukwubuikem Molokwu, who play young offenders James, Peter and Christopher. It follows Marie-Louise as she arrives at the YOI having lost her faith. When tragedy strikes inside the prison, she clashes with Bailey, who is experiencing a crisis of his own.
On her character Siobhan adds: "She's having a tough time, but she doesn't bring that to work. I also think she might be the first or only person that's ever said to them, `Are you okay? What? How can I help you?' And that is no matter what they've done. I think that's heartbreaking to realise that some of these young boys at 19 or 20 years of age, nobody has ever said to them, `Are you okay? Can I help you?' That's tragic, isn't it?"
Jimmy, who co-wrote the series with Samuel Bailey, acknowledges that his series is shocking at points and features violence but insists it is based on his research and what really goes on. He said: "There is so much violence inside young offender institutions. Loads of them have got handmade weapons and they use them. You know, the interesting thing is not that many die. There are very few deaths when you understand the type of weapons they've got. They've all got handmade weapons, but when you look at the weapons, they are enough to damage people, but not enough to kill, and they do not want to kill each other, but they want to damage each other. And that's going on all the time. I think it's probably understated [in the drama], if anything, compared to the actual reality."
Jimmy believes the situation could change for the better if prisoners are given better conditions and locked up for less hours each day. He says: “I say the same thing I said about Time one and Time two: this must change. But because this is about young people, this must change urgently. These are young people, full of energy, who can't get out their cells. But all of them have got things to offer - train them, teach them.”
Time Series 3 airs on BBC One and BBC iPlayer on Sunday, October 11.
