Time season three arrives on screens tonight at 9pm on BBC One. The latest instalment of Jimmy McGovern's prison anthology series is set in a young offender's institution, turning the lens onto the youth prison system.
Starring Siobhan Finneran as disillusioned prison chaplain Marie-Louise, the new series also stars David Tennant as veteran officer Bailey, a man in the midst of his own crisis. Unlike the first two seasons, the third season of Time was not filmed in Liverpool, but Jimmy's projects always put the spotlight on the next generation of Liverpool talent, and Time season three is no different.
Young Scouser Paul Smith takes on role of Toby
Young Scouser Paul Smith is playing Toby in the upcoming episodes. People will be familiar with the rising star's dad, who is retired Liverpudlian boxer Paul Smith. Smith is part of the talented boxing family as he was the eldest of four boxers who turned professional and enjoyed incredible careers in the ring.
Smith has taken to social media to share his pride as his son forges his own path in the limelight. After sharing the trailer this month, the retired boxer took to Instagram and said: "Proud of you lad." The rising star is also following in his dad's footsteps in the ring as he regularly shares updates from training sessions on social media.
Jimmy McGovern on writing for young offenders
Jimmy wrote the upcoming season of Time with Samuel Bailey. Speaking with the BBC, Samuel said writing for Toby was one of the most rewarding aspects of working on the new season. He said: "So Peter, the character, has just come into prison with his cousin, and two of their other friends. He also has a small baby on the outside, and ‘kids with kids’ is a theme that I've looked at before.
"I think it's a really interesting way of examining that cycle of how things can repeat and, certainly in the play that I wrote, that was a big theme. Writing for Peter, and writing for Toby and writing that group of lads were a group of characters I loved writing for. Going into production after the read through was so fun, because they felt like this unit of kids who've known each other since they were seven or eight years old, and are really tight. So that was great. They were great fun to write for."
Jimmy spoke to the ECHO in an exclusive interview ahead of the release of Time season three. He collaborated with Samuel on this series of Time to authentically capture the world he is exploring as he said: "It seemed wrong to just stop and not tackle the situation inside a young offenders institution. But it was an eye-opener, it really was. I was just worried about writing something crass. And so we had to bring on a writer who was confident and could actually write with that young voice."
Research reveals stark reality
The writer is renowned for the humanistic way he approaches the most difficult of subjects. His research saw his eyes opened up to the stark reality facing young offenders as he met with a teenager in prison for killing someone. Jimmy said: "We were just allowed straight into a cell, because there's no privacy in a prison, you know? Your cell is not your home. A prison officer can just walk in.
"And he was sitting on the edge of his bed, and I wanted to talk to him, and so instinctively, as a human being, I got down to his eye level. And it took him by surprise, because he'd gotten used to prison officers just standing up straight and talking down to him. He was shocked. He must have been about 17 years of age facing a sentence of well over 20-odd years for doing something - for doing something atrocious of course. I don't know why it moved me so much, but it did move me. I think it's because he was so young."
Time season three is available to watch on BBC iPlayer now. The first episode is broadcast on BBC One at 9pm.
