Back in 2016 The BBC screened the first series of the BAFTA award winning drama series “The A Word” which tells the story of the Hughes family who live in Cumbria and are coming to terms with the truth that their little boy, Joe has been diagnosed with autism. Joe’s parents go through the agony of putting a name to their child’s condition and acknowledging the truth that they would never be able to heal Joe from his Autism, instead, they need to learn how to live with it. The BBC’s story is an adaptation of an Israeli drama series “Yellow Peppers” written by Keren Margalit, born in Jerusalem in 1971. The original screenplay was written and filmed as part of the World Autism awareness campaign at the United Nations in 2010 and was set in a remote rural area. One of the endearing qualities for me when watching the BBC programme, was seeing the amazing scenery of the Lake District, with its mountains and Lakes and living in a remote community like this, the Hughes family had to not only deal with the traumas of their own family, but the attitudes and reactions of their neighbours, the wider family, and friends. Screenwriter Peter Bowker does an excellent job of finding a rich balance of frustration and even comedy, this isn’t a heavyweight, soap opera “paint the bleakest picture possible” style, I loved watching the drama finding it funny at times, quite challenging and extremely moving and in an age when dramas get darker and darker, this was a refreshing change. All three series are currently available to watch on the BBC I Player and I commend all three series to you.
One of the delightful cameos in the series is a parallel story of Louise Wilson a woman who lives in the nearby town and is a friend of young Joe’s grandad played by the excellent Christopher Eccleston. Louise is the mother of Ralph, who is a young adult when the story commences, Ralph has Downs Syndrome and his condition is far more visible than Joe’s, Louise is a single mum and very protective of her son, even being prepared to be angry and rude with people if necessary, Ralph, on the other just saunters through life, yet shows the darker side of living with Downs and how peoples prejudices hurt him. Leon Harrop who plays Ralph is a brilliant actor and has a skill for showing emotion, to a level seldom seen on television. Towards the end of series three, Ralph fell in love with Katie Thorne and despite reservations in both families, the couple are determined to make a go of married life and their wedding was beautiful, funny, and very moving. I was sad when the A word came to its end in June 2020.
The BBC announced in August 2020 that they were going to film a spin off series about Ralph and Katie and their married life, I was thrilled when I heard this news and have eagerly awaited the first episode which was aired on Wednesday 5th October 2022 with half hour-long episodes. I watched the first episode on catch up and it was brilliant, just as I had anticipated. At a time when life feels depressing and TV schedulers appear to pile even more anguish on top, it was lovely to see, this half an hour of sheer delight to see the simplistic way this young couple are dealing with the challenges of life. I applaud the acting of Leon Harrop and Sarah Gordy who play Ralph and Katie, they are brilliant, and their portrayal of these two lovely people is truly amazing. We often refer to people with conditions like Downs Syndrome as being “disabled” or “Handicapped” or what I believe is the worst of all “Invalid” all terrible words and in my experience not true and given that Peter Bowker wrote this series with a group of young writers living with different kinds of “disabilities” I think that the series is a triumph!
If the world is getting you down, with all the bleak and horrible stories that darken our autumnal days, my prescription is this, pop the kettle on, make yourself a cuppa, and sit down for half an hour and laugh and cry with Ralph and Katie, I’m sure that you will fall in love with these wonderful young people.