Time returns with David Tennant in youth prison drama

Summarised from 2 outlets · 3 reports · Updated 11 Oct, 19:13 · Archive

Jimmy McGovern's prison drama Time returns for a third series set in a young offenders institution, starring David Tennant and Siobhan Finneran.

Jimmy McGovern's Bafta-winning prison drama Time returns for a third series on BBC One on Sunday at 9pm, following earlier seasons set in men's and women's prisons. This instalment is set in a young offenders institution, with David Tennant playing Bobby Bailey, a jaded prison officer whose personal life is unravelling when his wife leaves him. Siobhan Finneran returns as prison chaplain Marie-Louise, who appears across all three series. The cast includes young actors playing inmates at the fictional HMP Alderwick.

The series has been filmed partly at a disused school in Downpatrick near Belfast, and at real locations including Crumlin Road Gaol and HMP Hydebank Wood, an active young offenders centre in south Belfast. The opening episode features a tragic event that creates tension between Bailey and Marie-Louise.

According to The Guardian, McGovern and co-writer Samuel Bailey have created a drama described as urgent and prescient at a time when prison overcrowding dominates headlines. Tennant has said the role made him consider the reality of the prison system, and that he was impressed by the prison officers he spoke to during preparation.

How it is being reported

• David Tennant: ‘Time season 3 made me consider the reality of the prison system’‘I was very impressed by the prison officers I spoke to.'Metro · 11 Oct, 19:00
• TV tonight: David Tennant stars in a brutally brilliant prison dramaJimmy McGovern’s incredible series Time returns. Plus: The Party is a moreish new thriller based on Elizabeth Day’s hit novel. Here’s what to watch this evening Sunday, 9pm, BBC One Continue reading...The Guardian · 11 Oct, 06:15
• Time: David Tennant and Siobhan Finneran are stellar in this horrifying and exceptional TV dramaJimmy McGovern’s grab-you-by-the-throat prison show is back and it could hardly be more urgent, prescient or excellent. Brace yourself though … Bake Off it is not It takes a lot to drag me away from comfort TV in the autumn. Blame the shrinking hours of light or the apocalyptic news cycle but the closest thing I like to get to televisual trauma in October is watching comedians get into their own graves in The Celebrity Traitors. I doubt I’m alone. I don’t want to psychoanalyse the British public but I’d take a punt that collectively we are just about capable right now of looking at Josh…The Guardian · 10 Oct, 07:00

In this story: David Tennant · Siobhan Finneran · Jimmy McGovern · BBC One · Belfast

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