The BBC released the first photos from new drama Come Home starring Christopher Eccleston today (March 16), but, by the sound of it, we’ll need to hear it as well as see it.
It’s set in Belfast, requiring the Lancashire-born Christopher to perfect a Northern Irish accent with the help of a dialect coach.
“I also spent a lot of time in pubs listening to locals,” he explains. “Belfast is my favourite city in the world, I love New Orleans and Glasgow but Belfast beats them all!
“I tried my accent out with the locals, they were supportive and critical when they needed to be but it helped and I stayed in character when I was in between scenes.”
Christopher plays Greg, a father-of-three whose wife Marie (Ray Donovan‘s Paula Malcomson) leaves the family after 19 years of marriage.
“Fundamentally he’s a decent man,” Christopher says about his character, “but very flawed and controlling. He’s broken-hearted about the loss of his family unit. He learns an enormous lesson about generosity and forgiveness throughout the story.”
Things were a little easier for Paula, who was born in Belfast — though she’s spent the last 30 years living in the U.S. with roles in Deadwood, Lost and Ray Donovan.
Filming in Belfast wasn’t the only thing that attracted Paula to the drama. She describes how it was “a challenge” to play a mother who leaves her children, adding that working with Christopher was a “big incentive” for her to accept the role.
“It was my first time working with Christopher,” she is quoted as saying. “I had been asked to do a film with him years ago and wasn’t available. It was something I regretted and I was happy to hear he was involved in Come Home.”
The three-part drama is the latest from Bafta — and International Emmy-winning screenwriter Danny Brocklehurst, who was previously responsible for The Driver starring David Morrissey, Shameless and Shameless USA, and upcoming Netflix drama Safe starring Michael C. Hall and Amanda Abbington.
Come Home airs later this month in the U.K., and will hopefully air in the U.S. soon after.
Do you like the sound of this one?