The 90-minute drama explores the impact of grooming and sexual abuse on one family.

Filming starts in Liverpool on Monday, 16 September, on a new Jimmy McGovern drama for BBC One starring Anna Friel, Anna Maxwell Martin, Bobby Schofield, Mark Womack and David Threlfall.

The one-off, feature-length piece is made by LA Productions, founded in Liverpool by producer Colin McKeown nearly 25 years ago.

The drama centres on one family, the Mitchells, who are dealing with the devastating aftermath of an act of abuse, and the knowledge that it was perpetrated by a member of their own family who, after serving his sentence, has just been released from prison.

Julia Ford directs; Donna Molloy produces. Executive producers are McGovern, McKeown for LA Productions, and Nawfal Faizullah and Katherine Bond for the BBC.

McKeown said: “This is a profoundly challenging and sensitive subject, tackled with intelligence and care by Jimmy McGovern. It’s a privilege to be working with him again following the success of our previous collaborations on single dramas: Common, Care, Reg and Anthony.”

McGovern added: “I can’t believe the cast and crew that have been assembled for this production. It’s a challenging film, yes, but I can’t wait for it to be shown.”

Lindsay Salt, director of BBC Drama, commented: “Jimmy McGovern is one of our greatest dramatists, and a master at writing about today’s world. His new film sensitively examines the pain of abuse and how it affects not only the victim but ripples out across the whole family. To see it brought to the screen with such a high calibre cast and creative team is further testament to the quality of Jimmy’s writing.”