'After the first draft we made some suggestions and he wrote a very accomplished piece,' says Harris. We wanted to redress that balance.'īBC drama controller Jane Tranter felt the same way and handed creative development on the project to BBC Wales drama chief Julie Gardner.ĭespite the fact that Masters was unfamiliar with even basic screenplay conventions such as centring the dialogue on a page and numbering scenes, Harris says Gardner trusted Neal Street's instinct that Masters would deliver a polished script. 'We felt very strongly that Stuart lived an exceptional life, more interesting than many celebrities or politicians who usually receive biopics. There are many films which have done that,' explains Harris. 'We weren't interested in pursuing a story about homelessness. As Alexander learns more about Stuart's complicated life and traumatic childhood, he asks if he can write his story and Stuart advises him to tell the story backwards so it's 'more exciting - like a Tom Clancy murder mystery'. Stuart Shorter is a homeless alcoholic with a violent past who strikes up an unlikely friendship with charity worker Masters. 'But there are humorous moments and a central relationship of great warmth, so the cumulative effect is very powerful.'

'It is very dark in places and punctuated by extreme violence,' says producer Pippa Harris. Neal Street Productions fought hard to land rights to the critically acclaimed memoir from first-time author Alexander Masters, feeling it was a story that had to be told. The story of a homeless, self-harming heroin addict who has suffered repeated sexual abuse seems a particularly bleak subject for a first TV project.

Bringing a sense of warmth to a tale of drug abuse, homelessness and bloody violence called for some unique production techniques.

Alexander masters benedict cumberbatch