The A Word
| The A Word | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Drama |
| Created by | Keren Margalit |
| Developed by | Peter Bowker |
| Written by | Peter Bowker |
| Directed by | Peter Cattaneo |
| Starring |
Morven Christie Lee Ingleby Greg McHugh Vinette Robinson Max Vento Molly Wright Christopher Eccleston |
| Composer(s) | Rob Lane |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of series | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 6 (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Keren Margalit Peter Bowker Patrick Spence Lucy Ritcher BBC Sara Johnson Keshet Avi Nir Keshet |
| Producer(s) | Marcus Wilson |
| Location(s) | Lake District, Keswick, Cumbria, Thirlmere, The Space Project |
| Editor(s) | Jamie Pearson |
| Running time | 60 minutes |
| Production company(s) |
Keshet UK Fifty Fathoms |
| Release | |
| Original network | BBC One |
| Picture format | 16:9 1080i |
| Audio format | Stereo |
| Original release | 22 March 2016 – present |
| Chronology | |
| Related shows | Yellow Peppers |
| External links | |
| Website | |
| Production website | |
The A Word is a BBC drama television series based on Yellow Peppers by Keren Margalit. The series follows a 5-year-old boy and how his dysfunctional family cope with the revelation that he has autism. Following filming in the Lake District from October 2015, a six-part series began airing on 22 March 2016.
On 26 May 2016, the BBC announced that a second series of The A Word had been commissioned.
Five-year-old Joe Hughes displays clear signs of communication problems and consistently isolates himself by playing rock music, mostly to himself, through large blue headphones. He has encyclopedic knowledge of the songs he listens to and accurately sings along with the lyrics. His parents, Alison and Paul, seem oblivious to the disorder and wonder why Joe is ostracised by other children of the same age. However it is later discovered by Joe's grandfather Maurice that Alison and Paul have been taking him to hospital for his communication problems. Other family members know there is a problem however their attempts to intervene are met with obstruction from Joe's parents. After originally believing Joe had hearing problems, their otolaryngologist refers Joe to a specialist who diagnoses him with autism. The story then follows how the dysfunctional family, including Rebecca (who feels invisible), Eddie and Nicola (who are coping with their own relationship problems) and tactless granddad Maurice, cope with Joe's situation and their own apparent social disorders.
Writer Peter Bowker was approached by Keshet who produced Yellow Peppers who wanted him to remake the Israeli series but with an original story line. Bowker drew on his own experiences and observations as a teacher and with his family to write The A Word.
Filming took place from October 2015 at locations in the Lake District, including Keswick, Broughton-in-Furness, Coniston and Thirlmere Reservoir, and at The Space Project studios in Manchester
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