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Anne centres around Anne Williams, played here by Maxine Peake, whose son, Kevin, died in the harrowing disaster at Hillsborough Stadium, Sheffield, on April 15th 1989, the death toll for which now stands at 97, as of 2021.
She and her family first learn of there being a situation when they put the radio on, leading quickly to the same being done for the TV, before everyone in town knows about it. In fact, even before the couple learn the truth about Kevin, events lead to them realising the sad reality of his passing, before they have it confirmed.
Real footage is used from the day, along with subsequent news reports. I won’t detail the events of what happened on the day because they’re well-documented, but it’s safe to say that this is the time from when ‘newspaper’ The Sun truly earned the nickname, The Scum, given their blaming of the fans, as the police had.
As the opening episode plays out, we see Social Services helping work them through the public inquest, as well as the day of Kevin’s inquest, on May 2nd 1990, also taking in the police cover-up.
Anne is definitely a must-see drama, and I’ll watch it to its conclusion. It features a stellar performance from Ms Peake, plus great support from Bobby SChofield as her husband, Micheal, who is also step-father to Kevin.
I can’t really give a drama like this a score out of 10, as that doesn’t feel appropriate. However, you just have to make sure you watch it. I may check out the other episodes prior to broadcast, rather than on the night – as it’s all online now, but I’m unlikely to update this review because even after the first installment, I can see I could only be detailing what happens, and you need to stop reading this, and watch the programme, instead.
Anne continues on ITV tomorrow at 9pm and runs over four consecutive nights in total. However, the entire series is now on the ITV Hub. It’s not yet available to pre-order on Blu-ray or DVD.
In addition. the series is followed on Thursday night with the documentary, The Real Anne: Unfinished Business, also on ITV at 9pm that night.
Director: Bruce Goodison
Producer: Julia Stannard
Writer: Kevin Sampson
Music: Samuel Sim
Cast:
Anne Williams: Maxine Peake
Steve Williams: Stephen Walters
Kevin Williams: Campbell Wallace
Sara Williams: Lily Shepherd
Andy Duncan: Matthew Roberts
Michael Williams: Bobby Schofield
Farmer: Christopher Coghill
Paula: Adelle Leonce
Barry Devonside: Martin Walsh
Sun reporter: Reginald Edwards
Police Constable (Sheffield): Danny Burns
John Glover: Rob Jarvis
Self: Jayne Worsnop-Hesford
Andy Burnham: Matthew McNulty
Sheila Colman: Clare Calbraith
Ann Addlington: Polly Kemp
Steve Hart: Raymond Waring
Professor Phil Scraton: Ian Puleston-Davies
Ruth – B&B Owner: Tina Louise Owens
Debra Martin: Gracie Kelly
PC Glave: Simon Wilson
DS Killoch: Ashley Emerson
Colin: John Mcgrellis
Moggy: James Bayes
Mayoress: Andrea Kovacs
Dr. David Slater (2019): Roger Ringrose
Reviewer of movies, videogames and music since 1994. Aortic valve operation survivor from the same year. Running DVDfever.co.uk since 2000. Nobel Peace Prize winner 2021.