FLOODLIGHTS
NEW TUESDAY, 9PM, BBC2 DRAMA
Like many football-mad teenagers, Andrew 'Woody' Woodward dreamed of becoming a professional player. So when Crewe Alexandra youth coach Barry Bennell picked him out as a budding talent in the late 1980s, both Andrew and his parents, Jean and Terry, were delighted.
However, beneath the easy-going façade, Bennell was a serial paedophile who would sexually abuse Andrew for a number of years.
Andrew's harrowing true story is told in a feature-length BBC2 drama, Floodlights, starring Shameless actor Gerard Kearns as the adult Andrew, who played for clubs including Sheffield United before retiring in 2003.
In November 2016, he took the brave decision to go public about the sexual abuse he had suffered by Bennell, rocking the football world and encouraging other victims to come forward.
Here, Gerard, 37, Jonas Armstrong, 41, who portrays Bennell, and Morven Christie, 40, who appears as Andrew's mother Jean, give their take on this challenging drama...
This story is from the May 14, 2022 edition of TV Times.
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This story is from the May 14, 2022 edition of TV Times.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
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