Jimmy McGovern’s Unforgivable is one of the BBC’s most talked-about dramas this summer, gripping viewers with its raw depiction of a family shattered by child sexual abuse.
But the roots of the drama trace back to a single letter that landed on McGovern’s desk. The veteran writer, known for Time and Hillsborough, received a letter from a mother whose child had been abused by a family member.
She described how her son was left on a waiting list for therapy, while the offender received structured support in prison. It was a letter McGovern could not ignore, and it became the seed for Unforgivable, as he recently told The Big Issue.
The 90-minute drama, now on BBC iPlayer, stars Anna Friel as Anna, a mother trying to hold her family together after her teenage son Tom is abused by her brother Joe, played by Bobby Schofield.
Joe is released from prison, throwing the family into turmoil once again, as questions of forgiveness, justice and protection collide.
A family torn apart
McGovern’s script reflects details taken from real-life experiences shared with him: the long NHS waiting lists for therapy, the lack of immediate support for victims, and the emotional fallout that ripples through entire families.
In Unforgivable, the family’s desperation intensifies as they discover Tom will have to wait 21 weeks for therapy unless he attempts suicide, echoing systemic failures that McGovern has tackled in previous work such as Care and Broken.
The story also explores the uncomfortable reality that Joe was himself abused at the same age as Tom, a revelation that adds complexity without excusing his crimes.
It’s a detail that pushes the drama beyond black-and-white judgments, reflecting McGovern’s longstanding interest in the “messy grey areas” around social justice.
Who is Jimmy McGovern?
Now 76, McGovern has spent decades creating television that captures the struggles of working-class communities, from Brookside to Cracker and the BAFTA-winning Time.
His writing often centres on the failures of systems meant to protect the vulnerable, drawing on stories he hears directly from people affected by injustice.
Anna Friel, who leads Unforgivable, described working on the drama as one of the most challenging roles of her career, telling The Big Issue that the grief within the script “never left me, even after we wrapped.”
Is it based on a true story?
Unforgivable is not based on a single case, but McGovern has said it is rooted in real-world experiences shared by survivors and families.
It is intended to reflect the hidden realities families face after abuse, exploring what happens when a perpetrator is released back into the community while survivors struggle to access help.
The BBC drama has been praised for its unflinching honesty, with The Guardian describing it as “mesmeric” and “sorrowful in exactly the way it should be,” avoiding neat resolutions while shining a light on the questions many families are left to confront alone.
Where to watch
Unforgivable is available to stream now on BBC iPlayer.
