Tim Roth is to take the lead role in a BBC anti-war drama about the father of a soldier killed in Iraq who went on to stand against Tony Blair in the 2005 general election.
The Pulp Fiction and Lie to Me star will play Reg Keys, the former ambulance driver whose son was killed in the second Iraq war and who went on to stand against Tony Blair in his Sedgefield constituency.
The BBC1 drama will also star Anna Maxwell Martin, whose film credits include Becoming Jane, Philomena and PD James’s Pride and Prejudice sequel Death Comes to Pemberley, who takes the role of Keys’ wife Sally.
The 90-minute drama, called Reg, was written by Jimmy McGovern, whose earlier work includes The Accused and Cracker.
“To have stellar talent, Tim Roth and Anna Maxwell Martin, playing such important and pivotal roles is testament to Jimmy’s honest and gripping writing,” said the controller of BBC drama commissioning, Polly Hill.
“With the combination of talent and such a heart-wrenching true story, Reg is sure to bring something unique, special and memorable to BBC1.”
The drama tells the true story of “grief and defiance” as Keys transforms into an anti-war campaigner after his son Tom was one of six Royal Military Police officers killed in 2003 when angry crowds descended on a Iraqi police station they were visiting.
The circumstances around his death – an inquest uncovered failings including the fact the officers were carrying a third of the usual allotment of ammunition – led Keys to question the legitimacy of the war and to stand as an independent candidate against Blair.
McGovern said: “It was an honour to meet Reg Keys. He is a truly remarkable man, and it has been a privilege to tell this part of his story.”
In 2013, families of the dead soldiers launched legal action against the Ministry of Defence for alleged negligence.
