The A Word
I mentioned here before that in the BBC's autism-themed drama The A Word, Christopher Eccleston plays a keen fell runner. In Series Two, first broadcast in November 2017, the producers created a fictional 'High Tarn Fell Race' as the scene for a personal crisis. The 'race' was staged at Thirlmere in the Lake District, and features members of Keswick AC and other local running clubs as extras.
Eccleston enjoys running in the hills in real life and it shows. He has also run marathons - including London Marathon 2012 in 4:17:43 - and the 2005 Great North Run half in a creditable 1:27:19
Previous three photos - The 'High Tarn Fell Race' in the A-Word Series 2, Epsode 4
(including last two location shots from Times and Star)
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| Christopher Eccleston in London Marathon (not sure what year) |
Atypical
Coincidentally running is also a significant thread in the equally excellent 2017 Netflix series Atypical, which like the A-word explores the impact of autism on a family, this time in a US setting. Brigette Lundy-Paine plays Casey, a keen track and field competitor, whose brother has autism. She is offered an elite school place after setting a 400m track record, but her relationship with her father and sometime coach is put under strain when he misses her performance while distracted by her brother.
Previously in the Running on Screen series:
Undercover, the A Word (Series 1) & How to Stay Young
Jodie Whittaker from London Marathon to Dr Who (& Broadchurch)
Jodie Whittaker from London Marathon to Dr Who (& Broadchurch)
Top of the Lake (also featuring Elisabeth Moss running) and The Fall
China Crisis - Wishful Thinking
The Running Man (1987)
Muybridge's Runner, 1887
China Crisis - Wishful Thinking
The Running Man (1987)
Muybridge's Runner, 1887
