Bob & Rose

Written by
Russell T Davies

Starring:
Alan Davies and Lesley Sharp, with Jessica Stevenson, Daniel Ryan, Penelope Wilton, John Woodvine, Barbara Marten and Dave Hill.
Created for ITV by Red Production Company

Executive Produced by:
Nicola Shindler

Produced by:
Ann Harrison-Baxter

Directed by:
Julian Farino
Joe Wright

"I came up with the names - BOB & ROSE. Simple, old fashioned and right. Just what you need for a love story." - Russell T. Davies

As Nicola Shindler, Executive Producer says: "It's about two people who are uniquely right only for each other. And it is in the tradition of shows that both Russell and I love, like Reckless."

Bob & Rose is about a man and woman who fall in love. It just so happens that the man doing the falling is gay. Russell explains the origins of the story: "It came partly from real life, from a friend of mine who was the gayest man on earth, nearing middle age, no doubts at all. Then suddenly he falls in love with this woman and that's it - marriage, kids, the lot. It was extraordinary, inexplicable - a chance in a million. And the most incredible thing was our reaction to it, " he continues. "We all took the piss, didn't believe in it for a minute. I thought that he was leading this woman astray and it would all go horribly wrong. I found out though after talking to him that it was that rare thing, a real life love story."

At first Russell thought he wanted to write about prejudice: his own towards the concept of a gay man with a woman; and the homophobia that that relationship itself encountered: "To see your own prejudices at work is amazing. I realised that there was all kinds of bigotry in the way we reacted to them and that seemed very interesting - I thought I would write six episodes about prejudice, saying lots of witty, important things along the way. But then like all things it changed. I realised that there was much more going on between BOB & ROSE. Although predjudice is an issue - Rose herself panders to the stereotype of gay men's promiscuity - there's a lot more layers. Anyway, bigoted people are stupid and sometimes I just can't be bothered to write stupid characters!"

So, Shindler and Davies took the idea of BOB & ROSE to ITV. This might seem a surprising choice, with other channels perhaps seeming more suitable but they had no doubt where the show belonged, as Shindler points out: "ITV was the perfect place for this show: they had a relationship with Russell, who had written for The Grand; and they understood the material immediately - this is a mainstream love story." Davies agrees: "I don't think its a daring show at all - I mean look at Bad Girls, lesbians and everything! Seriously though, ITV have made some fabulous dramas, like Cracker and Prime Suspect and this kind of material is exactly what they do best. I don't buy the idea that things are not very 'ITV'. I didn't change the content for them - its just not about sex, its about love. So the content reflects that."

Russell continues: "This is a story about two people, hopefully two rounded, layered characters. She is feisty determined, longing for a great passion, terrified of becoming her mother. He is happy, out, very content. Not looking for any big change and therefore completely unable to handle it when it comes. It is about their love and the effect it has on them and on all the lives around them. It is much more than gay man loves woman, full stop."