Speaking about the challenges in filming the new prison drama series, director Lewis Arnold expresses his relief that the cast and crew were 'so accommodating and understanding.'
- Jun 3, 2021
AceShowbiz - Actor Sean Bean had to take a break from filming his new prison drama "Time" following a coronavirus scare.
The "Game of Thrones" star, who plays incarcerated Mark Cobden in the new BBC series, was one of the cast members forced to quarantine during filming in Liverpool last year (2020).
Director Lewis Arnold tells Press Association, "We had to change the plan every day. We lost Sean Bean for 10 days and all of our main core cast because we had an incident with COVID."
"The cast and the crew were so accommodating and understanding, and the work never really suffered. They found ways... I think our producing team really struggled and still managed to hopefully create a drama where I hope you don't feel it's been filmed during the pandemic, with social distancing in place and all those kinds of things."
The new drama, which debuts on Sunday, June 6, also stars Siobhan Finneran, Sue Johnston, David Calder, and Stephen Graham. It reunited Sean and Stephen who worked together on BBC anthology series "Accused" in 2012.
"Time", which is written by "Accused" creator Jimmy McGovern, follows newly-imprisoned Mark and prison officer Eric McNally as the latter is faced with a choice between his principles and his family when one of the most dangerous inmates identifies his weakness.
Speaking about working with Jimmy once again, Sean gushed, "Getting to be involved in a Jimmy McGovern drama again is a real privilege and it will be great to be reunited with Stephen." He added, "Mark Cobden is another of Jimmy's complex and superbly written characters and I am looking forward to bringing him to life on screen."
