Mr Loverman

I wonder just how good the rest of the cast were because WOW! WOW! WOW! A tour de force with knobs on performance from Lennie James which has awards stamped all over it.

The story unfolds visiting the different characters so you must watch all episodes to follow and understand the story.

I can't throw enough superlatives at this. Just watch it.please.

I am forced to write more about this by imdb but really, more words do this no justice. I hate telling you what the story is about which must, by its very nature, contain spoilers which would be out of context with the series.

A coming og age perhaps.

Wow. Just wow. I accidentally stumbled upon this magnificent gem and how delighted I am. Beautifully shot with excellent performances by all, I was truly surprised how much story was tightly packed into each 30 minute episodes (I didn't score a 10 simply because of my selfish desire to see these characters for 60 minutes).

The story authentically captures the essence of West Indian life (the music, the accent and nuances of speech, slang words, the cultural sensitivities, food, and the deep influence of religion) as well as the immigrant experience (prohibition on speaking patois by youngsters, youngsters struggling to straddle both worlds - that of their family and that of their adopted home). The emotions are raw and runs deep.

When people are prohibited from living as their true authentic selves due to fear of ostracism or death, they are more inclined to enter into relationships for cover which creates more hurt and deceit. This series is a gift of remembrance to the many unknown men and women who suffered in silence and forced to live inauthentic lives.

Mr Loverman is a thought-provoking, deeply moving drama that explores historic and changing attitudes to gay relationships within the Afro Caribbean community in Britain. But it is much more than that - it is about love in all its guises and about the importance of identity and being true to yourself no matter what culture or community you are brought up in. Lennie James and Sharon D Clarke deserve to win every award going for their stunning performances. In fact, every character in this brilliant drama is beautifully portrayed and I cannot recommend it highly enough. More like this please BBC!

Lennie James is a much underrated actor who has taken on some gritty roles in his career. Was far more impressed with his performance in another BBC miniseries; The State Within, back in 2006.

However, no matter how you dress this up with rationalised pseudo reasoning, it comes down to portraying someone who never had the guts to live as themselves, but chose to destroy another person's life and happiness along with their family. So much for marriage vows to his wife..!

All rather strange, when you consider how hard SSM was fought for, and yet here, a nearly lifelong marriage is discarded as almost a complete irrelevance to the story!

The first episode has a tagline.. "Is Barry brave enough to leave his wife?" Why is the final act of being unfaithful to your wife for decades described as being .."brave" ?

This isn't an uncommon theme, the question is...why are dramas like this attempting to make a virtue out of the appalling philandering behaviour of a husband..is it just because he's gay ..talk about double standards!

This is a riveting drama and superb acting from all the cast, extremely well written with characters you really get to know and appreciate for who they are or pretend to be. It does not shy away from controversy either and handles the prejudices of the characters with both touching realism tinged with humour and sadness. Lennie James simply surpasses himself in his portrayal of a closeted gay man who is caught between his family and secret lover and understandable split loyalties. Set in the London Borough of Hackney and on the Island of Antigua, I cannot recommend this drama highly enough. Enjoy!