It's coming up to Christmas 1988 and Lol is struggling to cope with what life has thrown at her.
Haunted by the devastating events which took place 18 months previously, she finds her reserves of strength ebbing away. With her soul mate, Woody, heartbroken from her betrayal and in self-imposed exile from the gang, Lol becomes increasingly isolated and alone.
Shaun has started drama college and although still in a relationship with Smell, he has grown close to a young woman performing in his Christmas play.
They say Christmas is a time for forgiving and for forgetting, a time of love and laughter and joy ever after. But when all hope seems lost, what peace is there to be found?
This is Christmas. This is England.
CAST
Lol - Vicky McClure
Shaun Fields - Thomas Turgoose
Cynthia Fields - Jo Hartley
Milky - Andrew Shim
Woody - Joe Gilgun
Gadget - Andrew Ellis
Smell - Rosamund Hanson
Kelly - Chanel Cresswell
Trev - Danielle Watson
Fay - Charlotte Tyree
Combo - Stephen Graham
Evelyn (Nurse) - Helen Behan
Banjo - George Newton
Mick - Johnny Harris
Harvey - Michael Socha
Trudy - Hannah Walters
Mr Sandhu - Kriss Dosanjh
Flip - Perry Fitzpatrick
Shane on the This Is England '88:
"This Is England started off about me, but by '88 that's not really the case. The bit that's about me is Shaun going to college to study drama and being in a play. I was in that play, I said those lines, just look at Shaun's house and you'll see me. Everyone else has come from personal discussions (with the actors) about themselves or people they know. Otherwise you end up filling it with your own stuff and no one's that interesting."
TRIVIA
This Is England 88 was originally planned as a one-off feature length episode, but as the amount of filmed material grew during the shoot, Shane realised he had enough footage of a high standard to make into three hours of television. Negotiations with Channel4 and Warp Films eventually lead to the agreement that the finished story would be made into three one-hour long episodes which would be screened on consecutive nights.
The first promotional image released for the series featured the main characters in a Christmas Nativity scene.
Click on the image for the high resolution version.
BAFTA Television Awards
Behind the scenes interview after This Is England '88 won the BAFTA for Best Mini-Series.
Crane.tv
Rosamund Hanson talks about getting into acting and This Is England.
BBC6 Music
Shaun Keaveney interviews Andrew Shim around the DVD/Bluray release of This Is England '88.
Radio Times
Interview with Rosamund Hanson
ARTICLES & INTERVIEWS
Radio Times
Interview with Vicky McClure.
The Guardian
Interview with Shane about digital film-making and This Is England '88.
ShortList - National Treasures
An in depth on-set report.
ShortList
An in depth interview with Shane.
Digital Spy Q&A
A transcribed extract from a BAFTA Q&A after a preview screening of This Is England '88.
The Telegraph
Interview with Shane & Vicky McClure.
TNT Magazine
Interview with Joe Gilgun.
IndieWire
Interview with Vicky McClure.
Wonderland Magazine
Interview with Vicky McClure
