This is England ’88 is set to appear on our screens this Christmas in a two hour special after the popularity of last years This is England ’86 on Channel 4.
Shane Meadows award winning 2006 picture, This is England, followed young skinheads in England in 1983 and aimed to illustrate the skinhead subculture with it’s roots coming all the way back from the 1960’s. The elements of black culture including reggae and ska were gradually assimilated by which white nationalists and this is where the film follows the divisions within the skinhead culture.
Last year, Meadows returned to our screens but this time, the ones in our living rooms to bring back the characters from his film and to watch their journeys as they progress. The television show features pretty much the same cast as the film and the new Christmas special sees Woody (Joe Gilgun) and Lol (Vicky McClure) along with other series regulars. As with This is England ’86, ’88 will be co-written by Meadows and Shameless / Skins scribe Jack Thorne.
Channel 4’s Head of Drama, Camilla Campbell, explains that the special will act as a bridge to a further series, “pulling together a lot of story threads from ’86, leaving the way clear for This Is England ’90 which is currently in development.”
