Simone Reddington

(Source: imdb.com, 2024)

Helen Walsh’s The Gathering, which aired on Channel 4 last month, is the best television drama I’ve seen this year.  The six-part thriller begins with the shocking attack of a teenage girl at an illegal rave on a beach in Merseyside and uses flashbacks to tell the stories of her and the other young people at the party, who come from a mix of very different backgrounds but are linked by the events leading up to that fateful night.  The characters represent the inequalities that exist in society and the issues that young people in Britain face today as they have all, in one way or another, been let down by the adults and wider world around them.

The show is of particular interest to me as it is predominantly set in Liverpool, where I was lucky enough to live, work and study for several years.  I recognised many of the filming locations and a couple of members of the cast from Liverpool’s Royal Court theatre, where I used to work in the Front of House team.  It is so refreshing to hear authentic Liverpudlian accents on television, whether it is from established stars such as Warren Brown and Christine Tremarco, or the next generation of actors making their television debut such as Eva Morgan and Sonny Walker.  I also really liked how the show did not present all the Scouse characters as the working-class stereotypes that are often portrayed in British media.  One of my favourites scenes was when the streetwise Adam (played by Walker) asked for a lift home and it was revealed that he lived in a middle-class household in a suburban neighbourhood in south Liverpool, with a family who would entertaining guests at dinner parties while discussing arts and culture in a distinctive Scouse twang.  More of this please.

If you’ve not yet seen The Gathering  and fancy a gripping mystery drama to binge-watch this weekend, all episodes are available on Channel4.com