Mr Loverman: The Ground-breaking New TV Series
The BBC has adapted Booker Prize-winner Bernardine Evaristo’s trailblazing novel Mr Loverman into a must-watch television series.
This is an eight-part drama is set in the 60s within London’s Caribbean community. The story follows 74-year-old Barrington ‘Barry’ Jedidiah Walker, a closeted gay Antiguan man living in Hackney, London.
Despite being married to his devote Christian wife, Carmel, for over 50 years, Barry has secretly been in love with his best friend, Morris, and the pair have been having a secret affair with for nearly six decades.
In his later years, Barry faces the unravelling of his marriage, his relationship with his daughters, and being exposed for the deep secrets he’s kept from his family. The series explores themes of love, identity, and the generational conflicts of cultural expectations within Britain’s Caribbean community.
Lennie James (line of Duty) stars as Barrington, Sharon D. Clarke (Holby City) portrays his wife, Carmel, and Ariyon Bakare (His Dark Materials) as Morris.
The adaptation, directed by Hong Khaou, highlights both the heart-warming and funny moments, as well as the more sorrowful and poignant aspects of Barry’s journey as he struggles to live his truth in a society that has long suppressed his identity.
BBC has described the show as ‘a life-affirming story about family, love, and being true to yourself.’
The Mr Loverman TV series is based on the seventh and ground-breaking novel of the same name written by British-Nigerian author Bernardine Evaristo, published in 2013.
When asked why she chose to write this story, Evaristo said: “I’m always interested in writing into the silences in our society and literary culture, and bringing to the fore stories and characters that have hitherto been underexplored.
“In 2009, when I began writing this novel, I had long been aware that the Windrush Generation had always been presented as completely heterosexual, which cannot be an accurate depiction of that demographic.
“The idea of an elderly, Caribbean gay protagonist seemed the perfect way to address this.”
Critics have deemed the television adaptation ‘magnificent tv’. With such a star-studded cast and outstanding source material it’s easy to see why.
Hannah McLaren
I've worked at DC Thomson for six years! I began as an intern at My Weekly and The Scots Magazine, which was extended by a few months to help out at The People's Friend. I then covered maternity as Celebrity Editor for My Weekly, before I became Multimedia Journalist at The Scots Magazine. Currently I'm writing digital content across each title.
