''Days of Hope'' is a

BBC television drama BBC television dramas have been produced and broadcast since even before the public service company had an officially established television broadcasting network in the United Kingdom. As with any major broadcast network, drama forms an importa ...

serial produced in 1975. The series dealt with the lives of a working-class family from the turmoils of the First World War in 1916 to the General Strike in 1926. It was written by Jim Allen, produced by

Tony Garnett Tony Garnett (3 April 1936 – 12 January 2020) was a British film and television producer, and actor. Best known for his thirteen-year association with director Ken Loach, his work as a producer continued into the 21st century. Early life and ...

and directed by

Ken Loach Kenneth Charles Loach (born 17 June 1936) is a British film director and screenwriter. His socially critical directing style and socialist ideals are evident in his film treatment of social issues such as poverty ('' Poor Cow'', 1967), homelessn ...

Cast

Paul Copley Paul Mackriell Copley (born 25 November 1944) is an English actor and voiceover artist. From 2011 to 2015 he appeared as Mr. Mason, father of William Mason, in 16 episodes of ''Downton Abbey'', and from 2020 to 2021, he appeared in the ITV so ...

as Ben Matthews *Pamela Brighton as Sarah Hargreaves *Nikolas Simmonds as Philip Hargreaves *

Alun Armstrong Alan Armstrong, known professionally as Alun Armstrong, is an English actor. He grew up in County Durham in North East England, and first became interested in acting through Shakespeare productions at his grammar school. Since his career began ...

as Billy Shepherd *Clifford Kershaw as Tom Matthews *

Helene Palmer Helene Palmer (5 March 1928 – 5 January 2011) was an English actress best known for her portrayal of Ida Clough, a factory machinist in the long-running soap opera, '' Coronation Street''. She appeared in the show on/off between 1978 and 1 ...

as Martha Matthews *Gary Roberts as Joel Barnett *Jean Spence as May Barnett *Christine Anderson as Jenny Barnett * John Phillips as Josiah Wedgwood *

Stephen Rea Stephen Rea ( ; born 31 October 1946) is an Irish film and stage actor. Rea has appeared in films such as '' V for Vendetta'', '' Michael Collins'', ''Interview with the Vampire'' and '' Breakfast on Pluto''. Rea was nominated for the Academy Aw ...

as Reporter

Episodes

Box-set and certification

''Days of Hope'' is included on the ''Ken Loach at the BBC'' DVD box-set released in 2011. The first two episodes of the series were given 15 certificates: the first episode for strong language, and the second for strong language and moderate violence. Episodes 3 and 4 were given PG certificates.

Reception

The first episode of ''Days of Hope'' caused considerable controversy in the British media owing to its critical depiction of the military in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

, and particularly over a scene where conscientious objectors were tied up to stakes outside trenches in view of enemy fire after refusing to obey orders.Days of Hope
Tony Williams, Cinémathèque Annotations on Film, Issue 31, April 2004 An ex-serviceman subsequently contacted ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' ( ...

'' newspaper with an illustration from the time of a similar scene. In an interview, Loach said that numerous letters were written to newspapers about small inaccuracies (e.g. the soldiers' marching formations) but relatively few challenging the main narrative of events. In contrast, the Marxist historian John Newsinger has argued that the final episode of ''Days of Hope'' was so concerned with historical accuracy about the General Strike that it had become "boring" and "a heroic failure". He contrasts this with "the magnificent socialist dramas" in the first episodes, which were less concerned with historical accuracy.

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 during the Second World War, and again from ...

is portrayed relatively negatively in the series, which highlights his attitude towards the coal miners during the strikes of 1921 and 1926. Ken Loach said in an interview that the media were particularly offended by a line that compared Churchill to a vulture and

Lenin Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov. ( 1870 – 21 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin,. was a Russian revolutionary, politician, and political theorist. He served as the first and founding head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 to 1 ...

to an eagle.Interview on Disc 6 of the box-set ''Ken Loach at the BBC''

References

External links

*
BFI Film & TV Database

Senses of Cinema review and history
{{Play for Today 1975 British television series debuts 1975 British television series endings 1975 television plays 1970s British drama television series Plays by Jim Allen BBC television dramas 1970s British television miniseries Films about Quakers Television series set in the 20th century English-language television shows Television controversies in the United Kingdom