''Loving Miss Hatto'' is a 2012 British television film directed by

Aisling Walsh Aisling Walsh (born 1958) is an Irish screenwriter and director. Her work has screened at festivals around the world and she has won several accolades, including a BAFTA TV Award for '' Room at the Top'' (2012) as well as an Irish Film and Tele ...

and starring

Maimie McCoy Mary McCoy, professionally known as Maimie McCoy (born April 21, 1979) is an English actress. She portrayed Milady de Winter in ''The Musketeers'' (2014–2016), and is the female lead in the ITV reboot series ''Van der Valk'' (2020–). Early ...

and

Francesca Annis Francesca Annis (born 14 May 1945) is an English actress. She is known for television roles in '' Reckless'' (1998), '' Wives and Daughters'' (1999), ''Deceit'' (2000), and '' Cranford'' (2007). A six-time BAFTA TV Award nominee, she won the 1979 ...

as Joyce Hatto and

Rory Kinnear Rory Michael Kinnear (born 17 February 1978) is an English actor. He won two Olivier Awards, both at the National Theatre, in 2008 for his portrayal of Sir Fopling Flutter in ''The Man of Mode'', and for playing the William Shakespeare villain ...

and

Alfred Molina Alfred Molina (born Alfredo Molina; 24 May 1953) is a British and American actor. He is known for his leading roles and character actor roles on the stage and screen. In a career spanning over five decades he has received a Drama Desk Award ...

as William Barrington-Coupe.

Plot

Pianist Joyce Hatto became famous very late in life when unauthorised copies of commercial recordings made by other pianists were released under her name, earning her high praise from critics. The fraud did not come to light until 2007, six months after her death. The film takes a look at two distinct periods of time, firstly the beginning of Joyce's career when she met and married Barrington-Coupe and secondly, with a change of actors, some thirty years later her later life with her husband, her career, illness and death.

Production and broadcast

''Loving Miss Hatto'' was filmed in Ireland and screened on BBC Television on 23 December 2012. The screenplay was by

Victoria Wood Victoria Wood (19 May 1953 – 20 April 2016) was an English comedian, actress, musician, screenwriter, and director. Wood wrote and starred in dozens of sketches, plays, musicals, films and sitcoms over several decades, and her live comedy act ...

and the film was made by Left Bank Pictures. Barrington-Coupe was still alive at the time, but Wood stated in an interview with ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' that she did not consult him when she was writing the film, although members of the research team for the project met with him on a number of occasions.

Cast

as Joyce Hatto *

as William Barrington-Coupe *

as Young Joyce *

as Young Barrie *

Phoebe Nicholls Phoebe Sarah Nicholls (born 7 April 1957) is an English film, television, and stage actress. She is known for her roles as Cordelia Flyte in '' Brideshead Revisited'' and as the mother of John Merrick in ''The Elephant Man''. Personal life Ni ...

as Mrs Hatto *

Ned Dennehy Ned Dennehy (born 8 December 1965) is an Irish actor in films and television. His credits include ''The Mystic Knights of Tir Na Nog'' (1998), '' Blitz'' (2011), ''Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1'', '' Downhill'' (2014), '' Luther ...

as Philip *

Sarah Woodward Sarah Woodward (born 3 April 1963) is a British actress who won an Olivier Award in 1998 for ''Tom & Clem'' and was Tony nominated in 2000 for '' The Real Thing''. Sarah is the daughter of actor Edward Woodward and his first wife, actress Ven ...

as Birdy * Eve Matheson as Pilks *

Jane Brennan Jane Brennan is an Irish people, Irish actress. Primarily known for her work on the stage, she played Mary Lacey in the Academy Award-nominated film ''Brooklyn (film), Brooklyn''. She also had a recurring role as Margaret Bryan, Lady Margaret Br ...

as Miss Guisely *

as Philip * Nicholas Rowe as James *

Nicholas Woodeson Nicholas Robin Frank Woodeson (born 30 November 1949) is an English film, television and theatre actor, and Drama Desk and Olivier award nominee. Early life and education Woodeson was born in Sudan and grew up in Haifa, Israel. He later moved ...

as Erich * Nell Williams as Young Birdy *

Susan Loughnane Susan Patricia Loughnane (born 16 February 1987) is an Irish people, Irish actress and author. She is known for playing Debbie in drama ''Love/Hate (TV series), Love/Hate'', for which she won the 10th Irish Film & Television Awards, 2013 Irish F ...

as Publishing girl * Valerie O'Connor as Phylis

Home media

The film was made available on

Amazon Prime Amazon Prime (styled as prime) is a paid subscription service of Amazon which is available in many countries and gives users access to additional services otherwise unavailable or available at a premium to other Amazon customers. Services inclu ...

References

External links

* *{{rotten-tomatoes, loving_miss_hatto British films based on actual events 2012 television films 2012 films BBC One original programming British television films 2010s English-language films