''Single Father'' is a four-episode 2010

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 ...

centred on Dave (

David Tennant David John Tennant (; born 18 April 1971) is a Scottish actor. He is best known for portraying the Tenth Doctor, tenth and Fourteenth Doctor, fourteenth incarnations of The Doctor (Doctor Who), the Doctor in the science fiction series ''Docto ...

), a photographer attempting to look after his children as a

single father A single parent is a person who has a child or children but does not have a spouse or live-in partner to assist in the upbringing or support of the child. Reasons for becoming a single parent include death, divorce, break-up, abandonment, beco ...

after the death of his partner, Rita (

Laura Fraser Laura Fraser (born 24 July 1975) is a Scottish actress. She has played Door in the urban fantasy series ''Neverwhere'' (1996), Kate in the film '' A Knight's Tale'' (2001), Cat MacKenzie in the BBC Three drama series '' Lip Service'' (2010–20 ...

), in a road traffic accident. The series also explores the complicated and growing romance between Dave and Rita's best friend, Sarah (

Suranne Jones Sarah Ann Akers (née Jones; born 27 August 1978), known professionally as Suranne Jones, is an English actress and producer. Known for her numerous collaborations with screenwriter Sally Wainwright, she rose to prominence playing Karen McDonal ...

). The series began airing on

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's oldest and flagship channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television b ...

on 10 October 2010 at a 9pm timeslot, with 5 million viewers.

Plot

Photographer Dave Tiler lives with his partner Rita, their three children, and Rita's older daughter of unknown paternity, Lucy. Dave also has an older daughter named Tanya (who has a son of her own, and works as Dave's assistant) from his first marriage. Rita works at a school with her best friend Sarah, who is unsure about whether to start a family with her partner Matt. The Tilers' lives are thrown into chaos when Rita is hit and killed by a police car; the children try to come to terms with the death of their mother, and Dave struggles to cope with raising them alone. Dave and Sarah share a grief-stricken kiss, and are unsure of their attraction to each other. When Lucy starts a quest to find her real father, the shocking results leading Dave to question the paternity of his and Rita's other children. In anger at Rita's dishonesty in keeping Lucy's paternity and her relationship with the father a secret, and questioning Rita's fidelity, Dave sleeps with Sarah, who is angry and hurt when Dave starts post-coitally ranting about Rita. At the same time he begins to doubt if the three other children are really his. Dave faces growing financial problems, problems with his grief-stricken children, and potentially losing Lucy to her biological father. Meanwhile Matt discovers that Sarah has cheated on him with Dave, and sleeps with Tanya as revenge, leading to a showdown at Dave's house. Ultimately, Dave must slay the ghosts of the past, and decide whether to pursue new love with Sarah.

Cast

– Dave Tiler *

– Rita Morris *

– Sarah, Rita's best friend *

Isla Blair Isla Blair Glover (born 29 September 1944) is a British actress and singer. She made her first stage appearance in 1963 as Philia in the London debut of ''A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum''. Early life and education Isla Blair wa ...

– Beatty, Rita's adoptive mother * Warren Brown – Matt, Sarah's partner *

Rupert Graves Rupert Simeon Graves (born 30 June 1963) is an English film, television, and theatre actor. He is known for his roles in '' A Room with a View'', '' Maurice'', '' The Madness of King George'' and '' The Forsyte Saga''. From 2010 to 2017 he sta ...

– Stuart, Lucy's biological father *

Mark Heap Mark Heap (born 13 May 1957) is a British actor and comedian. Television credits include '' Ghost Train'' (1991), '' Smith & Jones'' (1997–1998), '' Brass Eye'' (1997–2001), '' Kiss Me Kate'' (1998), '' The Zig and Zag Show'' (1998), '' Ho ...

– Robin, Anna's husband *

Neve McIntosh Neve McIntosh (born Carol McIntosh; 9 April 1972) is a Scottish actress. Early life Born in Paisley, Renfrewshire, McIntosh grew up in Edinburgh, where she attended Boroughmuir High School. She was a member of Edinburgh Youth Theatre in the lat ...

– Anna, Rita's adoptive sister *Natasha Watson – Lucy, Rita's 15-year-old daughter with Stuart *Chris Hegarty – Paul, Rita and Dave's 11-year-old son *Robert Dickson – Ewan, Rita and Dave's 9-year-old son *

Millie Innes Millie Innes (born 5 October 2000) is a Scottish actress, known for her roles as Maisy in ''Dani's House'' and Millie McDonald in ''Millie Inbetween''. Early and personal life Innes was born in 2000 to parents Julia and Campbell; she has a you ...

– Evie, Rita and Dave's 6-year-old daughter *

Jenni Keenan Green Jenni Keenan Green is a Scottish actress. Filmography ;Film ;Television References External links * {{DEFAULTSORT:Keenan Green, Jenni Scottish television actresses Scottish soap opera actresses Living people Year of birth missing ...

– Michelle, Dave's first wife *

Sophie Kennedy Clark Sophie Kennedy Clark (born 1990) is a Scottish actress. She is the daughter of actress and singer Fiona Kennedy and the granddaughter of singer Calum Kennedy. Career Her first big break came when she starred as David Tennant's eldest daughter ...

– Tanya, Dave's 18-year-old daughter by his first marriage to Michelle, who also has a three-year-old son *

Stephen McCole Stephen McCole is a Scottish actor. He is known for starring in the dark comedy series ''High Times'',Paul English"High Times duo Stephen and Paul McCole find fame in unlikely places" '' The Daily Record'', 28 June 2008. Retrieved 1 June 2009 th ...

– Jimbo, Dave's friend with whom he plays football *Gabriel Green McGillivray – Samuel, Tanya's 3-year-old son *Charlotte Pyke – Francine, Stuart's wife *Mariam Metreveli – Jemma, Stuart's daughter with Francine *Sesili Metreveli – Alice, Stuart's daughter with Francine

Production

As a

BBC Scotland BBC Scotland is a division of the BBC and the main public broadcaster in Scotland. Its headquarters are in Glasgow, employing approximately 1,250 staff as of 2017, to produce 15,000 hours of television and radio programming per year. BBC Scotla ...

production, the series was mostly filmed on location in

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

. Some of the court scenes, including the exterior of the courthouse, were filmed at

Paisley Sheriff Court Paisley Sheriff Court is a municipal structure in St James Street, Paisley, Renfrewshire, Scotland. The complex, which was the headquarters of Renfrewshire County Council and is currently used as a courthouse, is a Category A listed building. ...

and several of its staff were cast as extras. Some scenes were shot in Edinburgh at the

Caledonian Hotel The Caledonian Edinburgh is a five-star hotel in Edinburgh, Scotland. Opened in 1903, it is an example of a British grand railway hotel. Nicknamed "The Caley", it stands at the west end of Princes Street and is a category A listed building. ...

, Point Hotel,

Calton Hill Calton Hill (; ) is a hill in central Edinburgh, Scotland, situated beyond the east end of Princes Street and included in the city's United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, UNESCO World Heritage Site. Views of, and f ...

and in

Princes Street Gardens Princes Street Gardens are two adjacent public parks in the centre of Edinburgh, Scotland, lying in the shadow of Edinburgh Castle. The Gardens were created in the 1820s following the long draining of the Nor Loch and building of the New Town, ...

Critical reception

''Single Father'' received mixed reviews from critics.

Tim Dowling Robert Timothy Dowling (; born June 1963) is an American journalist and author who writes a weekly column in ''The Guardian'' about his life with his family in London. Career Dowling worked in data entry for a films database before he became a fr ...

of ''

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 ...

'' thought it "emotionally draining" and found Tennant "superb". However, John Preston writing in ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was found ...

'' thought it was "hopelessly contrived and lacking in either emotional veracity or plausibility".

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Single Father (Tv Series) 2010 Scottish television series debuts 2010 Scottish television series endings 2010s British drama television series BBC Scotland television shows BBC high definition shows BBC television dramas 2010s British television miniseries British English-language television shows Television shows set in Glasgow Films shot in Edinburgh