Fresh off of series two of detective drama Marcella, Anna Friel is set to return to ITV to lead new landmark drama Butterfly.

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The three-part TV mini-series will be written by Tony Marchant, the playwright behind BBC’s Public Enemies, The Secret Agent, Garrow’s Law and Bafta-winning war film The Mark of Cain. It will centre around Friel and Emmett J Scanlan as the parents of a transgender child.

Find out everything you need to know about Butterfly below.

When is Butterfly on TV?

Butterfly will begin on Sunday 14th October at 9pm on ITV.

What is Butterfly about?

Butterfly on ITV

Butterfly revolves around an 11-year-old transgender child, Max, who identifies as a girl and wants to live her life as Maxine.

Friel will play the child’s mother, Vicky, as she attempts to work out how best to cope with and support this huge life decision.

Vicky is separated from Maxine's father, Stephen (Hollyoaks alum Emmett J Scanlan), and the two are fundamentally divided on what they think is best for their child.

"It’s basically a drama about ordinary people put into an extraordinary situation," Scanlan told Entertainment Focus. "The writing is so real, so relevant, so topical and so brave, which are the reasons why you get involved in projects like this."

Who stars in Butterfly?

Meet the full cast here, including the aforementioned Friel and Scanlan who will lead the line-up as separated parents Vicky and Stephen.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BfydT9lHeQ0/?taken-by=annafriel

Their two children will be played by Millie Gibson and Callum Booth-Ford as Maxine. Scanlan reserved special praise for his co-stars: "[Friel, Gibson and Booth-Ford] are three f***ing heavyweights, and to watch all of them play on set was utterly, utterly remarkable."

Alison Steadman and Sean McGinley round out the cast as Maxine's grandparents.

Butterfly begins on Sunday 14th October at 9pm on ITV.

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Published in October 2018

Authors

Ben AllenOn Demand Writer, RadioTimes.com
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