Broken actor Anna Friel will star in a new ITV mini-series following a schoolboy who identifies as a girl.

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Called Butterfly, the three-part story is about Max, an 11-year-old who lives as a girl at home, but then decides he doesn’t want to hide this identity from the world. Friel will play the child’s mother, Vicky, as she attempts to work out how best to support and protect him.

The show will be penned 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.

Polly Hill, head of ITV Drama said: “Butterfly is a beautiful story about a young boy on the cusp of puberty who doesn’t feel comfortable in his own body. It’s a heart-warming and emotional script from Tony Marchant that focuses upon gender identity and one boy’s search to be recognised for who he really is.”

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ITV has not yet announced when Butterfly will be on screens.

Authors

Thomas LingDigital editor, BBC Science Focus

Thomas is Digital editor at BBC Science Focus. Writing about everything from cosmology to anthropology, he specialises in the latest psychology, health and neuroscience discoveries. Thomas has a Masters degree (distinction) in Magazine Journalism from the University of Sheffield and has written for Men’s Health, Vice and Radio Times. He has been shortlisted as the New Digital Talent of the Year at the national magazine Professional Publishers Association (PPA) awards. Also working in academia, Thomas has lectured on the topic of journalism to undergraduate and postgraduate students at The University of Sheffield.

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