Mr Loverman stars on adaptation: 'If you put Black folk on TV, it will sell'

"But one of the things that I love about Mr Loverman is, and I've got nothing against the stories I'm going to say that it's not like, but it's not a 'no Blacks, no Irish, no dogs' story, which has become an archetype of the stories that we've told through generations, mostly because it's one that is perceived to be something that's understandable to the wider community."

But while the tide is starting to shift as different voices are offered a seat at the table, James was quick to add that there's still more work to be done.

"There is now the possibility to write stories that can only have come from our community, talking about our community from people from within our community, without the gatekeepers going, 'You have to make it so that I can understand it,'" he said.

"And I think that's one of the things that Mr Loverman is, one of the things that I May Destroy You was, and there are other examples of it, but not nearly enough."

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The eight-part drama stars James as Barrington Jedidiah Walker, an Antiguan-born Londoner who has been married to his wife Carmel for 50 years, despite his long-term affair with his soulmate Morris.

But at the grand old age of 74, Barry decides that he's going to come out so that he can openly pursue a relationship with the real love of his life.

"There wasn't a moment with this that felt alien," said Ariyon Bakare, echoing James's comments about the authenticity of the scripts.

"It always felt like I could embody it. There wasn't a moment I was going, 'Well, I don't know what it's like to carry a gun in my hand, I don't know what it’s like to sell drugs.'

"I'm not saying there isn't a world for it, but this was a world I did know, upwardly mobile Black people who are still struggling with whatever internal struggles they have. This story allowed us to engage in that side. Engage in heart, engage in love.

"So it was like, 'Oh, I'm exploring this part of myself, I'm not having to search outside of myself to add to this character. I'm living in it. I'm rooted in it.'"

Bakare went on to say that by shutting out certain stories and voices, commissioners are doing a "disservice to society".

"Art is supposed to be a reflection of society, and we’re not doing it right," he asserted.

"There has been that thing, that there is not a market for it," added Sharon D Clarke. "But if you put Black folk on the telly, it will sell. If you put Black folk in the cinema, they will come.

"There is a market so wide and far that is clamouring to hear these stories, and it's not just Black people wanting to see that."

But Clarke was quick to say that it's not just about entertaining viewers and servicing that need; TV also has the power to change lives.

"The more people that give us the space and the opportunity to tell our stories authentically, as we would tell them, as opposed to watering them down to make it be fitting for a wider audience, then you can actually educate, because people are seeing something that they're not used to seeing, that they know nothing about," she said.

"And that's one thing that I want to do through art. We want to elevate, we want to entertain and we want to educate."

Although, as Bakare notes, by watching TV shows that centre on other cultures, what we actually learn, above all else, is that there's far more that unites us than divides us.

"We've had the base layer of [our art] when we were playing what we considered the lower characters," he said.

"We've now had the upper layer of, like, Top Boy, which has now paved the way for us to want to go into those other characters and find out more, to go beyond. We want to find out about what they personally are like, their lives.

"So these stories are the next step forward. It is about finding out the name of your neighbour, finding out who we are as a culture. And what you realise when you do find out what the culture is, it's no different than your own [laughs].

"We are the same. The stories are just universal."

All episodes of Mr Loverman will be available to stream on BBC iPlayer from 6am on Monday 14th October. The first two episodes will air on BBC One at 9pm that evening, with episodes continuing to air weekly.

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