Friday 15 August 2008

BBC FOUR - Taking Over The Asylum Repeat

BBC Four will be airing a repeat of 'Taking Over The Asylum' on the 24th August at 10pm.The first two episodes - Hey Jude & Fly Like An Eagle are being aired back to back.

One of David's first TV roles was in the 1994 critically acclaimed show Takin' Over The Asylum.


Ken Stott plays Eddie McKenna, a double-glazing salesman who moonlights as a DJ for hospital radio in a Scottish mental asylum - St Judes.

He nurtures close friendships with the patients there including Francine, a self-harmer and Campbell, played by David, a manic depressive, with whom he shares a dream to make it onto the commercial radio scene.

Campbell's inspired antics promise to bring the pair closer to their aim, but the pressures of life outside of the hospital begin to tell on Eddie. A vindictive colleague leads his small-minded boss to ban his activities at 'the looney-bin' and his eccentric grandmother returns suddenly to Lithuania leaving him peniless and alone.

Eddie finds himself drawn to the troubled Francine, but when the radio is threatened with closure it is to another 'wee friend' he turns for comfort. slowly we watch the roles reverse. As Campbell regains control over his life and courts success, Eddie goes into decline and is finally forced to face his own illness - alcoholism.

With black humour this drama deals perceptively with the issues surrounding mental health and the prejudices faced by sufferers.

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