
Writer Graham Reid looks back on his 1996 BBC drama The Precious Blood.\n\nSet in a Belfast trying to secure a lasting peace, The Precious Blood conveys conflicts both practically and emotionally. Billy was a UVF killer but has turned his former political fervour into a new-found religious faith. Rosie is the widow of a man shot at the height of the Troubles. Graham Reid explains how he brought the two stories together - Billy, tormented by his past, trying to find a path to his own atonement; Rosie searching for answers to the unsolved murder of her husband.\n\nGraham tells us how personal issues were key; both main characters struggle with parenting adolescent boys. He also discusses the power of the cast, how his wife had a hand in the casting of Amanda Burton and the chemistry shared on screen between Burton and Kevin McNally.\n\nThe Precious Blood adds to the list of unforgettable dramas Graham has written on this subject, detailing the struggles both within and between contrasting families at the heart of the still-troubled city.
Source: BBC 4
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