| True Love | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Drama |
| Written by | Dominic Savage |
| Directed by | Dominic Savage |
| Starring | David Tennant Billie Piper Lacey Turner David Morrissey Jane Horrocks Ashley Walters |
| Opening theme | "What the World Needs Now Is Love" byDionne Warwick |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language | English |
| No. of series | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 5 |
| Production | |
| Executive producers | Juliette Howell Tim Bevan Eric Fellner Lucy Richer (for BBC) |
| Producer | Guy Heeley |
| Production locations | Margate, Kent, England |
| Running time | 30 minutes |
| Production companies | Working Title Television BBC |
| Original release | |
| Network | BBC One |
| Release | 17 June (2012-06-17) – 20 June 2012 (2012-06-20) |
True Love is a five-episode 2012 semi-improvisedBBC television drama, which began onBBC One on 17 June 2012.
Each episode is a self-contained story (though there is some cross-over between all the episodes), devised through improvisation (a first for BBC One drama), exploring an issue related to love and relationships.[1]True Love had its first public screening at theTurner Contemporary in Margate on 29 March 2012. The series premiered on 17 June 2012 onBBC One, the remaining four episodes beingstripped across the next three nights, with the final two airing as a double-bill on 20 June.[2]True Love was originally titledLove Life but was re-titled to avoid confusion with anITV series with the same title.[3]
While each episode is self-contained, the series is set in the English seaside town ofMargate,Kent. There is some overlap between episodes.
True Love was filmed entirely in Margate and surrounding areas between early September and mid-October 2011.[4] Billie Piper's episode was partially shot at The Charles Dickens School inBroadstairs, where some of the current students were invited to be extras, filming scenes alongside Piper. Other prominent locations includeBotany Bay,Turner Contemporary,Westwood Cross shopping centre, andMargate railway station.[5]
Episode-viewing figures are fromBroadcast Now andDigital Spy.
| Episode no. | Airdate | Episode title | Total viewers (millions) |
|---|---|---|---|
1 | 17 June 2012 | Nick | 3.11[6] |
2 | 18 June 2012 | Paul | 2.64[7] |
3 | 19 June 2012 | Holly | 2.8[8] |
4 | 20 June 2012 | Sandra | 1.77[9] |
5 | 20 June 2012 | Adrian | 1.49 |
The first episode was received negatively by most critics. Reviewing the episode forThe Daily Telegraph, Isabel Mohan criticised the plot andMargate backdrop, both of which she found uninspiring,[10] while Sam Wollaston ofThe Guardian compared the storyline, overlaid with sentimental music, unfavourably to an edition of theOur Tune radio feature.[11]The Independent's Terence Blacker was also unenthusiastic: "It messed up the story, revealing the outcome of a will-they-won't-they tale of infidelity before a single word of dialogue had been spoken."[12]
