What happens when a nun and a Catholic priest fall in love? Channel 4’s Falling, billed as a “contemporary romantic drama”, grapples with that very question.
The six-part series, written by Adolescence’s Jack Thorne, stars Keeley Hawes and Paapa Essiedu as two people who are both “deeply committed to their work in the church and in their community” when they unexpectedly develop feelings for one another.
“Both are forced to wrestle with what it means for them, their vows, and their relationship with God,” reads the official synopsis.
Speaking ahead of the series, Thorne said that while much of Falling is fictional, the seed of the idea came from a real-life story.
“My friend and long-term collaborator George Faber [who also exec produces on Falling] sent me an article about a nun falling in love with a priest,” he shared.
“We use none of the detail of that in Falling, but we thought there was something very interesting there about faith and love that would allow us to tell a slightly unusual story.”
Thorne expanded on that, explaining that striking the right balance between faith and love was the most challenging aspect of writing the series – a process that involved speaking to “lots and lots of people” as part of his research.
“The one thing that really stuck with me was a priest saying that no one gets prayer right,” he explained. “He said, ‘Prayer is the centre of everything, it’s what you’re there to do and to help people to do.’ So, while getting the details right is important, the bigger ideas are crucial when it comes to capturing the essence of being a priest or a nun. It’s about prayer, discussion and thought.
“It was really important that these people are incredibly devoted to their lives and their choices, and that the God bit was never dismissed.”
Thorne referenced a “crucial scene when David takes a reluctant daughter to give last rites to her mum, and he explains really carefully what that’s about — that it isn’t an act of religion but an act of love”.
“Getting inside all that, and hopefully celebrating the church and the role it plays in society, felt important,” Thorne added. “The nicest compliment I’ve had is that the programme seems to speak about the importance of community. If it does that, I’m happy.”
Hawes, meanwhile, said she was drawn not only to the fact that it’s a love story, but also “intrigued” by the fact that “Jack had never written” one before, praising his “beautifully observed, unsentimental and very tender” script.
“He has created something very special.”
But, as Essiedu notes, viewers shouldn’t expect “fireworks or huge declarations”, but rather “very small interactions that become bigger in one’s mind or heart”.
“I think that’s very true of real life,” he added. “With the people we end up falling in love with, we can very often trace it back to one specific moment when something changes in your brain and body chemistry.
“That’s what happens between David and Anna in the first episode.”
Like Thorne, Essiedu also carried out his own research to help him better understand his character.
“One of the priests I spoke to during my research told me, ‘I’m married to God — that is my partner,'” he said.
“So, the idea of falling in love with anybody else feels like committing adultery, in some sense. But also, in the eyes of God, loving someone else is a manifestation of loving God.
“It’s a complex, knotty and hopefully dramatic situation.”
Falling premieres on Channel 4 on Tuesday 19 May at 9pm.
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