Five plans autism drama

Return to Vaccination News Home Page

Subscribe to the Vaccination NewsLetter

View past & current Scandals (columns by Sandy Mintz)

Search This Site using keywords

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,3604,961740,00.html

Five plans autism drama

Matt Wells, Media correspondent
Friday May 23, 2003
The Guardian

Channel Five is to spend £1m on a drama about the alleged link between the MMR vaccine and autism.

Juliet Stevenson will pay the lead role in Hear the Silence which will be televised in the autumn. It will be her first appearance in a television drama since 1999. Hugh Bonneville will play Andrew Wakefield, the doctor who publicly linked the vaccine to autism in children.

The 90-minute film is a departure from the channel's usual fare. Five's original homegrown drama output consists almost entirely of the daily soap opera, Family Affairs.

Corinne Hollingworth, the channel's controller of drama, said: "This is a new direction for Five. This is such a compelling story I felt it was a drama we had to make."

Stevenson will play a mother who discovers the possible link between the vaccine and autism when her son is diagnosed with the condition.

It will share a place in the autumn schedule with Living with the Eubanks, a fly-on-the-wall series following the former boxer, Chris Eubank.
 

Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2003

 

 

Return to Vaccination News Home Page

DISCLAIMER:    All information, data, and material contained, presented, or provided here is for general information purposes only and is not to be construed as reflecting the knowledge or opinions of the publisher, and is not to be construed or intended as providing medical or legal advice.  The decision whether or not to vaccinate is an important and complex issue and should be made by you, and you alone, in consultation with your health care provider.