What have you done?
They said an incident.
What sort of incident?
For God's sake, Tom,
what have you done?
Mrs McKinney, please come in.
Tom, you too.
Tom attacked another boy
at lunchtime.
We think he may have broken his jaw.
Why? Well, the boy can't say,
and Tom won't say.
I've been concerned about his
behaviour for some time now,
but all we can get out of him
is a yes or a no.
Is he like that at home? Yeah.
And do you know why?
He's a teenager.
We think it might be
a bit more than that.
We were wondering whether we should
send him along to the Bureau.
The Bureau? The Merseyside
Teenagers Mental Health Bureau.
Can we send Tom out for a minute?
Yeah, sure. Tom, would you mind
just...
You know his history? Yes.
And obviously, we think
that that could be linked.
That's why we'd like
the Bureau to take a look at it.
And how do we go about that?
We'll refer him.
And if you could get his GP
to refer him too,
that'd help a lot.
PHONE BUZZES
I'm - I'm sorry about that.
I know it looks bad.
Me mum's very ill, so I had leave it
on.
PHONE KEEPS BUZZING
Hello?
Thanks.
Yeah, thanks.
Bye. Yeah, bye.
She's died.
Sorry to have to tell you this, Joe.
Your mother's died.
Don't leave the house
until I get back.
Right?
And you keep your phone switched on,
because I'll be tracking you.
Stop for ten seconds,
there's no phone for a week.
Right? Yeah.
Good.
Oh!
Oh, Mam.
The nonce on the wing here!
Hey, there's f*cking bacon
on the wing!
Yeah, go on, f*ck off, you b*stard!
Wait till they find out
who you are!
ANGRY SHOUTING
You're going to die in here!
Do you hear me? You're going to die
in here!
ALL CONVICTS SHOURAILINGS RATTLE
RINGTONE
PHONE VIBRATES
Hello? Mum's phone.
I only phoned to hear her voice.
I'm sorry.
It's Joe.
Give it here.
Hello?
Has Mum gone?
Yeah.
What was it, her heart?
Yes.
Is she still there? No.
And she died at home.
She's here now.
Can I come to the funeral, Dad?
No. Please.
Anna will be there.
Tom will be there.
How could you possibly come?
All right, bye.
You broke it. Her heart.
PRISONERS BANG ON DOORS
LOUD SHOUTING
I'll write the referral,
of course I will.
But there's no guarantee
the mental health team will think
him sick enough to be seen.
What do you mean, not sick enough?
There's an epidemic of mental
illness amongst children, Anna,
and they can only see the worst of
them.
But if he is sick enough...?
First appointment, 21 weeks.
OK. And in the meantime?
One of those groups
might be able to help,
but we don't recommend any
in particular.
Right. I'm sorry
I can't do more to help.
Um...
..I work in a supermarket on
the till, and it's getting to me.
Um...
If you'd asked for a bag,
I'd have given you a bag
so stop implying I'm a liar, right?
I need you to sign me off.
And I could do with some of
those pills you gave me last time.
I can't, Anna.
You're here about Tom.
To talk about you,
you need another appointment.
Right.
You can make an appointment
on the way out.
Right.
I want you to read at
your grandma's funeral.
Peter's reading one, and I want
you to read the other. Will you?
No.
Did you love her?
Yeah. Right, then show her.
Read at her funeral.
Are you doing this to get attention?
Is that what it is?
No. He's a knob.
You think you've done it for so long
now that you can't go back on it?
He's just a knob.
Are you doing it for a bet? No.
A dare? No.
Did someone at school dare you to
do it? No.
He's just a ginormous knob.
I introduced your nan
and your grandad, you know?
Did you? Yeah.
We were at a concert.
We were stood in a hot dog queue.
I saw your nan looking over
at your grandad...
..so I introduced them.
They got talking.
They ended up getting married.
She was a great woman.
We therefore commit her body
to the ground.
Earth to earth, ashes to ashes,
dust to dust.
OVERLAPPING CONVERSATIONS
Hey. One G&T. Ta.
Hey, you want another, Paul?
Nah, I'm good, mate, thanks.
You're not back on them, are you?
No.
Just today. She'd k*ll you.
Yeah, I know.
It's hard, isn't it?
It's even harder
when you're full of guilt, mate.
Yeah?
Yeah.
I've had a few other women, Paul.
Not many, but a few.
Jodie Taylor. Jodie Taylor in there?
Yeah.
Bloody hell.
Punching above your weight there,
aren't you? Yeah.
I thought, "There's no way
I'm ever going to regret this,
"stark bollock naked
with Jodie Taylor."
But it's doing me in, mate.
No-one's perfect.
You loved your missus.
Your missus loved you.
That's what counts.
HE SIGHS
He's been here all day? Yeah.
What are you doing here?
You had your lunch here?
Yeah. No teacher? No.
You've been here all day
on your own?
Yeah.
I am not having this conversation
out here.
Please, come in. Yeah. OK.
Tom has been put into
special educational needs.
He hasn't, has he?
He's been simply separated from
the rest of the school.
For now, yes. And when does that
change?
As soon as we can get someone.
Tomorrow?
No, not tomorrow. Next week?
Week after that? I don't know.
Well, I'm going to take him home
and school him there.
Because he's not leaving.
And when he's better, I want him
back here, functioning normally.
Mrs, McKinney, can we please talk
about... No, we cannot.
PHONE BUZZES
Hi.
Can you talk?
Yeah.
You haven't been in touch.
No.
Why?
It doesn't seem right.
It was all right when she was alive,
but not now that she's dead?
Yeah.
We could hurt her when she was
alive. We can't now.
I know,
but it still doesn't seem right.
So what do you want to do?
I don't know.
Do you want us to finish?
I don't know.
There's nothing
to stop us seeing each other now.
OK, it's a bit soon,
so we keep it secret a bit longer,
but eventually, we can, it can be
out in the open.
Yeah?
Er, there's someone at the door.
I've got to go.
Right.
So when you get out, you can't go
near the victim or his family.
You understand that?
Yeah. So we drew
up an exclusion zone.
Right?
It's basically anywhere within
the 26 bus route.
He lives there, goes to school
there, his mates are there.
His mum's there, and their family.
So it's a no-go-zone area for you,
I'm afraid.
And I'll see you get a copy of that.
Going to look for a job?
Well, I sent out 28 letters
and I got one reply.
It was like, "Dear sir,
thank you for your letter,
"but our policy is not
to employ sex offenders.
"Yours sincerely, etc." Am I getting
a whiff of self-pity there, Joe?
No, no, it's just, it's more
of a realistic appraisal
on me current situation, that's all.
Right.
Have you thought any more about
the hostel?
Yeah, I don't want to.
Well,
have you got anywhere else to live?
No. Then why not back the hostel?
Because they'll know
I'm a sex offender.
Not necessarily. Oh, they'll know,
and they'll glass me.
Like, I've seen it before, Jack.
Have you heard of St Maura's?
No.
Well, they take in men
who've sexually offended.
And there's six places,
but I know there's only
five there at the moment.
What, is it a Christian thing?
Yeah.
Have I got to go to church
and all that?
Only on a Sunday. Well, Joe,
it's either these people or a tent.
They don't need you. You need them.
So are you interested?
Well, now that you put it like that,
yeah.
Well, they'll have to interview you
first. It's a Katherine Farrell.
OK.
Hi, you all right? Hiya.
Right, do you want to sit down?
Yeah. So you want to come
and stay with us for a bit, yeah?
Yeah. Why?
Well, I've, um,
I've got nowhere else to go.
Well, you'd have to work with us.
Work on coming to terms with
what you did.
It would be different from
what you've done here in the prison.
Could you do that?
Yeah.
And what would you hope to get
from that?
Um, forgiveness.
Do you think that's likely?
No, but you said, "hope to get",
not, not "expect to get."
Anything else? Anything else you'd
hope to get from it?
Yeah, but it's, it's, like, selfish
of me. Isn't forgiveness selfish?
Yeah, but it can help the forgiver,
can't it?
Like, this other thing's
just for me.
What is it?
I'd rather not say, if that's OK.
Oh, it doesn't really work
like that, Joe.
You see, we expect, uh,
openness and honesty.
Like, to go to sleep one night
not hating myself,
and to wake up one morning
not hating myself.
Like, just once.
I don't know, if it can happen once,
it can happen again, can't it?
LAUGHTER NEARBY
I've been in their DMs.
Hey, hey, hey!
PLAYFUL BANTER
CALL RINGS OUHello? Hi. It's, um,
it's Joe Mitchell.
You told me to phone
when I was on Cranfield Street.
I'm here now. Yeah, it's number 32,
Joe.
All right. Thanks.
Hi, are you all right?
Yeah. Come in, then.
We like to keep the address
a secret, if you could do the same.
Otherwise, it's bricks
through the window and whatnot.
Right. Would you like a cup of tea?
Um, yeah, please.
We want you to come to church
with us on a Sunday.
Can you do that? Yeah.
And you're not to bring anyone back
here...
..ever.
OK.
Right. How do you take your tea?
So, you don't... It's not, um,
X and Y, it's apples and bananas.
Right? So four bananas
and two bananas,
that's six bananas, right?
And then six bananas over three,
divided by three, yeah?
Yeah. Six bananas
divided by three bananas,
that's two, isn't it? Yeah. Yeah?
Two bananas. So say it.
So say it, son.
Please.
DOORBELL RINGS
That's someone to look at the house.
SHE OPENS FRONT DOOR
Hi.
KNOCK AT DOOR
Yeah.
We've started. Started what?
Eating.
Oh. All right.
Er, sorry.
Do you want to sit down?
Yeah.
This is Ben, Lenny, Bryan,
Mike and Jack. Hiya.
All right?
Help yourself.
Can I just...get that?
Thanks.
Lenny... Thanks. ..sitting the other
side of me, yeah?
Yeah.
He f*cked his ten-year-old daughter.
I read his file.
There's some good stuff in it.
All right.
You got your file? Yeah.
Could I read it? No.
I'd let you read mine.
I'm fine, thanks, mate.
Hopefully, this will be the first
of a few sessions
that we have together, Joe.
Is it like therapy? A bit like that,
yeah. All right.
Did you get loads of these
in prison?
Yeah. What were they like?
Yeah, they were good.
They were sh*t, weren't they?
Yeah.
Why'd you go?
Don't know.
Get your boxes ticked?
Yeah. Well, I'm hoping
that you're going to find these,
uh, a bit more helpful.
In prison, they might have told you
that you'd always be as you are now,
sexually attracted to boys.
No cure. Just control it.
Is that right?
Yeah.
We don't believe that.
We believe that we can do more.
Would you like that?
Not today, obviously.
It will take some time.
Could you fix me?
I don't know.
Anna got married,
and that just left me,
me dad and me mum.
And I'd come home from work
and hang around for me tea and
then go out for a pint. Every night?
Most nights, yeah.
Did you have girlfriends?
I had a few, yeah.
And were you intimate sexually
with them?
Yeah.
Did you enjoy it?
Sometimes, yeah.
Did your mum and dad visit you
in prison?
No, it was just me mum. Me dad
couldn't even look at me, really.
Yeah, no-one could.
It was, um.
It was just me mum
that came to see me.
That must have been incredibly hard
when she died.
Yeah.
Did you get to see her?
No.
Did you go to the funeral?
No, I wasn't allowed.
I'm sorry, Joe.
Well, it's no more than I deserve.
Really?
Well, I'm sh*t, aren't I?
I'm just a piece of sh*t.
Would you like to be me?
I'm happy being me. Well, then,
you don't realise how lucky you are.
Like...when do these, um...
When do these sessions finish?
Like, when do they end?
Do you want them to end? Yeah.
Fine.
Had you done it before,
what you did to Tom?
Had you done it to anybody else?
No.
OK.
Can you tell me what happened?
Well, it's in there. Well,
I'd like you to tell me. Why?
I'd like to hear it from you,
if that's OK.
Lots of people want to come here,
Joe.
They'd give their right arm
to be sitting where you are now.
That's why we expect everyone here
to do their very best.
I like making things.
And, and Tom's the same.
He's got, like, the same gene.
Um...
And I'd been going round
there every Sunday,
and we'd have, like,
a late breakfast.
And they'd go and wash up,
and then me and Tom
would go into the yard
and do a bit of welding
or something.
But this day I wanted to show him,
show him some good stuff on
the internet, so...
So we stayed in the room and...
And it was warm and he had, like,
a...
He had, like, a T-shirt and shorts
on.
And, and he was all just like...
..arms and legs and not, not...
Not an ounce of fat on him.
Like, he was, um...
He was beautiful.
I...I...
I'd been, I'd been touching him for
weeks
and I'd started off with,
like, a...
..a little pat on the knee at
the end and...
And went a bit, a bit,
a bit further up each time.
And he didn't say nothing, so...
So I thought like,
oh, like, "This is it. This is..."
Like, "This is the day
I touch his c*ck."
And...
..I touched it and he, like,
he went berserk and...
..and his mum and dad came
in and his dad started hitting me.
And I felt like I had to take it,
so I did.
And then I don't...I don't know
where I went after that,
but by the time I got back,
there was, like, a police car
waiting outside our house.
Like, I do, I do feel ashamed
of what I did to Tom and his
parents.
I do, but...
But I feel...
..I feel even more ashamed
of what I did to me mum.
HE SNIFFS
Why can't you do the hours
that you're doing now?
Because I need to home-school me
son.
Well, can't you home-school him
at night? No.
Why not?
Because I just can't.
So, what would you like?
Well, ideally... Excuse me, where
are your eggs?
Um, it's down that aisle,
bottom right.
Oh, thanks. Ideally, I'd like
a split shift,
like early mornings
and late afternoons.
I can't. I don't need anybody
early morning,
and there's no such shift anyway.
Right, so what am I supposed to
do?
Carry on with what you're doing
or jack it in. What's it to be?
I really appreciate the overwhelming
sympathy you're displaying.
What's it to be? Well, I'll keep
the hours I've got. Right.
Tom?
Oh, God. Tom? Tom?
Tom!
Peter! What? Call an ambulance!
What? Call an ambulance, now!
Come on, son. Come on, come on.
Hey, hey!
Come on. Come on.
Tom?
SIREN BLARES
They say it was a cry for help,
but how can I help?
What can I do?
The Mental Health Bureau will see
you sooner now.
Did you know that?
Is that why you did it,
to move up the list?
Is it?
What do you want?
He's me son.
You OK, son? Yeah? Yeah.
What have you been doing, eh?
Peter called you, I assume.
Yeah.
He's my son, too.
What have they said?
They don't think it was
a genuine attempt.
I've been trying to get him
an appointment with
the Mental Health Bureau.
This means they'll definitely
see him now.
OK.
I've come with nothing, so can you
break the habit of a lifetime
and lend me a tenner, please?
I'll drive you.
No, I want to get a taxi.
I've got no money.
You've got no money?
It's all cards these days, isn't it?
Joe's out.
How?
Well, he got just under four.
He did half. He's out on licence.
He hasn't been round, has he? No.
He's excluded.
Does Tom know he's out? Yeah.
Do you think that's why he did it?
The Bureau will find that out.
I, um, I...
I might have to pack me job in.
Why's that? I'm home-schooling Tom,
which means you're going to have
to shape up a bit, money-wise.
Yeah, well, I'll do me best.
SHE LAUGHS DRILY
You had anyone round? Yeah.
Any offers?
No.
No.
Do you think maybe you're asking
a bit too much? No.
Can I come in?
CHUCKLING: No.
Most merciful God,
we have sinned against you
in thought, word and deed,
by what we have done
and by what we have left undone.
We have not loved you
with our whole heart,
and we have not loved our neighbours
as ourselves.
And we justly deserve your present
and eternal punishment.
Through our faults,
through our faults,
through our most grievous faults,
amen.
May Almighty God have mercy on us,
forgive us our sins,
and bring us to everlasting life.
Amen.
Take a seat, Joe.
Now, we, um, we want you to be part
of our community here, Joe.
All right. At the same time, we have
to protect this community, yes?
Yeah.
So you see there's
a bit of a dilemma there, yeah?
Your, uh, development, your growth,
versus the safety of the people.
So we've drawn up a few rules.
My rules, not the church's.
And I'd like to outline them,
if that's OK.
OK. Right. So, we'd like you to come
to service, Joe,
but only this one.
The service at this time of day
has fewer children, you see.
OK? And you always sit here, Joe,
all together, and not with any other
members of the congregation.
And you're not to speak to any other
members of the congregation.
If they speak to you, answer them,
by all means.
But you're not to initiate
a conversation with anyone.
If you bump into any member of the
congregation outside this church,
you're to let us know.
And if you arrange
to meet anyone, you're to tell us
and we'll decide
whether it's suitable.
Well, then, all that said, Joe,
welcome to St Maura's.
Mrs McKinney, please come in.
How are you?
I've been better.
Oh. How's Tom? Um, he's, he's OK.
He's still not talking,
but he's reading and writing.
And I'm not the best home-schooler,
but, you know, he seems to be doing
OK.
Difficult, isn't it?
Stressful? Yeah.
Have you thought any more about
the specialist school?
Yeah. He's not going. May I ask why?
Well, would you send your son there?
Well, yeah, if he needed it.
They're not what you imagine,
Mrs McKinney.
They do brilliant work with children
with specialist needs.
He's, he's still not going.
You know, I know the head teacher
of Church Road Comprehensive...
He's not going there either.
It's got every facility
that Tom could ever need.
It's got every facility
because everyone who goes there
is thick as two short planks.
And I'm sorry.
I know I shouldn't say that,
but sod it, it's the truth.
So what do you intend to do, then?
I'm going to continue to
home-school,
and the Mental Health Bureau
is going to treat him.
And when he's better, he's...
He's going to come back here.
Yeah, and that could take a long
time. Yeah.
You know, there's Sharecross.
That's a... Well, it's a very good
school.
It's not as good as Church Road,
but it's still very good.
I think it would really suit Tom.
Mm-hm.
Am I right in thinking
that if he goes to another school,
then he becomes their problem?
Like, he won't be able
to come back here, for instance,
when he gets better?
No, he wouldn't. Right, so how is
that good for Tom,
taking him out of the school that he
loves,
where he knows everyone,
and dumping him somewhere strange,
when he needs more support
than he's ever done?
It's good for Tom
because it brings
a bit of certainty
back into his life.
Well, I don't think it does.
I think it does the opposite.
Well, we need a decision,
Mrs McKinney.
It's Church Road Comprehensive,
Sharecross or the specialist school.
Right, and I've made my decision -
none of them.
If you won't do it, we'll do it
for you.
Why are you doing this?
You hardly see Tom.
What's your problem?
Well, if you won't do it,
we'll have to do it for you.
It's the absenteeism, isn't it?
Yeah, because he's spoiling
your record,
your oh-so-precious
school attendance record.
This has got nothing to do
with the absenteeism figures.
Oh, it's got everything to do with
it.
And I'll tell you something.
I'm going to go,
but you're going to listen
to this first.
This is my son's local school.
His brother comes here,
I came here,
and if you try to drive him out,
I am going to contact every
parent governor
and ask them how they'd
like their kids treated like this.
They're desperately ill kids,
because that's what my son is,
how they'd like their kids treated
in this fashion.
And I promise you, I will do that.
KATHERINE: I'd like you to go back
to the day that you committed the
offence.
Right. Can you tell me
what you were thinking?
Nothing.
You said that you knew that was
the day you'd touch Tom.
Yeah.
What did you think his
reaction would be?
I thought he'd like it. Why?
Just did.
Prior to that, you touched his knee
and his leg, yeah?
Yeah. How did he react?
He didn't.
He didn't say he liked it?
No.
And he didn't say he didn't like
it?
No.
So, what made you think he'd like
you to touch his p*nis?
Is it too difficult to answer?
But there is an answer?
Yeah.
SHE COUGHS
I've got breast cancer.
I'm telling my mum tonight.
I'm dreading it.
She wanted me to get married,
like my sister,
have kids, like my sister,
have grandchildren, like my sister.
And instead, I became a nun.
Because that's
what God wanted me to do.
And now I've got breast cancer.
The nuns' disease.
She's going
to find it really difficult.
Is there anything they can do?
Yeah. A mastectomy.
I don't know when, but soon.
Oh, I'm sorry to hear that.
Thank you, Joe.
What, so now you're expecting me
to tell you everything
because you've told me that? No.
No, I just wanted you to know that
what happens here goes both ways.
Right.
And now there's silence.
Are you uncomfortable with silence
with me? I'm...
I'm a child ab*ser.
I'm just waiting for you to speak.
I was touched-up when I was 12.
You won't find it in there
because I've never told anyone.
You see, in prison, it's about what
you've done, not...
Not what's been done to you.
Would you like to tell
me about that?
I used to play footy when I was
a kid. And...
And one day I got sent off and I
was alone in the changing room.
And our manager came in and...
He sat next to me
and started talking to me and...
..touching me and rubbing me,
and I came.
Like, I was only 12, but I came.
How did you feel about that?
I loved it, didn't I?
I'm a piece of sh*t, so I loved it.
Sorry, Mum.
I love ya.
Anna, please don't say I was here.
If you say I was here, I go back to
prison. Like, please don't do that.
I'm sorry.
PHONE RINGS
I'm sorry, I just,
I just really needed to see her.
I'm sorry. You b*stard!
I'm sorry.
f*ck you!
We're going to seal the lamb.
So, bit of oil in the pan, there you
go.
Not too much.
Yep. Yep. Done.
There, and when it's hot enough...
..we add...the lamb.
All right. Right, now move it
around, so it doesn't stick.
And then turn it over,
so it all cooks through.
I saw Joe today.
What?
I saw him.
Where? At the cemetery.
Your mother's? Yeah.
He's excluded. I know.
What did he say?
He said not to tell anyone.
HE SCOFFS
Right, that's it. Come on.
You're not cooking it,
you're sealing it.
You've got to tell them.
Right, and now we're going to add
the meat to the veg...
..and mix it all in.
Right? Anna, love,
you've got to tell them.
I know.
Well, you could move in here
for a bit.
It might be easier to sell
if it's less cluttered, your place.
Could be a bit of a trial.
If you didn't like it
and the kids didn't like it,
you've still got your place
to go back to.
I know about...Jodie Taylor.
How?
Me mam told me.
Your mum knew?
Yeah.
Oh.
How...
How long had she known? Um...
Since Boxing Day. Oh.
Why didn't, why didn't you say
something?
Well, I was waiting
for Mum to say something.
Oh.
Oh.
CALL RINGS OUHi. She knew.
Sheila? Yeah.
I told Joe he broke
his mother's heart.
And he did, no doubt about that.
But I did too.
So you know, then.
The cemetery is right in
the middle of your exclusion area.
Well, it shouldn't be.
Like, you can't keep me
away from me mother's grave.
Why didn't you say that when we drew
it up?
Because I'm a piece of sh*t
and I've got no right
to say anything.
What, what are you going to do?
I'm going to have to recall you
back to prison.
What else can I do?
For God's sake, like...
You haven't just bumped into your
sister.
You bumped into the mother of
the victim.
Do you realise how serious that is.
Right, it was four o'clock on
a Wednesday afternoon,
and I never expected to see anyone,
let alone
a woman with two school-aged kids.
But she was there!
Well, can I tell you why I went?
Yeah. You tell me why you went.
Like, me mum was the only one
in me family
who spoke to me after I was
arrested, right?
She was the only one in me family
who visited me when I was put away
and I couldn't go and see her
when she was dying.
And I couldn't go to the funeral
when she was dead.
And now, like, you expect me to stay
away from her grave?
Like, no, like, I won't.
Like, I'm not guilty
of breaking any rules whatsoever.
Like, I'm guilty of loving me mum,
and that's it.
JACK SIGHS
I'll have to speak to some people.
I'll phone you tomorrow.
Please don't send me back to prison,
Jack.
Like, I won't go any more, if that's
what you want.
I'll phone ya tomorrow.
Did he say what time he'd call? No.
Right. Do you want me to speak
to him?
Tell him how well you've
been doing here? Would that help?
Please.
Hello?
Oh, thanks, Jack.
Thanks. Like, I won't, I won't
do anything stupid now.
Like, you can trust me. Honestly.
Yeah.
Right. Bye.
Paul Patterson crossed the ball and
I caught it sweet on the half
volley.
It hit the crossbar so hard
that when we came back a week
later,
it was still rattling.
No lie there, son.
Promise you, no lie.
So this therapy today,
there'll be a machine with a light
on it, going backwards and forwards.
You just need to follow the light,
yeah? Why?
Well, it helps clear the mind.
Right.
Just remember, you've always got one
foot in this room.
Everything's fine here.
Right.
Give me a nice memory
from when you were a child.
When you felt safe.
Um...
I was about five.
And we were at Newsham Park
lake,
and it was me, Anna,
and me mum and dad.
And we decided to go home
and started walking.
And me dad said, "We'll never get
a bus now. It's peak hour."
And I'd never heard of peak hour
before
and there was, like, a wind blowing
on the lake,
and it was making
all the water peaky.
And I thought, like,
that, that meant peak hour
and that the water always did that
at that time of the day.
Great.
This is your safe place,
and we can come back here
whenever you need to.
OK? Yeah. OK. OK? Yeah.
Tell me again what you did to Tom.
Is that OK?
I remember putting
me hand on his thigh.
That he'd like it
because I liked it.
But every time I look at his face,
all I see is horror.
So, like, I move me hand further
up...
..thinking that the horror will turn
to joy, but...
But it doesn't. And...
He, like, forces me hand away
and starts shouting...
.."What do you think you're doing?"
And, um...
And then suddenly his dad's
in the room
and, like, it only takes him, like,
a few seconds to work out what's
going on.
And he just starts, like, um...
Like, punching me and punching me.
"He'll like it because I liked it."
That's what you said, yeah? Yeah.
Can we go there? Is that OK?
Yeah. Um...
We're in the changing rooms and...
..and there's matches still going
on.
And we're sitting down, just
the two of us, and he's, um...
Like, he's touching me,
so he still likes me.
Even though I've let everyone down,
he still likes me.
Let's go back to the light again.
Then we'll see what happens.
Did you tell your mum
about the cancer?
That was between us, Joe.
Was it as bad as what you thought
it was going to be like?
Was it, um...
Was anyone else there
when you told her?
Yeah, yeah, I did tell her.
Yeah, it was as bad
as I thought it would be.
My sister was there.
She...
..hugged me, and my mum...
..just sat there and stared.
That's not good.
No.
You told your secret to a piece
of sh*t, what did you expect?
What, you think you'll get something
back from God, didn't you? Eh?
You gave him your life and what
did you get in return?
Breast cancer. God didn't give me
breast cancer, Joe.
God's will is never done.
We pray for it every day.
"Thy will be done."
But it never is done.
It's man's will that gets done.
Big, hairy-arsed man.
Come in.
I'm so, so sorry.
I shouldn't have said that.
Why did you say it?
Well, I didn't want to go there,
so...
Shall we go back there tomorrow?
Can we, please?
Yeah.
And now?
He's speaking.
Um...
He's saying I've...
I've let myself down.
I've let the team down.
I've let him down.
And then he, um...
He puts his hand on, on me thigh.
What do you do?
I freeze.
And then...
..he stands.
And then he puts his hands
down the front of me shorts.
Like, I try
and pull him away, but he's, like,
he's too strong for me.
And he's got...
He's got, he's got, like, his other
hand on me shoulder, pressing down.
Sorry.
So, like, I can't, I can't move off
the bench.
And, like,
I think about shouting, but I can't
because if people come in, like,
they'll think it's going on
because I want it to go on.
And I hear the referee's whistle
and players' voices.
What can you see?
I'm looking through the window
at the top of the wall
and I can see, like...
Like, twigs and clouds.
Why are you looking there?
Because I don't...
..I don't want to see what he's
doing, cos it's horrible.
And I don't like it, but, like,
there's...
There's nothing I can do
because he's, like,
he's too strong for me.
He assaulted me.
But you looked up to him and trusted
him.
Didn't want to think he could
hurt you, but he had.
Well, why couldn't I see it as that?
Well, sometimes the brain
shuts out things it can't cope with.
Some men who abuse,
have themselves been abused.
So all this could go back to that?
To what he did to me?
Possibly.
Mitchell! You f*cking nonce!
Go on, lad!
f*cking nonce!
Get him!
f*cking nonce!
Nonce on the wing!
TAUNTS ECHO
Why did they do this to you?
They recognised me.
As?
As a man who sexually abused
his 12-year-old nephew.
Wanted to show me
what they thought of that,
and it's not a lot, obviously.
You want to hurt me now?
No.
Well, I don't mind, honestly.
Hello?
Hi. It's, um,
it's Joe Mitchell here, Paul.
I was thinking that we could, um,
we could meet up.
Um...
Yeah. Come round.
Well, I can't, I'm...
I'm excluded from by ours.
Oh, right.
I was thinking, you know, um,
you know, the pub, the Lion?
Yeah. When?
Er, tonight,
at six o'clock or something?
OK. See you then.
Bye.
All right, Joe?
All right?
Erm, do you want a drink?
Yeah, go on,
I'll have a pint of bitter.
Sorry, mate, can I have
a pint of bitter, please?
Right, yeah. Thanks.
What happened? Nothing.
How are you?
I'm fine, yeah. You? I'm fine.
Well, no, I'm not, I'm not fine.
I'm...
I'm a bit f*cked up,
to tell you the truth, Paul.
Yeah?
Yeah.
Sorry about your mum.
Did you go to the funeral?
Yeah, I did the eulogy.
Your dad wasn't up to it.
She was a great woman.
Yeah, she was.
You out on licence, then? Yeah.
What was it like?
That's 2.80, please, mate.
Just keep the change, mate. Ta.
Thanks.
Yeah, it was sh*t. Shall we, um,
shall we take a seat? Yeah.
Paul, I'm thinking about going to
the police
and telling them
that you abused me when I was 12.
I didn't. You know, I hate you for
it.
I hate you for the abuse, yeah,
but I hate you even more
for what come after.
You abused me, right?
Then I went on to abuse.
And because I abused, I went to
prison. And because I was in prison,
I couldn't see me dying mother.
Right, and that's down to you, mate.
I have no idea
what you're talking about, Joe.
No, no, you also abused
Sammy McVeigh
and I know this,
because Sammy told me.
And if there was me and Sammy,
then there must have been more.
So that's what all this is about.
You and Sammy
trying to get money out of me.
A nice little scam.
Why me, Paul?
What did you see, eh?
How did you know that
I'd say nothing and do nothing?
Like I said...
..I have no idea
what you're talking about, Joe.
Oh, you do. You do.
FOOTSTEPS/DOOR OPENS
You all right, um, Hannah, isn't
it?
What do you want?
Is Sammy there? No.
Please.
It's actually really important.
He's gone for a walk.
Hello?
Hi. It's, um,
it's Joe Mitchell here, Sammy.
What do you want?
Just to talk. I'm actually
at your front door now.
Jesus.
You're out, then? Yeah.
What do you want to talk about?
Do you remember Paul Patterson?
Right. What? Won't be long.
You're talking to that pervert?
Yeah. You should be ashamed of
yourself, you. Hannah.
You piece of sh*t.
Doing that to a 12-year-old boy?
You piece of sh*t!
You filth, you scumbag!
Where do you want to go?
Anywhere, mate.
We'll go to the park.
Why are you going to the police?
Because I think he should pay
for what he did.
Why are you telling me?
Because I want you to come with me.
Why?
He abused you as well, mate.
Only three people know about that -
you, me and him.
And that's the way it's going to
stay.
No way is Hannah finding out
about this, mate.
No way. Well, he f*cked
up our lives, Sammy.
He didn't f*ck up mine.
You want to know why your life's a
mess?
Because of what YOU did, not him.
Monstered your 12-year-old nephew.
I did it because Patterson did it
to me.
Hang on a minute,
then why didn't I do it?
I went through what you went
through,
so why didn't I monster someone?
Honestly, I don't know. I know.
You're not going to like it, but I
know. It's because you're a nonce.
So you won't do it for me?
No. Well, then, do it for someone
else.
He molested you and he molested me.
Like, he could be doing it
to someone else right now.
Please come with me.
No.
Stay away from me house.
Right, there could be money in it.
How? Criminal injuries.
It's too late for all that.
No, it's not. It's not.
How much?
I don't know. It'll be a few grand,
though.
Who's your favourite, Mo Salah? No.
Virgil? No.
Ah, OK. Um...
Trent Alexander-Arnold.
Yeah. Why Trent?
Because he's local? Yeah.
It's great when a local lad makes
it, isn't it?
Yeah.
I did what you're doing.
I was about your age too.
Might have been
a little bit older.
I told my friend a secret.
And he told someone else
and got me into trouble.
So I thought, "That's it.
No-one can be trusted.
"I'll say nothing in future."
I kept it up for a while,
and they took me to a psychologist,
and he got me talking again.
He fascinated me and I thought,
"I want to do what that man does."
And now I do, and I love it.
Not talking was the best thing
I ever did, or didn't.
What is it, Tom?
You won't tell me mum?
Will I need to tell her? No.
Then I won't tell her.
He'd been touching me, like...
Me uncle.
Going a bit...higher each time.
But he seemed normal.
He didn't look like a perv.
Didn't talk like one.
Didn't act like one, so...
..I said nothing.
And...
..then he went for this and...
..now me mum doesn't see him, and
she used to see him all the time.
Peter, me brother, he doesn't see
him, and he loved him.
And I don't see him. I don't want to
see him, but I miss him.
And now Dad's gone,
and it's all because I didn't say
something,
when I should have said something.
And if I didn't say it then,
why say it now?
You've done really well today.
Is there anything else on your mind?
Anything you want to talk about?
No.
OK.
VACUUM CLEANER WHIRS
Look at the state of you.
I'm getting a shower now.
I've just done those stairs. Sorry.
SHE STOPS VACUUMING
What, you couldn't have a shower
there?
They were cold. Well, the cold
wouldn't k*ll you.
We won, by the way.
VACUUM STARTS AGAIN
So why didn't Sammy do it
to anyone?
Well, you say I abused
because I've been abused,
but what about Sammy?
Not everybody who's been abused,
goes on to abuse, just some do.
So I might have done it anyway?
Even if I hadn't been abused,
like, I still might have done it?
I think that's why he did it to me,
because he saw it in me...
..a pervert, so...so he did it.
You were a child, Joe.
But...I could cope with the lie.
I've coped with it for years, but...
All this truthing, it's, like,
it's just too much for me.
TELEPHONE RINGS
Hello?
Yes, please.
They're here.
KNOCKING AT DOOR
Hello. Hi. Hi, I'm Jack Hargreaves.
I'm Brian Mitchell.
Yeah.
Hi.
Thanks for coming.
Would you like to take a seat?
You're his probation officer? Yeah.
The man who didn't recall him
to prison,
even though he bumped into
his sister?
Yeah. Why?
That cemetery's
in the exclusion zone, so why?
Didn't the liaison officer explain?
No.
Well, we thought it was too severe
to exclude the cemetery.
So Joe can go.
But it's one day -
well, an afternoon a week.
But on that afternoon, I can't go.
I won't be going anyway.
My wife's in there, and you're
telling me when I can and cannot go?
I won't be going anyway, Dad.
I'm sorry.
BRIAN SWALLOWS
Look, I'm here for me dad, I'm here
because he asked me to be here.
I've got no interest
in anything he's got to say to me,
but, um,
I've got something to say to him.
Did you know
that my son tried to k*ll himself?
No.
Yeah, he tried to k*ll himself
because of what you did to him.
I'm, I'm sorry.
He needed help, but I couldn't get
him any
because he was just the victim,
you see.
But you were getting help,
weren't you?
You were getting plenty of help,
like therapies galore.
But my son...
My son, the bloody victim,
he couldn't get any.
I'm really, really sorry, Anna.
You were touching him for weeks,
weren't you?
For weeks before you did that,
you...
You were touching him on the leg,
right?
Right?
Yeah.
And do you know how you got away
with it?
Because you're my brother
and you're his uncle.
And we loved you, you b*stard!
How can someone you love be capable
of something like that?
That's how you got away with it.
No-one hates me more
than I hate myself, Anna. No.
I hate you.
I can promise you that I hate you.
And who else?
You what?
Well, who else did you abuse?
No-one. No-one, I swear. It was...
It was just Tom.
So, why are we here?
There's something Joe would
like to say.
I was sexually abused when I was 12.
You weren't! I was.
We'd have known.
All right, I might not have known,
but your mother would.
She didn't know, Dad.
Who by?
Paul Patterson.
Paul Patterson's got two kids
and three grandkids.
There's more chance of Mother Teresa
abusing him than Paul Patterson.
He abused me, Dad.
When?
When I got sent off
in the Moorgrove game,
he got the fella to open
the changing rooms,
and he did it in there, honestly.
And what are you going to do about
it?
Go to the police.
Oh, for God's sake.
He also abused Sammy McVeigh.
Do you remember Sammy, Dad?
Sammy with the sweet left foot?
Aye.
Is he going to the police?
Yeah.
Don't believe it. Sorry,
I can't believe a word of this.
And why now?
Why would you tell us that now?
Because men who are abused, go on
to abuse.
He-he made me what I am.
And I hate him for it.
Men who are abused, go on to abuse?
Some.
So my son, then?
No. No, because he's decent.
Right? Decent.
Like, you know what this is?
This is you just trying to throw
even more sh*t at us,
even more filth. It's not.
Someone did it to you,
so that means you can just do it
to someone else? Well, no!
No, Joe. You did it
because you're filth.
BELL RINGS
You all right, Bri?
Is Sammy in, Han?
Why?
Need to see him.
About Paul Patterson?
Yeah.
I knew this would happen.
I told you this would happen. Go in.
I told you you wouldn't get
a minute's peace, you soft b*stard.
Go in. I told you this would happen!
Go in!
What is it?
Did Paul Patterson sexually abuse
you?
Yeah.
And did he sexually abuse our Joe?
Yeah.
I didn't see it, but I saw them
walking off the pitch together,
and I thought he was bound to have
a go.
HE RATTLES LETTERBOX FLAP
Did you sexually abuse my son?
No, I didn't.
But you're here,
so you think I might have done.
And that's enough for me.
It's enough for me, Brian,
so why don't you just go?
Please.
Just go!
They've, um, got your son
down at the police station.
Can I go? Yeah, I'll do this.
Yeah, she's just going to take over.
I was expecting Tom!
'Course you were. It's always Tom.
No-one else exists to you
apart from f*cking Tom!
I want to go and live with me dad.
You want to live with your dad?
Well, there's no chance of
that because he doesn't want you.
And he doesn't want you
because you'll cost him money.
Do you know that he's not giving
me one single penny to keep you two?
Not one single penny.
That meal you've just, you've just
eaten,
that was paid for by me...
..doing a shitty job
in a shitty supermarket.
And there's no thanks
what-so-f*cking-ever.
Yeah, it's about him all the time,
but that's because he's ill.
And that's because he's been through
what he's been through.
And I don't like it any
more than you do.
But tough, that's the way it is.
And, yeah, I'm a lousy mother.
And you don't have to remind me of
that
because I confront it every day.
I know I am one big, lousy mother,
but you know what?
I'm one big, lousy mother
who is doing the best she can.
And I'm sorry
if it's not good enough for you,
but that's how it is.
I'm doing the best I can.
Do you want a cup of tea?
What?
I said...I said, do you want a cup
of tea?
Yeah.
Oh, yeah.
Paul Patterson, please stand.
Count one, you are charged with
sexual as*ault of a child under 13,
contrary to section 7-1 of
the Sexual Offences Act 2003.
The particulars are,
between the 4th of May 2006
and the 17th of June 2006,
intentionally touched
Samuel McVeigh.
The touching was sexual,
and Samuel McVeigh was aged
under 13 years old.
To that charge, how do you plead?
Not guilty. Count two.
Under the same act,
on the 14th of September 2006,
you intentionally touched
Joe Mitchell.
The touching was sexual
and Joe Mitchell was aged
under 13 years old. To that charge,
how do you plead?
Not guilty.
The alleged abuse happened
when you were 12 years old.
Yes. And you are now 31 years old.
Is that right?
Yes. So you'd agree
that this was over 19 years ago?
Yes. Yet you've only recently
disclosed it?
Yes. I wanted to forget about it,
but I've realised I can't.
Did you realise you can't
forget about it
after a recent visit
from Joe Mitchell?
Yes. Prior to this visit,
you'd been happily going
about your life, hadn't you?
Well... Joe put this idea
in your head, didn't he?
Well, he said he shouldn't
get away with it for any longer.
And what was the first thing you did
after Joe Mitchell's visit?
I went to the police.
You didn't, though, did you?
What you actually did was try
to get your hands on some money
from the Criminal Injuries
Compensation Authority.
This case isn't about truth
or justice.
It's all about money.
Your honour, this line of
questioning is highly inappropriate.
I don't know how following a light
makes you remember things better,
but, um...
But it did.
Like, I remember he used force
and his fingernails
bit into me skin,
and it wasn't nice.
HE CLEARS HIS THROAIt wasn't nice at all.
But then, you know,
I'd done that to Tom, hadn't I?
You know, I'd done something
like that to me own nephew, and...
..that made me feel even worse
and made me hate myself even more.
He went back outside and I just sat
there for a bit.
And, like, I'd never ejaculated
before,
so I didn't know what it was.
So I went into the showers.
But, like, I felt too vulnerable
to shower on me own.
So I cleaned myself up at the sink.
And then...
And then I went, I went back into
the changing room and I heard...
..like, the referee's blown
for full-time
and people coming into the
building.
And then, um...
And then, like, the team I played
for came in
and none of them said nothing to me
because...
..I'd been sent off
and I had a bollocking from Paul.
And that was the reason why I was,
I was sat there saying nothing.
And, um...
And then I went home with
the lads I usually go home with,
and that was that.
Did Sammy McVeigh say anything?
Yeah. Yeah, on the bus, yeah.
He said, "Are you all right?",
but, like, with a question mark,
"Are you all right?"
Thank you. No further questions.
You continued to play for the team
after that day.
Yeah. And Paul Patterson continued
as manager.
Yeah. You continued to play
for a team
managed by a man
who you say sexually abused you.
Yeah. And so did Sammy McVeigh.
And that was
because this abuse never happened.
No, it did.
I carried on playing
for the team because,
because they were good.
I know that you'll soon be hearing
from some of the boys
that I've coached over the past
30 years or so.
But can I say this right now?
There could have been hundreds
of them here today.
I've coached hundreds
of boys over the last 30 years,
and not one of them...
..has a bad word to say about me,
apart from these two.
And of these two, I...
..I believe Joe Mitchell
is the stronger personality.
I think Sammy's only here because
Joe Mitchell asked him to be here.
If you think about it, this is
between me and Joe Mitchell.
So I ask you...
..who do you believe?
Me, a father and a grandfather?
Or him, a child ab*ser?
The jury's coming back.
Will the foreman of
the jury please stand?
Have you reached a verdict
on which you are all agreed?
We have.
On count one,
sexual as*ault of Sammy McVeigh
between the 4th of May 2006
and the 16th of June 2006,
do you find the defendant guilty
or not guilty?
Not guilty.
On count two,
sexual as*ault of Joe Mitchell
on the 14th of September 2006,
do you find the defendant guilty
or not guilty?
Not guilty.
Mr Patterson,
you have been found not guilty.
The case against you
is now finished.
You may now leave the dock.
You got your phone? Yeah, yeah.
Ready? Yeah. Wait, wait, wait.
It's not fair, Grandad.
I'm going over to him.
All right, come on.
Come on. Boys!
JOE SOBS
I'm so sorry, Dad.
Fancy a pint?
Come on.
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Unforgivable (2025)
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