First look pictures for new BBC 2 dram Danny Boy have been released

Coming this Spring, Danny Boy is the story of a young man’s journey from medal-winning hero to alleged killer, and his search for truth in the fog of war.

The new images feature Anthony Boyle as the soldier Brian Wood, accused of war crimes in Iraq by the determined human rights lawyer Phil Shiner, played by Toby Jones. The two men go head to head in a legal and moral conflict that takes us from the battlefield — at so-called Checkpoint Danny Boy — to the courtroom and one of Britain’s biggest ever public inquiries, the Al-Sweady Inquiry (the link is for reference to the official UK government report).

The drama richly explores the effect Brian’s experience has not just on him, but also on his family: his father and ex-soldier, Gavin, played by Alex Ferns; his mother Margaret, played by Pauline Turner; and his wife Lucy, played by Leah McNamara. Memory, evidence and trauma collide, as Brian finds himself caught on the fine line between war and unlawful killing. After his service in Iraq and years of legal investigation, will he ever be able to look his family in the eye again and be the husband, father, and son, they need him to be?

Here’s the BBC’s own summary of the central tenet of the drama:

Danny Boy is an urgent and thought-provoking drama that questions what we ask of those who fight — and kill — for their country.

It will be available this Spring and is a one-off 90 minute drama. You can see all the first look pictures in the BBC announcement.