‘We want to honour their voices'

Lola Petticrew, Sinéad Keenan, Genevieve O’Reilly and Amy James-Kelly on playing women affected by Northern Ireland’s abortion laws

- ELAINE REILLY

Emotive and complex issues surrounding abortion in Northern Ireland are explored through the true stories of local women and their loved ones in BBC1’s new drama Three Families.

Abortions have been legal in the UK since 1967, but in Northern Ireland it remained a criminal offence to have or perform the medical procedure until 2019.

The two-part series – from the team behind BAFTAwinning factual drama Three Girls – is set between 2013 and 2019, and recounts the experiences of three very different families whose lives have been affected by the law.

Sinéad Keenan (Little Boy Blue), Lola Petticrew (Bloodlands), Amy James-Kelly (The Bay) and Genevieve O’Reilly (Tin Star) play the women at the heart of the drama, with the names and details of the people they are portraying changed to protect the real-life contributors’ anonymity.

Here, they tell us more...

Rosie Fortress

(Genevieve O’Reilly)

Rosie is a 40-year-old first-time mum-to-be. She pleads for a termination on compassionate grounds after her unborn child dies in the womb as a result of Edwards’ syndrome, a rare genetic disorder.