My Endless Joy!

 Christopher Eccleston on why he loves being the light relief in The A Word.

- Caren Clark

DRAMA

The A Word 

TUESDAY / BBC1 / 9.00PM

By his own admission, Christopher Eccleston isn’t the go-to man when we’re looking for a giggle, having made his name with intense roles in dark dramas such as Cracker and Our Friends in the North.

But in BBC1’s The A Word, about autistic seven-year-old Joe and his family, Christopher has become a surprising source of light relief as Joe’s hilarious grandad, Maurice.

As the second series continues, that black humour is ever-present as Maurice deals with the bombshell delivered by his lover, Louise (Pooky Quesnel), while also trying to bond with her son, Ralph (Leon Harrop), who has Down’s syndrome.

Here Christopher, 53, tells TV Times why he relishes playing it for laughs…