The One About The Social Worker [15 Minute Drama]

by Martin Jameson

It's an irony of child protection, that if you've been a social worker long enough to remove two children from a woman at birth, that means you may be the one constant in her life she can trust.

So when Tamsin tracks down her old social worker Liz for help, she doesn't care that Liz is on suspension and forbidden from talking to her. Or that Liz is the current hate figure of the national press, after the violent death of a child on her caseload.

Tamsin just wants help.

Should Liz ignore her? Or is time to break the rules?

Claire Skinner is best known to TV viewers as harassed mum Sue in Outnumbered, but her wide-ranging career includes long associations with Mike Leigh, Alan Ayckbourn, and Sam Mendes.

Lacey Turner won a fistful of awards for her portrayal of Eastenders' Stacey Slater over 6 years, and recent TV work includes starring in True Love and Our Girl.

Martin Jameson is a prolific screenwriter, director and playwright whose recent work on Radio 4 includes Can You Tell Me The Name Of The Prime Minister?, The Night They Tried To Kidnap The Prime Minister and Stone.

1/5 Until five months ago, Liz was a hard-nosed child-protection social worker. Today she doesn't know who she is, except that she's on suspension, hiding from the press, dosed up on SSRIs ... and that there's someone shouting her name in Tesco's.

Produced and directed by Jonquil Panting.

Five months ago, Liz was a hard-nosed social worker. Today she doesn't know who she is.

Classic and contemporary original drama and book dramatisations

Devon Sutcliffe's life has been less of a car crash, more of a motorway pile-up. Rejected, dumped, failed by everyone who could have cared for him, he has bounced from foster placement to residential unit to foster placement, and several times been labelled as 'unplaceable'. Finally out of care, almost anyone who has encountered him professionally expects him to be in prison within weeks.

Assigned to returning social worker Liz Beecham, she stakes her own rehabilitation on helping Devon survive alone. But when his chaotic mother Cheryl arrives in his new flat, Devon's need for her threatens to undo all Liz's work. A heart-stopping story is about to unfold about Devon's past... and his family's future.

1/5 How did the boy in boxers become the wanted man in an armed siege?

Claire Skinner is best known to TV viewers as harassed mum Sue in Outnumbered, but her wide-ranging career includes long associations with Mike Leigh, Alan Ayckbourn, and Sam Mendes. Her recent stage credits include Blurred Lines (NT Shed), Deathtrap (West End), Mrs Affleck (National Theatre) and The Father (Tricycle Theatre and West End).

Theo Barklem-Biggs has starred in Silk, the BAFTA-nominated Our World War, and the Donmar Warehouse's new production of Les Liaisons Dangereuses.

Martin Jameson is a prolific screenwriter, director and playwright whose recent work on Radio 4 includes Zola, Stone, Can You Tell Me The Name Of The Prime Minister?, and The Night They Tried To Kidnap The Prime Minister.

Produced and directed by Jonquil Panting.

Classic and contemporary original drama and book dramatisations

by Martin Jameson

It's an irony of child protection, that if you've been a social worker long enough to remove two children from a woman at birth, that means you may be the one constant in her life she can trust.

So when Tamsin tracks down her old social worker Liz for help, she doesn't care that Liz is on suspension and forbidden from talking to her. Or that Liz is the current hate figure of the national press, after the violent death of a child on her caseload.

Tamsin just wants help.

Should Liz ignore her? Or is time to break the rules?

Claire Skinner is best known to TV viewers as harassed mum Sue in Outnumbered, but her wide-ranging career includes long associations with Mike Leigh, Alan Ayckbourn, and Sam Mendes.

Lacey Turner won a fistful of awards for her portrayal of Eastenders' Stacey Slater over 6 years, and recent TV work includes starring in True Love and Our Girl.

Martin Jameson is a prolific screenwriter, director and playwright whose recent work on Radio 4 includes Can You Tell Me The Name Of The Prime Minister?, The Night They Tried To Kidnap The Prime Minister and Stone.

2/5 Liz has been offered a settlement by the Council, if she'll sign a gagging order.

Produced and directed by Jonquil Panting.

Liz has been offered a settlement by the council, if she will sign a gagging order.

Classic and contemporary original drama and book dramatisations

Devon Sutcliffe's life has been less of a car crash, more of a motorway pile-up. Rejected, dumped, failed by everyone who could have cared for him, he has bounced from foster placement to residential unit to foster placement, and several times been labelled as 'unplaceable'. Finally out of care, almost anyone who has encountered him professionally expects him to be in prison within weeks.

Assigned to returning social worker Liz Beecham, she stakes her own rehabilitation on helping Devon survive alone. But when his chaotic mother Cheryl arrives in his new flat, Devon's need for her threatens to undo all Liz's work. A heart-stopping story is about to unfold about Devon's past... and his family's future.

2/5 Liz's decisions lead to an official complaint.

Claire Skinner is best known to TV viewers as harassed mum Sue in Outnumbered, but her wide-ranging career includes long associations with Mike Leigh, Alan Ayckbourn, and Sam Mendes. Her recent stage credits include Blurred Lines (NT Shed), Deathtrap (West End), Mrs Affleck (National Theatre) and The Father (Tricycle Theatre and West End).

Theo Barklem-Biggs has starred in Silk, the BAFTA-nominated Our World War, and the Donmar Warehouse's new production of Les Liaisons Dangereuses.

Martin Jameson is a prolific screenwriter, director and playwright whose recent work on Radio 4 includes Zola, Stone, Can You Tell Me The Name Of The Prime Minister?, and The Night They Tried To Kidnap The Prime Minister.

Produced and directed by Jonquil Panting.

Classic and contemporary original drama and book dramatisations

by Martin Jameson

It's an irony of child protection, that if you've been a social worker long enough to remove two children from a woman at birth, that means you may be the one constant in her life she can trust.

So when Tamsin tracks down her old social worker Liz for help, she doesn't care that Liz is on suspension and forbidden from talking to her. Or that Liz is the current hate figure of the national press, after the violent death of a child on her caseload.

Tamsin just wants help.

Should Liz ignore her? Or is time to break the rules?

Claire Skinner is best known to TV viewers as harrassed mum Sue in Outnumbered, but her wide-ranging career includes long associations with Mike Leigh, Alan Ayckbourn, and Sam Mendes.

Lacey Turner won a fistful of awards for her portrayal of Eastenders' Stacey Slater over 6 years, and recent TV work includes starring in True Love and Our Girl.

Martin Jameson is a prolific screenwriter, director and playwright whose recent work on Radio 4 includes Can You Tell Me The Name Of The Prime Minister?, The Night They Tried To Kidnap The Prime Minister and Stone.

3/5 When Tamsin presents her with an emergency, Liz tries to play it by the book.

Produced and directed by Jonquil Panting.

When Tamsin presents her with an emergency, Liz tries to play it by the book.

Classic and contemporary original drama and book dramatisations

Devon Sutcliffe's life has been less of a car crash, more of a motorway pile-up. Rejected, dumped, failed by everyone who could have cared for him, he has bounced from foster placement to residential unit to foster placement, and several times been labelled as 'unplaceable'. Finally out of care, almost anyone who has encountered him professionally expects him to be in prison within weeks.

Assigned to returning social worker Liz Beecham, she stakes her own rehabilitation on helping Devon survive alone. But when his chaotic mother Cheryl arrives in his new flat, Devon's need for her threatens to undo all Liz's work. A heart-stopping story is about to unfold about Devon's past... and his family's future.

3/5 Devon's mother has a surprise for him.

Claire Skinner is best known to TV viewers as harassed mum Sue in Outnumbered, but her wide-ranging career includes long associations with Mike Leigh, Alan Ayckbourn, and Sam Mendes. Her recent stage credits include Blurred Lines (NT Shed), Deathtrap (West End), Mrs Affleck (National Theatre) and The Father (Tricycle Theatre and West End).

Theo Barklem-Biggs has starred in Silk, the BAFTA-nominated Our World War, and the Donmar Warehouse's new production of Les Liaisons Dangereuses.

Martin Jameson is a prolific screenwriter, director and playwright whose recent work on Radio 4 includes Zola, Stone, Can You Tell Me The Name Of The Prime Minister?, and The Night They Tried To Kidnap The Prime Minister.

Produced and directed by Jonquil Panting.

Classic and contemporary original drama and book dramatisations

by Martin Jameson

It's an irony of child protection, that if you've been a social worker long enough to remove two children from a woman at birth, that means you may be the one constant in her life she can trust.

So when Tamsin tracks down her old social worker Liz for help, she doesn't care that Liz is on suspension and forbidden from talking to her. Or that Liz is the current hate figure of the national press, after the violent death of a child on her caseload.

Tamsin just wants help.

Should Liz ignore her? Or is time to break the rules?

Claire Skinner is best known to TV viewers as harrassed mum Sue in Outnumbered, but her wide-ranging career includes long associations with Mike Leigh, Alan Ayckbourn, and Sam Mendes.

Lacey Turner won a fistful of awards for her portrayal of Eastenders' Stacey Slater over 6 years, and recent TV work includes starring in True Love and Our Girl.

Martin Jameson is a prolific screenwriter, director and playwright whose recent work on Radio 4 includes Can You Tell Me The Name Of The Prime Minister?, The Night They Tried To Kidnap The Prime Minister and Stone.

4/5 Liz changes her mind - and her appearance.

Produced and directed by Jonquil Panting.

Liz changes her mind, and her appearance.

Classic and contemporary original drama and book dramatisations

Devon Sutcliffe's life has been less of a car crash, more of a motorway pile-up. Rejected, dumped, failed by everyone who could have cared for him, he has bounced from foster placement to residential unit to foster placement, and several times been labeled as 'unplaceable'. Finally out of care, almost anyone who has encountered him professionally expects him to be in prison within weeks.

Assigned to returning social worker Liz Beecham, she stakes her own rehabilitation on helping Devon survive alone. But when his chaotic mother Cheryl arrives in his new flat, Devon's need for her threatens to undo all Liz's work. A heart-stopping story is about to unfold about Devon's past... and his family's future.

4/5 Devon's hopes for the future meet the reality of his past.

Claire Skinner is best known to TV viewers as harrassed mum Sue in Outnumbered, but her wide-ranging career includes long associations with Mike Leigh, Alan Ayckbourn, and Sam Mendes. Her recent stage credits include Blurred Lines (NT Shed), Deathtrap (West End), Mrs Affleck (National Theatre) and The Father (Tricycle Theatre and West End).

Theo Barklem-Biggs has starred in Silk, the BAFTA-nominated Our World War, and the Donmar Warehouse's new production of Les Liaisons Dangereuses.

Martin Jameson is a prolific screenwriter, director and playwright whose recent work on Radio 4 includes Zola, Stone, Can You Tell Me The Name Of The Prime Minister?, and The Night They Tried To Kidnap The Prime Minister.

Produced and directed by Jonquil Panting.

Classic and contemporary original drama and book dramatisations

by Martin Jameson

It's an irony of child protection, that if you've been a social worker long enough to remove two children from a woman at birth, that means you may be the one constant in her life she can trust.

So when Tamsin tracks down her old social worker Liz for help, she doesn't care that Liz is on suspension and forbidden from talking to her. Or that Liz is the current hate figure of the national press, after the violent death of a child on her caseload.

Tamsin just wants help.

Should Liz ignore her? Or is time to break the rules?

Claire Skinner is best known to TV viewers as harrassed mum Sue in Outnumbered, but her wide-ranging career includes long associations with Mike Leigh, Alan Ayckbourn, and Sam Mendes.

Lacey Turner won a fistful of awards for her portrayal of Eastenders' Stacey Slater over 6 years, and recent TV work includes starring in True Love and Our Girl.

Martin Jameson is a prolific screenwriter, director and playwright whose recent work on Radio 4 includes Can You Tell Me The Name Of The Prime Minister?, The Night They Tried To Kidnap The Prime Minister and Stone.

5/5 Liz makes a full confession. But it's harder than she expected.

Produced and directed by Jonquil Panting.

Liz makes a full confession. But it's harder than she expected.

Classic and contemporary original drama and book dramatisations

Devon Sutcliffe's life has been less of a car crash, more of a motorway pile-up. Rejected, dumped, failed by everyone who could have cared for him, he has bounced from foster placement to residential unit to foster placement, and several times been labeled as 'unplaceable'. Finally out of care, almost anyone who has encountered him professionally expects him to be in prison within weeks.

Assigned to returning social worker Liz Beecham, she stakes her own rehabilitation on helping Devon survive alone. But when his chaotic mother Cheryl arrives in his new flat, Devon's need for her threatens to undo all Liz's work. A heart-stopping story is about to unfold about Devon's past... and his family's future.

5/5 Liz walks into a siege.

Claire Skinner is best known to TV viewers as harrassed mum Sue in Outnumbered, but her wide-ranging career includes long associations with Mike Leigh, Alan Ayckbourn, and Sam Mendes. Her recent stage credits include Blurred Lines (NT Shed), Deathtrap (West End), Mrs Affleck (National Theatre) and The Father (Tricycle Theatre and West End).

Theo Barklem-Biggs has starred in Silk, the BAFTA-nominated Our World War, and the Donmar Warehouse's new production of Les Liaisons Dangereuses.

Martin Jameson is a prolific screenwriter, director and playwright whose recent work on Radio 4 includes Zola, Stone, Can You Tell Me The Name Of The Prime Minister?, and The Night They Tried To Kidnap The Prime Minister.

Produced and directed by Jonquil Panting.

Classic and contemporary original drama and book dramatisations