After Thomas
Encyclopedia
After Thomas was a one-off drama, first broadcast in the United Kingdom on 26 December 2006, on ITV
.
It stars Keeley Hawes
(Spooks
, Under the Greenwood Tree, Tipping The Velvet
, Ashes to Ashes
), Ben Miles
(Coupling
, Prime Suspect, The Forsyte Saga
), Andrew Byrne, Sheila Hancock
and Duncan Preston
.
, a condition it took his parents two desperate years to get diagnosed. So his day consists of endless traumas and tantrums… and unimaginable stress for his mother Nicola (Keeley Hawes
).
Nicola knows that the one thing Kyle wants is to be left alone, safe and secure in his autistic world. But she also knows that if she grants her son this wish, he will have no future. Her fierce determination to break into Kyle’s world at any cost has placed an intolerable strain on her marriage. Her husband Rob (Ben Miles
), although equally unbending in his love for his son, is frustrated by Nicola’s relentless challenging of Kyle. Not to mention the loss of the carefree life he and Nicola once had.
Rob tries everything to convince Nicola that Kyle should go to a boarding school for autistic children. But Nicola is adamant that he should remain part of society and be taught the skills to cope with the world around him. When a ‘no-strings attached’ respite is offered by family friend Rachel (Lorraine Pilkington
), Rob is truly torn.
Nicola’s only respite is the unwavering support of her mother Pat (Sheila Hancock
) and father Jim (Duncan Preston
), who dote on Kyle and provide practical support when needed. Into this setting of seemingly insurmountable conflict comes Thomas, a golden retriever puppy, named after Kyle’s favourite character, Thomas The Tank Engine
(thus adding to the double entendre-(After Thomas (the Tank) or after Thomas (the dog). Nicola is hopeful that Thomas can break into Kyle’s world where everyone else has failed. Little by little, Kyle begins to show Thomas affection and an understanding of his new dog’s feeling.
By the time Thomas is a fully grown dog, Nicola and Rob are hopeful of a breakthrough where all other attempts have failed. The unexpected and devastating blow of Pat’s death only strengthens their resolve. But when Thomas is kicked by Kyle, the family fear that the progress Kyle has made is about to unravel…
(Acorn Antiques, Dinnerladies) as her father Jim and Lorraine Pilkington
(Monarch Of The Glen) as Rob’s friend Rachel.
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
.
It stars Keeley Hawes
Keeley Hawes
Keeley Hawes is an English actress and model, known for many television roles. She is best known for her roles as Zoe Reynolds in Spooks and Alex Drake in Ashes to Ashes and Lady Agnes in the remake of Upstairs, Downstairs...
(Spooks
Spooks
Spooks is a British television drama series that originally aired on BBC One from 13 May 2002 – 23 October 2011, consisting of 10 series. The title is a popular colloquialism for spies, as the series follows the work of a group of MI5 officers based at the service's Thames House headquarters, in a...
, Under the Greenwood Tree, Tipping The Velvet
Tipping the Velvet
Tipping the Velvet is an historical novel written by Sarah Waters published in 1998. Set in Victorian England during the 1890s, it tells a coming of age story about a young woman named Nan who falls in love with a male impersonator, follows her to London, and finds various ways to support herself...
, Ashes to Ashes
Ashes to Ashes (TV series)
Ashes to Ashes is a British science fiction and police procedural drama television series, serving as the sequel to Life on Mars.The series began airing on BBC One in February 2008. A second series began broadcasting in April 2009...
), Ben Miles
Ben Miles
Ben Miles is an English actor, best known for his starring role as Patrick Maitland in the British TV comedy Coupling, from 2000 to 2004.-Life and career:...
(Coupling
Coupling (UK TV series)
Coupling is a British television sitcom written by Steven Moffat that aired on BBC2 from May 2000 to June 2004. Produced by Hartswood Films for the BBC, the show centres on the dating and sexual adventures and mishaps of six friends in their thirties, often depicting the three women and the three...
, Prime Suspect, The Forsyte Saga
The Forsyte Saga
The Forsyte Saga is a series of three novels and two interludes published between 1906 and 1921 by John Galsworthy. They chronicle the vicissitudes of the leading members of an upper-middle-class British family, similar to Galsworthy's own...
), Andrew Byrne, Sheila Hancock
Sheila Hancock
Sheila Cameron Hancock, CBE is an English actress and author.-Early life:Sheila Hancock was born in Blackgang on the Isle of Wight, the daughter of Ivy Louise and Enrico Cameron Hancock, who was a publican. Her sister Billie is seven years older...
and Duncan Preston
Duncan Preston
Duncan Preston is an English actor probably best known for his appearances in television productions written by Victoria Wood. His best remembered roles are Clifford in the Victoria Wood As Seen On TV soap opera parody Acorn Antiques , and Stan in dinnerladies.In July 2010, Preston revealed he was...
.
Plot
Kyle Graham (Andrew Byrne) is scared. Not of monsters under the bed like any average six year old but of everything. Normal, everyday activities prove terrifying to him. And he can’t communicate his fears, or share them with friends, because he can’t use language and he has no friends. Kyle has autismAutism
Autism is a disorder of neural development characterized by impaired social interaction and communication, and by restricted and repetitive behavior. These signs all begin before a child is three years old. Autism affects information processing in the brain by altering how nerve cells and their...
, a condition it took his parents two desperate years to get diagnosed. So his day consists of endless traumas and tantrums… and unimaginable stress for his mother Nicola (Keeley Hawes
Keeley Hawes
Keeley Hawes is an English actress and model, known for many television roles. She is best known for her roles as Zoe Reynolds in Spooks and Alex Drake in Ashes to Ashes and Lady Agnes in the remake of Upstairs, Downstairs...
).
Nicola knows that the one thing Kyle wants is to be left alone, safe and secure in his autistic world. But she also knows that if she grants her son this wish, he will have no future. Her fierce determination to break into Kyle’s world at any cost has placed an intolerable strain on her marriage. Her husband Rob (Ben Miles
Ben Miles
Ben Miles is an English actor, best known for his starring role as Patrick Maitland in the British TV comedy Coupling, from 2000 to 2004.-Life and career:...
), although equally unbending in his love for his son, is frustrated by Nicola’s relentless challenging of Kyle. Not to mention the loss of the carefree life he and Nicola once had.
Rob tries everything to convince Nicola that Kyle should go to a boarding school for autistic children. But Nicola is adamant that he should remain part of society and be taught the skills to cope with the world around him. When a ‘no-strings attached’ respite is offered by family friend Rachel (Lorraine Pilkington
Lorraine Pilkington
Lorraine Pilkington is an Irish actress from Dublin, who is best known for her role as Katrina Finlay on Monarch of the Glen. Trained at the Gaiety School of Acting, Pilkington began her career at the age of 15 when she appeared in The Miracle directed by Neil Jordan. She appeared onstage in the...
), Rob is truly torn.
Nicola’s only respite is the unwavering support of her mother Pat (Sheila Hancock
Sheila Hancock
Sheila Cameron Hancock, CBE is an English actress and author.-Early life:Sheila Hancock was born in Blackgang on the Isle of Wight, the daughter of Ivy Louise and Enrico Cameron Hancock, who was a publican. Her sister Billie is seven years older...
) and father Jim (Duncan Preston
Duncan Preston
Duncan Preston is an English actor probably best known for his appearances in television productions written by Victoria Wood. His best remembered roles are Clifford in the Victoria Wood As Seen On TV soap opera parody Acorn Antiques , and Stan in dinnerladies.In July 2010, Preston revealed he was...
), who dote on Kyle and provide practical support when needed. Into this setting of seemingly insurmountable conflict comes Thomas, a golden retriever puppy, named after Kyle’s favourite character, Thomas The Tank Engine
Thomas the Tank Engine
Thomas the Tank Engine is a fictional steam locomotive in The Railway Series books by the Reverend Wilbert Awdry and his son, Christopher. He became the most popular character in the series, and the accompanying television spin-off series, Thomas and Friends.Thomas is a tank engine, painted blue...
(thus adding to the double entendre-(After Thomas (the Tank) or after Thomas (the dog). Nicola is hopeful that Thomas can break into Kyle’s world where everyone else has failed. Little by little, Kyle begins to show Thomas affection and an understanding of his new dog’s feeling.
By the time Thomas is a fully grown dog, Nicola and Rob are hopeful of a breakthrough where all other attempts have failed. The unexpected and devastating blow of Pat’s death only strengthens their resolve. But when Thomas is kicked by Kyle, the family fear that the progress Kyle has made is about to unravel…
Based on a true story
It is based on the book A Friend Like Henry By Nuala Gardner, which was about her autistic son Dale and their struggle to cope with obstacles that comes with having an autistic child. In his dog Henry, Dale finds a true friend and a teacher.Casting
Following a six month search and over 150 auditions, six-year-old Andrew Byrne (born 30 December 1999) makes his acting debut as Kyle. Sheila Hancock plays Nicola’s mother Pat with Duncan PrestonDuncan Preston
Duncan Preston is an English actor probably best known for his appearances in television productions written by Victoria Wood. His best remembered roles are Clifford in the Victoria Wood As Seen On TV soap opera parody Acorn Antiques , and Stan in dinnerladies.In July 2010, Preston revealed he was...
(Acorn Antiques, Dinnerladies) as her father Jim and Lorraine Pilkington
Lorraine Pilkington
Lorraine Pilkington is an Irish actress from Dublin, who is best known for her role as Katrina Finlay on Monarch of the Glen. Trained at the Gaiety School of Acting, Pilkington began her career at the age of 15 when she appeared in The Miracle directed by Neil Jordan. She appeared onstage in the...
(Monarch Of The Glen) as Rob’s friend Rachel.
Cast & Crew
- Keeley HawesKeeley HawesKeeley Hawes is an English actress and model, known for many television roles. She is best known for her roles as Zoe Reynolds in Spooks and Alex Drake in Ashes to Ashes and Lady Agnes in the remake of Upstairs, Downstairs...
- Nicola Graham - Ben MilesBen MilesBen Miles is an English actor, best known for his starring role as Patrick Maitland in the British TV comedy Coupling, from 2000 to 2004.-Life and career:...
- Rob Graham - Andrew Byrne - Kyle Graham
- Sheila HancockSheila HancockSheila Cameron Hancock, CBE is an English actress and author.-Early life:Sheila Hancock was born in Blackgang on the Isle of Wight, the daughter of Ivy Louise and Enrico Cameron Hancock, who was a publican. Her sister Billie is seven years older...
- Grandma Pat - Duncan PrestonDuncan PrestonDuncan Preston is an English actor probably best known for his appearances in television productions written by Victoria Wood. His best remembered roles are Clifford in the Victoria Wood As Seen On TV soap opera parody Acorn Antiques , and Stan in dinnerladies.In July 2010, Preston revealed he was...
- Grandpa Jim - Asa ButterfieldAsa ButterfieldAsa Maxwell Thornton F. Butterfield is an English actor, best known for starring in the Holocaust film The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas , as Norman in the 2010 film Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang, and playing the title role in Martin Scorsese's 2011 fantasy Hugo.-Life and career:Butterfield was born...
- Andrew - Clive MantleClive Mantle-Early life and education:Mantle was born in Barnet, Hertfordshire. He was a pupil at Kimbolton School, Cambridgeshire and a chorister in St John's College Choir for four years...
- John Havers - Lorraine PilkingtonLorraine PilkingtonLorraine Pilkington is an Irish actress from Dublin, who is best known for her role as Katrina Finlay on Monarch of the Glen. Trained at the Gaiety School of Acting, Pilkington began her career at the age of 15 when she appeared in The Miracle directed by Neil Jordan. She appeared onstage in the...
- Rachel - Noma DumezweniNoma DumezweniNoma Dumezweni is a Laurence Olivier Award-winning English actress based in London.-Personal life:Born in Swaziland, of South African parents, Dumenzweni came to England with her family as a child, first living in Suffolk, where she was educated, before moving to London.-Theatre:Dumezweni's work in...
- Paula Murray
- Writer - Lindsey Hill
- Director - Simon Shore
- Executive Producer - Beryl Vertue
- Producer - Elaine Cameron
External links
- After Thomas at autism-in-Scotland.org.uk