Set in Kent at the end of the nineteenth century, Alfred Polly (Lee Evans) is the owner of a gentleman’s outfitters shop and trapped in a joyless marriage to wife Miriam (Anne-Marie Duff). Polly has towed the conventional line, married a woman he doesn’t love and gone into a business he neither likes nor understands. There’s nowhere to go in his marriage, he’s at open war with his neighbours and there’s a lack of passing trade for his business. Life is passing him by and he’s desperate for a way out.
Determined to make no more mistakes, Polly tries to end it all. But in a spectacular twist of fate, his incendiary suicide attempt fails. Polly’s shop, home and all those surrounding it are engulfed in roaring flames. Half the street is alight, but Polly remains very much alive.
To his immense surprise, however, Polly’s spectacular failure turns to good fortune. Rescuing a frail old neighbour from the flames makes him a local hero and no-one knows he started the fire on purpose. Everyone can claim on the insurance. Thrilled at the novelty of receiving praise, Polly is spurred on to start anew. When Miriam is deaf to his pleas for a fresh beginning, Polly makes the boldest decision of his life: he leaves Miriam and the shop behind, and without so much as a word to anyone, Polly sets out alone on a journey of discovery, to see where freedom leads.
Polly eventually stumbles upon an idyllic waterside inn, run by delightful landlady Nancy (Julie Graham) and is given work. He starts a new life and it seems at last all would be perfect for Polly but as he knows only too well, nothing’s ever as good as it seems. Polly faces his greatest challenge yet in the form of local thug Jim (Richard Coyle) who demands that Polly clears off. Can Polly muster the courage to fight for his chance at happiness or will he go back to his old life? Polly knows the latter isn’t an option….
Based on a book by HG Wells, The History of Mr Polly is written by Adrian Hodges (Lorna Doone, Charles II: The Power & the Passion), produced by Katherine Lannon (The Secret Life of Mrs Beeton) and directed by Gillies MacKinnon (Hideous Kinky, Gunpowder, Treason & Plot, Regeneration, Small Faces). The executive producers are Michele Buck and Damien Timmer.
Monday 7 May 2007 9:00pm - 11:00pm
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[...] has told The Manchester Evening News that he can see a lot of himself in his new role in ITV drama, The History of Mr Polly. Lee says: “It’s a really nice adventure about someone who’s a bit odd, a bit [...]
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