The Responder is a British police procedural series set in Liverpool, written by former Merseyside Police officer Tony Schumacher and starring Martin Freeman, Adelayo Adedayo, Ian Hart, and MyAnna Buring.
A crisis-stricken, morally compromised first-responder tackles a series of night shifts on the beat in Liverpool, while trying to keep his head above water personally and professionally.
Outline
Chris is forced to work for a major drug dealer to return the drugs stolen by Casey. When Rachel needs his help urgently, Chris must decide where his loyalties truly lie.
The Responder Series
You can find a full index and overview of The Responder here.
The Responder is a British police procedural series set in Liverpool, written by former Merseyside Police officer Tony Schumacher and starring Martin Freeman, Adelayo Adedayo, Ian Hart, and MyAnna Buring.
A crisis-stricken, morally compromised first-responder tackles a series of night shifts on the beat in Liverpool, while trying to keep his head above water personally and professionally.
Outline
Chris hits rock bottom. Rachel begins to suspect Mullen may not be all he appears, and Casey teams up with Marco to find a buyer.
The Responder Series
You can find a full index and overview of The Responder here.
The Responder is a British police procedural series set in Liverpool, written by former Merseyside Police officer Tony Schumacher and starring Martin Freeman, Adelayo Adedayo, Ian Hart, and MyAnna Buring.
A crisis-stricken, morally compromised first-responder tackles a series of night shifts on the beat in Liverpool, while trying to keep his head above water personally and professionally.
Outline
Chris plans to hand the drugs in, until Carl makes him an offer that he cannot refuse. Rachel strikes a deal with Mullen, but Chris’ behaviour makes her feel conflicted.
The Responder Series
You can find a full index and overview of The Responder here.
The Responder is a British police procedural series set in Liverpool, written by former Merseyside Police officer Tony Schumacher and starring Martin Freeman, Adelayo Adedayo, Ian Hart, and MyAnna Buring.
A crisis-stricken, morally compromised first-responder tackles a series of night shifts on the beat in Liverpool, while trying to keep his head above water personally and professionally.
Outline
Chris must juggle handling rookie police officer Rachel while also tracking down Casey, after Chris threatens his family. Casey puts her trust in a friend to hide her from Carl.
The Responder Series
You can find a full index and overview of The Responder here.
The Responder is a British police procedural series set in Liverpool, written by former Merseyside Police officer Tony Schumacher and starring Martin Freeman, Adelayo Adedayo, Ian Hart, and MyAnna Buring.
A crisis-stricken, morally compromised first-responder tackles a series of night shifts on the beat in Liverpool, while trying to keep his head above water personally and professionally.
Outline
Police response officer Chris is struggling to keep a grip on his mental health and marriage when he is offered a path to redemption in the form of a young heroin addict.
The Responder Series
You can find a full index and overview of The Responder here.
The Responder is a British police procedural series set in Liverpool, written by former Merseyside Police officer Tony Schumacher and starring Martin Freeman, Adelayo Adedayo, Ian Hart, and MyAnna Buring.
A crisis-stricken, morally compromised first-responder tackles a series of night shifts on the beat in Liverpool, while trying to keep his head above water personally and professionally.
Outline
Chris Carson is a police officer, in a fictional constabulary covering Liverpool, who has been demoted from his position as a sergeant and undertakes a series of night shifts in central Liverpool. His work scenes are interspersed with scenes of him at therapy, at home, and with his mother in a nursing home. He is partnered with Rachel Hargreaves, an inexperienced and still idealistic officer who wants to play by the rules. Carl Sweeney is a mid-level drug dealer whose stash of cocaine has been purloined by Casey, a local “baghead”. Chris is trying to help Casey and, in doing so, crosses Carl. Other major characters include the naïve local scally Marco, who finds himself out of his depth.
Carson is a conflicted and compromised man, with somewhat divided loyalties, a desire to do good but violent aggressive streak brought on by childhood trauma exacerbated by his experience in the police. He has been demoted from sergeant and is pursued by the officer responsible as part of a corruption probe, whose motives may not be entirely honest. The effects of the jobs and Chris’ mental state take a toll on his family.
Cast
Martin Freeman as Chris Carson.
Adelayo Adedayo as Rachel Hargreaves, a probationary police officer.
Warren Brown as Raymond Mullen, a demoted officer with an axe to grind.
MyAnna Buring as Kate Carson, Chris’ wife.
Emily Fairn as Casey, a drug addict.
Josh Finan as Marco, Casey’s friend.
Philip S. McGuinness as Ian, Carl’s henchman.
Mark Womack as Barry, Carl’s henchman.
Ian Hart as Carl Sweeney, a drug dealer.
Rita Tushingham as June Carson, Chris’ mother.
Philip Barantini as Steve, Rachel’s boyfriend.
David Bradley as Davey, a local homeless man.
Kerrie Hayes as Ellie Mullen, Raymond’s wife and Kate’s best friend.
Faye McKeever as Jodie Sweeney, Carl’s wife.
Philip Whitchurch as Joe, Casey’s grandfather.
Christine Tremarco as Dr. Diane Gallagher, Greg’s sister.
Amaka Okafor as Detective Inspector Deborah Barnes, Chris’ boss.
James Nelson-Joyce as Greg Gallagher, a drug lord.
Elizabeth Berrington as Lynne Renfrew, Chris’ therapist.
Victor McGuire as Trevor.
Dominic Carter as Sergeant Bernie Wilson.
Matthew Cottle as Father Liam Neeson.
Dave Hill as Billy.
Sylvie Gatrill as Mary.
Sonny Walker as Stevo Marsh.
James Ledsham as Enno.
Connor Dempsey as Kyle.
David Ayres as Andy.
Kieron Urquhart as Paul.
Harry Burke as Liam.
Trivia
Tony Schumacher (creator and writer) has said that the character has “a lot to do” with him and the struggles he faced as a police officer, but that the storyline is fictional.
In late March 2022 the series was officially renewed for a second season.
The series was be shown by Canal plus in France and on SBS TV and SBS On Demand in Australia, as well as various other deals seeing the series being shown around the world.
Martin Freeman spent 18 months before he filmed the series talking to himself in a Scouse accent so he could perfect it.
Elizabeth Berrington and Martin Freeman previously worked together in The Office Christmas Special (2003).
The first season is broadcast in some countries in a six-episode edit.
Dr Alex George explores the wide range of mental health issues children and young people are facing, and finds out how projects funded by Children in Need are making a difference.
Outline
Dr Alex George follows the journeys of young people across the UK who are living with mental health issues. He explores the wide range of difficulties they face and finds out how local charities, including projects funded by Children in Need, are making a difference.
As an A&E doctor and the UK Youth Mental Health Ambassador, Alex has seen at first hand the effects of the pandemic on young people’s mental wellbeing, but he never thought they would affect his own family. But in July 2020, Alex’s 19-year-old brother Llyr, who had been struggling with anxiety during lockdown, took his own life. This poignant film is his response.
Mental health across society has worsened since the pandemic began. Stacey Dooley returns to Springfield Hospital, and over six months, including the second nationwide lockdown, works with the team to experience first-hand how the pandemic is impacting patients in crisis. Stacey assists staff as they treat a wide range of mental health conditions and takes part in the tough decisions necessary to keep patients safe.
Stacey meets Coral, who is brought into Springfield by the police one night after attempting to take her life. Coral tells Stacey and the team about her long-running battle with anxiety and depression, which she attempts to self-medicate by drinking alcohol.
The pandemic has seen a rise in suicidal behaviour, especially amongst young people. Stacey meets Oskar, a 20-year-old university student whose struggle with intense suicidal thoughts brings him into the hospital in crisis.
For those with pre-existing mental health conditions, waiting lists and delays to treatment caused by the pandemic are pushing them to breaking point. Suziee is diagnosed with emotionally unstable personality disorder, which causes extreme highs and lows to her moods. But with her therapy now cancelled, she is struggling to cope on her own and turns to the hospital for help.
Stacey also gets to know 21-year-old Ali, an inpatient at Springfield, which is home to the only inpatient unit of its kind in the country for those with severe obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). Since childhood, Ali’s OCD rituals have changed from repetitive tapping during stressful exams and blinking to keep her parents safe in the car to extreme bathroom routines. For severe OCD cases like Ali’s, this ward is her last chance at beating this devastating condition, and over the months Stacey sees a dramatic change in Ali’s obsessions.
Bipolarised: Rethinking Mental Illness is a 2014 documentary by director Rita Kotzia.
Challenges conventional wisdom about mental illness and drug therapy through the raw personal journey of a man diagnosed as bipolar.
Outline
This documentary is about one man’s personal journey to heal. Diagnosed with bipolar disorder, Ross’ psychiatrist told him he would live with the disorder for the rest of his life and that he would have to take lithium to control symptoms. To Ross, taking the drug daily felt like a chemical lobotomy, leaving him in a foggy, drug-induced haze. Ross ultimately decided to resolve his symptoms outside of conventional medicine. He progressively reduced his use of the psychotropic drug lithium, at an experimental clinic in Costa Rica. What ensued was a self-exploration into alternative treatments to treat his condition and a journey delving into the root cause of his mental breakdown. The film uses Ross’ personal experiences to tell a larger story about medication. It will reveal how we are labelling more and more people with mental illnesses and how, in tandem, we are prescribing more and more toxic psychotropic drugs to treat these illnesses. It weaves together a series of interviews with activists, psychiatrists and other psychiatric survivors who have challenged the status quo as well as recounts some of the alternative therapies Ross uses to maintain his mental, emotional and physical health.
She’s beautiful, artistic, loved and can’t stand to be alive. 32 PILLS traces the fascinating life and mental illness of my sister, New York artist and photographer Ruth Litoff, and my struggle to come to terms with her tragic suicide.
Outline
After struggling with mental illness for most of her life, New York artist Ruth Litoff committed suicide at age 42 in 2008 by overdosing on prescription pills. Six years later, her younger sister, Hope Litoff, decides to film herself while she empties a packed-to-the-brim storage unit filled with Ruth’s belongings, driven by the need to understand Ruth’s illness and desire to end her life – but as she pores through the items her sister left behind, she must exorcise the demons that threaten her sobriety.
Mental Health Matters 
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