Doing Money

Last updated

Doing Money
Doingmoney.jpg
Genre Crime drama
Based onSlave
by Jason Johnson
Written by Gwyneth Hughes
Directed byLynsey Miller
Starring
Country of origin Ireland
Original languageEnglish
No. of episodes1
Production
Executive producers
  • Alex Cooke
  • Lucy Richer
ProducerMike Dormer
CinematographyNeus Ollé
EditorKristina Hetherington
Running time90 minutes
Production companyRenegade Pictures
Original release
Network
Release5 November 2018 (2018-11-05)

Doing Money is a British television crime drama, written by Gwyneth Hughes and directed by Lynsey Miller, that was first broadcast on BBC Two on 5 November 2018. Focusing on the subject of modern slavery in the sex trade, the film, starring Anca Dumitra and Allen Leech, [1] is based upon the novel Slave by Jason Johnson, published on 3 May 2018. [2]

Contents

Synopsis

The film documents the story of 'Ana', a Romanian student training to be a nurse who is kidnapped in broad daylight from the streets of London and ordered to work as a prostitute in a number of brothels in Ireland and Northern Ireland. Casting for the film was announced in August 2018. [3] The film was broadcast as part of the BBC's Why Slavery? season, to coincide with International Anti Slavery Day. [4]

Casting

Anca Dumitra said of her role as Ana; “Ana is a truly remarkable person, someone who has survived endless abuse with courage and determination, a real-life hero. I have been deeply moved by her story and it’s an honour to play her in Doing Money. This is a story that needs to be seen.” [3]

Allen Leech added; “I’m delighted to be part of telling this moving and important true story. Doing Money, Ana’s experience, shines a light on the shocking truth of human trafficking and slavery in Britain. DI Dougie Grant was one of the key officers at the centre of the original investigation. It’s a real privilege to play him.” [3]

Cast

Reception

Alison Graham of the Radio Times wrote; "After watching Gwyneth Hughes’s fact-based drama Doing Money, I went home stifled by a cloud of misery that couldn’t be dispersed, even by the repeats of ancient Big Bang Theories I watched long into the evening just to try to flush the horror from my system. I found Doing Money so overwhelming – the true story of Ana, a young Romanian woman working as a cleaner in Britain who was abducted by a trafficking gang from a street in Wood Green London and forced into sex slavery. I was harrowed as she was repeatedly brutalised into submission by a series of men who treated her savagely." [4]

Viewers described the film as "horrific", "disturbing", "harrowing" and "heartbreaking." [5]

Related Research Articles

<i>Sylvia</i> (2003 film) 2003 British film

Sylvia is a 2003 British biographical drama film directed by Christine Jeffs and starring Gwyneth Paltrow, Daniel Craig, Jared Harris, and Michael Gambon. It tells a story based on the real-life romance between prominent poets Sylvia Plath and Ted Hughes. The film begins with their meeting at Cambridge in 1956 and ends with Sylvia Plath's suicide in 1963.

<i>Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band</i> (film) 1978 film by Michael Schultz

Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band is a 1978 American jukebox musical comedy film directed by Michael Schultz, written by Henry Edwards and starring an ensemble cast led by Peter Frampton and the Bee Gees. Depicting the loosely constructed story of a band as they wrangle with the music industry and battle evil forces bent on stealing their instruments and corrupting their hometown of Heartland, the film is presented in a form similar to that of a rock opera, with the songs providing "dialogue" to carry the story. George Burns has most of the spoken lines that act to clarify the plot and provide further narration but there are a few other lines throughout the movie.

<i>Sex Traffic</i> 2004 film directed by David Yates

Sex Traffic is a two-part British-Canadian television thriller, written by Abi Morgan and directed by David Yates, that first broadcast on Channel 4 on 14 October 2004. The series, produced by Veronica Castillo and Derek Wax, stars John Simm as Daniel Appleton, a journalist who uncovers a trafficking ring involving Anti-Trafficking officers employed by a private security company in the United States. As Daniel vows to help Elena, one of the trafficked girls, he attempts to expose the business which forces young women from Eastern Europe into a life of sexual slavery.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Allen Leech</span> Irish actor

Allen Leech is an Irish actor. He is widely known for his roles as Tom Branson in the ITV period drama Downton Abbey (2010–2015) and Paul Prenter in the biopic Bohemian Rhapsody (2018).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Slavery in the 21st century</span> Contemporary slavery, also known as modern slavery or neo-slavery

Contemporary slavery, also sometimes known as modern slavery or neo-slavery, refers to institutional slavery that continues to occur in present-day society. Estimates of the number of enslaved people today range from around 38 million to 49.6 million, depending on the method used to form the estimate and the definition of slavery being used. The estimated number of enslaved people is debated, as there is no universally agreed definition of modern slavery; those in slavery are often difficult to identify, and adequate statistics are often not available.

<i>Cherished</i> (film) British TV series or programme

Cherished is a single British true crime drama, written by acclaimed screenwriter Gwyneth Hughes, that first broadcast on BBC One on 22 February 2005. Starring Sarah Lancashire as protagonist Angela Cannings, the drama is based on Cannings' wrongful conviction for the deaths of two of her infant children, Jason and Matthew. Directed by Robin Sheppard, the drama also stars Timothy Spall as Angela's husband Terry, Emma Cunniffe as Angela's sister Claire; and Ian McNeice as her defence barrister; Bill Bache. The drama was a joint production between the BBC's drama and current affairs wings. 5.18 million viewers tuned in for the initial broadcast. Similarly to other true-life BBC productions of the time; Cherished has never been released on DVD.

<i>The Whistleblower</i> 2010 Canadian-German thriller film directed by Larysa Kondracki

The Whistleblower is a 2010 Canadian biographical drama film directed by Larysa Kondracki and starring Rachel Weisz. Kondracki and Eilis Kirwan wrote the screenplay, which was inspired by the story of Kathryn Bolkovac, a Nebraska police officer who was recruited as a United Nations peacekeeper for DynCorp International in post-war Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1999. While there, she discovered a Bosnian sex trafficking ring serving and facilitated by DynCorp employees, with international peacekeepers looking the other way. Bolkovac was fired and forced out of the country after attempting to shut down the ring. She took the story to BBC News in the UK and won a wrongful dismissal lawsuit against DynCorp.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tom Hughes (actor)</span> English actor

Tom Hughes is an English actor. He is known for his roles as Prince Albert in the ITV drama Victoria (2016–2019), Joe Lambe in the BBC drama The Game (2014), and Thomas Trafford in the BBC and Amazon Prime miniseries The English (2022).

The eighteenth series of the British medical drama television series Casualty began airing on BBC One in the United Kingdom on 13 September 2003, and concluded on 28 August 2004. The series consists of 46 episodes, which focus on the professional and personal lives of medical and ancillary staff at the emergency department (ED) of the fictional Holby City Hospital. Foz Allen serves as the series producer, while Mal Young and Mervyn Watson act as the executive producers of the series. Twelve regular cast members reprised their roles from the previous series and six actors joined the cast during the series. Original cast member Julia Watson, who portrays Baz Wilder, also returned.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Larysa Kondracki</span> Canadian film director and screenwriter

Larysa Kondracki is a Canadian producer, director and screenwriter. Her debut feature film, The Whistleblower, was released in 2011 and received nominations for six Genies at the 32nd Genie Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director. She has received international accolades for reporting true stories of victims of trafficking in the former Yugoslavia.

<i>Nefarious: Merchant of Souls</i> 2011 film by Benjamin Nolot

Nefarious: Merchant of Souls is a 2011 American documentary film about modern human trafficking, specifically sexual slavery. Presented from a Christian worldview, Nefarious covers human trafficking in the United States, Western and Eastern Europe, and Southeast Asia, alternating interviews with re-enactments. Victims of trafficking talk about having been the objects of physical abuse and attempted murder. Several former prostitutes talk about their conversion to Christianity, escape from sexual oppression, and subsequent education or marriage. The film ends with the assertion that only Jesus can completely heal people from the horrors of sexual slavery.

Gwyneth Hughes is a British documentary director and screenwriter who works mainly in television.

<i>Not My Life</i> 2011 film by Robert Bilheimer

Not My Life is a 2011 American independent documentary film about human trafficking and contemporary slavery. The film was written, produced, and directed by Robert Bilheimer, who had been asked to make the film by Antonio Maria Costa, executive director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. Bilheimer planned Not My Life as the second installment in a trilogy, the first being A Closer Walk and the third being the unproduced Take Me Home. The title Not My Life came from a June 2009 interview with Molly Melching, founder of Tostan, who said that many people deny the reality of contemporary slavery because it is an uncomfortable truth, saying, "No, this is not my life."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Modern Slavery Act 2015</span> United Kingdom legislation

The Modern Slavery Act 2015 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It is designed to combat modern slavery in the UK and consolidates previous offences relating to trafficking and slavery. The act extends essentially to England and Wales, but some provisions apply in Scotland and Northern Ireland.

"Exile" is the thirty-second episode of the twenty-ninth series of the British medical drama Casualty. It was written by Kelly Jones, directed by Steve Hughes, and produced by Jonathan Phillips. "Exile" first aired on 16 May 2015 on BBC One in the United Kingdom. The plot sees Charlie Fairhead and Connie Beauchamp travel to Bucharest to help Charlie's son Louis, who has become a heroin addict and is planning on selling his kidney to pay his debts.

Gwyneth Leech is an American artist. She is best known for her use of paper coffee cups as a canvas for her artistic pieces and for her paintings of high-rise construction projects.

Verity Marina Marshall is an English actress best known for her roles as Helen in BBC medical drama Holby City, Amy in the White Christmas episode of the Netflix series Black Mirror and Samantha in the BBC six-part drama Press.

Gwynne McElveen is an American-born Irish actress. Her most recent role is as Tobis in the new Syfy series Nightflyers, released in December 2018.

<i>Ghosts</i> (2019 TV series) British television series

Ghosts is a British sitcom broadcast on BBC One from April 2019 to December 2023. It follows a group of ghosts from different historical periods haunting a country house while sharing it with its new living occupants. It is written and performed by the collective group Them There, who had previously worked together on productions including Horrible Histories and Yonderland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Slavery in Bahrain</span>

Open slavery existed in Bahrain until the 1930s. Slavery was formally abolished in Bahrain in 1937. Slavery ended earlier in Bahrain than in any other Gulf state, with the exception of Iran and Iraq. Many members of the Afro-Arabian minority are descendants of the former slaves. Slavery of people from Africa and East Asia was succeeded by the modern Kafala system of poor workers from the same region were slaves had previously been imported.

References

  1. White, Peter (31 August 2018). "BBC Orders Modern Slavery Drama 'Doing Money' From 'The Girl's & 'Vanity Fair's Gwyneth Hughes" . Retrieved 7 November 2018.
  2. Anna; Johnson, Jason (2018). Slave. ISBN   978-1785038983.
  3. 1 2 3 "BBC Two announces the cast for Doing Money, a shocking true story about modern slavery in Britain". BBC Press Office. 31 August 2018. Retrieved 7 November 2018.
  4. 1 2 Graham, Alison (5 November 2018). "Gwyneth Hughes' modern slavery drama Doing Money is almost too tough to watch". Radio Times. Retrieved 7 November 2018.
  5. "Viewers left harrowed by BBC2's "brutal" modern slavery drama Doing Money".