A new unflinching and entertaining look at 21st century gay life – Cucumber – has started filming in the trendy Northern Quarter.
The project of iconic gay series Queer as Folk writer Russell T Davies, Cucumber will be an eight-part drama aired on Channel 4 next year, to run alongside a sister show Banana on E4.
The experience will also be extended online with Tofu, an online series inspired by the events of each week, which gives people the chance to share their unique stories of sexual experiences.
“I once read about a scientific institute which had studied the male erection. It divided the hard-on into four categories, from soft to hard. One, tofu. Two, peeled banana. Three, banana. And four, cucumber, “ said Davies.
“Right there and then, I knew I had my drama,” added the BAFTA-winning writer, who has also contributed to Doctor Who and its spin off Torchwood.
Cucumber will follow the lives of 46-year-old Henry and his boyfriend Lance, whose lives are turned upside down after a disastrous date night where Henry’s old life shatters and a new chapter begins.
Banana takes a look at the contrasting life styles of the younger characters orbiting around Henry in Cucumber.
Something is happening in Manchester #Cucumber pic.twitter.com/Dx3Z76hcuK
— Joris (@wowties) June 3, 2014
A young lesbian, named Scotty, and 19-year-old Dean, are central protagonists and the youthful drama promises to deliver ’50 shades of gay’ and then some.
Henry will be played by The Thick of It and Twenty Twelve star Vincent Franklin, who will be joined by Accrington-born soap superstar Julie Hesmondhalgh, who played Coronation Street’s first transgender character Hayley Cropper.
This is her first television role after 16 years on the show, where more than 10 million people watched her final episode In which she took her own life to escape the pain of terminal cancer.
Queer as Folk first burst onto television screens in 1999 and gave the British public a raw look at gay life in the city through looking at class A drugs, underage sex, family drama and heartache in a way tv viewers had never seen before.
At the time, gay characters on television were overdone stereotypes or painfully boring but Queer as Folk changed perceptions and left fans hooked.
Russell is now attempting to bring the same warmth, sharp wit and sincerity to both Cucumber and Banana.
Piers Wenger, Head of Drama at Channel 4, said: “No one can look into the heart and soul of modern relationships quite like Russell and across Channel 4, E4 and online, he paints an unflinching and forensic portrait of how our sex lives affect us all.”
Main image courtesy of jackel1234 via flickr, with thanks.
