Julie Walters is stepping down from Channel 4 drama Truelove due to health reasons and is being replaced by Lindsay Duncan

EXCLUSIVE: Julie Walters has pulled out of Channel 4 drama starring Clarke Peters Real love due to health reasons and will be replaced by Lindsay Duncan.

Real love Creator Charlie Covell (the end of the damn world) and Iain Weatherby (People)who spoke at length with Deadline about the upcoming BBC Studios-distributed show The end of the damn world Producer Clerkenwell Films said they were “saddened” to lose Walters, but “with her blessing, Lindsay has joined and we are both huge admirers.”

Filming will resume in Bristol later this year, some nine months after the drama was shelved because Walters was suffering from severe back pain. All cast members, including Peters, agreed to return.

“Last year, filming Real love was interrupted while Julie Walters sought medical advice and help with severe back pain,” Clerkenwell Films said in a statement.

“Julie has subsequently decided to withdraw from the project to focus on her recovery and recovery, and as such will not be returning to the role of Phil. We wholeheartedly support her decision and the entire cast, crew and production team wish her the best and a speedy recovery. We are delighted that Lindsay Duncan will be taking on the role of Phil. We’re excited to see what she brings to this complex and compelling character when we resume filming later this year.

Real love was Walters’ first acting role in six years. She was diagnosed with colon cancer in early 2018 and said acting was partly to blame.

Three-time BAFTA nominee Duncan, whose previous credits include bird man And high time, said she was drawn to the role intended for Walters because Phil was an “intelligent, tough and complex woman.” “It’s so well written that it explores what’s in store for us when age becomes a factor,” she added.

Real love Duncan stars as Phil and The cable Iconic Peters as Ken, a recently retired high school sweetheart who reunites in the 70s after decades of separation. At a funeral, they discuss with a group of friends what an “ideal” death might be and conclude a drunkenness: instead of letting each other slowly and gruesomely degenerate, they step in and bring about a dignified death.

“Slightly condescending” behavior

The show is about foresight, including euthanasia and loneliness, Weatherby said Real love wants to end the “somewhat condescending” portrayal of older people on screen.

“Our characters have done amazing things, lived amazing lives, and it gives them that edge,” he added. “It’s so exciting to push life and death together like two opposing magnets to see what happens. There are some very interesting older characters appearing on screen at the moment.

Some of the inspiring older characters include Jean Smart’s Deborah Vance on HBO’s Cap and Derek Jacobi and Anne Reid’s Alan and Celia on the BBCs Last Tango in Halifax, to Covell, who is non-binary and uses his/their pronouns.

Covell was full of praise Last Tango. “I was just like, ‘Wow, I’ve never seen anything like this,'” they said. “The tone is different [to Truelove] but I loved the main characters and the way the show developed around them.

made The end of the damn world With mostly younger characters, Covell said they enjoyed writing older characters because “less happened to young people.”

“We have to think, ‘These are wonderful people who have lived wonderful lives,'” Covell added. “And by the way, I don’t really differentiate between ‘young’ and ‘old’. When you’re writing, you’re really just trying to get to the heart of that character.

Real love approach serious subjects with “gallows humor,” added Weatherby, who has been a presence in most of Clerkenwell’s productions, such as Channel 4’s recent critical hit Somewhere son.

Also analyzed in the recent BBC adaptation starring Martin Compston mayflies, Euthanasia is increasingly becoming a topic of social conversation. Weatherby said the two were careful not to make it up Real love A lesson”.

“Good drama asks questions but doesn’t answer them and we wanted it to leave a live problem in the audience’s mind,” he added. “We try to get people to respond to characters in the moment where you can feel both sides of the story [euthanasia] debate, but as subtext.”

Covell said they were “never absolutely definitive about anything,” but “for me personally, when I was terribly ill and felt that life was impossible, I would appreciate the space to have an alternative to a truly horrific end to to state, to examine it.”

Clerkenwell Films, Covell and Weatherby hope that the universality of the theme and international reputation of Peters will attract buyers from around the world, and BBC Studios is launching sales at this week’s London Showcase.

Peters lived for some time in the west of England Real love being filmed and Covell and Weatherby – who came up with it Real love over a decade ago—the character Ken wrote for him.

“His incredible charisma The cable is something I think about every day and he’s the coolest guy alive,” Weatherby added.

The next step for Covell is Cheese, Netflix’s big-budget reimagining of Greek mythology, starring Jeff Goldblum and David Thewlis, is currently in development and scheduled to air next year. Weatherby is working on a drama and feature film for Channel 4.