Tuesday, 21 December 2010 16:51 | and posted in News
The BBC's flagship drama for Christmas is a story you will all know very well. Over four half hour episodes the drama faithfully tells the nativity story from the New Testament. The series has been written by Tony Jordan (Life On Mars, Hustle, Eastenders) for BBC One and so has a very human perspective. It focuses upon the enduring love story of Mary and Joseph - from their initial courtship as Joseph attempts to win Mary's heart to Joseph's emotional turmoil at Mary's unexpected pregnancy.
When interviewed about why he wrote The Nativity, Tony Jordan said: "I've always had a faith. I'm not a God-botherer... but I do believe that Jesus Christ was the Son of God. I do believe he came here to take away our sins. I absolutely believe that. But there's loads of little bits around it that bug me. So what I've done with the story of the nativity is written a version that I can believe. And I believe that the people who watch it who aren't already sold, who would ridicule another version with square beards, [will find that] I've made it accessible. So they can watch it and see it's truthful, and say, 'You know what? That's really cool. I never realised it could be like that. I thought it was all beyond me.' ... Watch it, believe it, invest in it, and sob like a child."
It started last night (Monday 20th December) and continues every night until Thursday 23rd December at 7pm. If you missed the first episode I recommend catching up on iPlayer.