Airdate: Lennon Naked

UK drama Lennon Naked will air on ABC1 in early December.

Written by Robert Jones (Party Animals, The No.1 Ladies Detective Agency, Rough Diamond) it features Christoper Ecceston (Doctor Who) as John Lennon in a story set between 1967 and 1971.

It also features Christopher Fairbank as Freddie Lennon; Naoko Mori as Yoko Ono; Claudie Blakley as Cynthia Lennon; Rory Kinnear as Brian Epstein; and Andrew Scott as Paul McCartney.

Thirty years after the death of John Lennon, Christopher Eccleston stars as the enigmatic musician in a defining period of his life – a time of disillusion, self-destruction, transformation and ultimately, hope.

John Lennon is one of the most enduring figures in musical and cultural history. One quarter of ‘The Fab Four’, peace activist, visual artist and author, he was a man whose personal life was characterised by drama, intrigue and eventually, conspiracy.

A biopic with a stellar lead cast, Lennon Naked charts Lennon’s transition from ‘Beatle John’ to an enduring and enigmatic icon. It covers a period of wildly fluctuating fortunes from 1967 to 1971, from the death of father-figure and manager Brian Epstein through to the break-up of the Beatles, to John’s decision to leave England for New York; a time of worldwide adulation at one extreme, a combination of frustration and despair at the other. It’s the story of an artist destroying everything to find himself – through drugs, break-ups and therapy as he attempts to free himself from the shackles of material wealth and celebrity and establish himself as a solo recording artist.

After Epstein died, the Beatles were left rudderless – and Lennon felt trapped, personally as well as creatively. It was a turning point in his life, and the events that followed led John to shed everything he knew about himself. Yoko Ono was his muse and the catalyst for change. Meeting her altered everything, and led to the acrimonious break-up of his marriage to first wife Cynthia and his decision to start a new life.

Less well known is the story of how Lennon’s father Freddie, a homeless dishwasher, came back into his life after an 18-year absence during this period. John seized on the hope of re-establishing their relationship after Epstein died – only to attack and reject Freddie when he became involved in his ‘primal scream’ pscho-analytical therapy.

Driven by the need to become naked on the inside as well as the outside (for this was the period when Lennon famously photographed Yoko and himself naked for the front cover of an album), Lennon’s growing disillusionment with life in Britain caused him to abandon his home country and start a new life in America. He was never to (doctreturn…

It airs 8:30pm Sunday, 5 December 2010, just 3 days before the 30th anniversary of his passing.