Bad Tidings - AD Introduction

In this festive, family-comedy treat, it’s late on Christmas Eve and two warring neighbours must unite to boot out a notorious crime family who’ve arrived with the intention of robbing every one of the houses on their street.

The film blends quick witted one-liners, with the sort of physical slap stick, knock-about fun that we’ve come to love in films such as the Home Alone series.

The action takes place in a pleasant residential street in Stockport near Manchester. The detached, modern houses face each other across a single lane road. They all boast the same design: a two-story building with a sloping, slate roof and pale beige brickwork, jutting out from which is a double-height, boxy-looking, brown bay window for both the living room and the master bedroom above it. In front of each house is a small patch of lawn and a drive where the residents have their cars parked.

Lee Mack and Chris McCausland lead the cast.

Lee Mack plays Neil, a grumpy, fifty-something, white man who runs his own home-security firm. He has dark hair and a salt and pepper coloured beard. He’s often dressed in his work clothes which feature his businesses logo: ‘Causes For Alarms’. His rusty, old, blue Ford Sierra is parked in front of the house, waiting for Neil to finish it’s paint job.

Across the road from Neil lives Scott, who is played by Chris McCausland. Scott is a white man in his late forties, who’s blind. He’s slightly shorter than his neighbour. Compared to Neil’s perma-scowl, Scott appears to be more happy-go-lucky and his warm and open expression reflects this. He has light brown hair and a suggestion of a beard. His wardrobe tends towards leisure wear: hoodies, checked shirts and fleeces. He lives by himself and likes to keep his Christmas lights up all year round.

Neil lives with his long-suffering wife Laura, played by Sarah Alexander. She’s a similar age to Neil and is a petite white woman with wavy blonde hair in a long bob. Her weary expression reflects how drained she is by Neil’s constant bickering with his neighbour. She favours floral blouses and various knitwear: jumpers and cardigans. She drives a silver-coloured honda SUV.

Neil and Laura’s daughter is Chloe, played by Millie Kiss. She’s still at school and in her late teens. She’s the same height as Laura. She has long, brown hair, which is sometimes tied back in a ponytail. Beneath her initially moody demeanour lurks a savvy mind, and she emerges as perhaps the most clued-up member of her family.

Other neighbours that make an appearance are Ewan, played by Rich Keeble, a middle-aged, bald, white man with a beard and glasses; Sabrina, played by Tupel Dorgu, a mixed ethnicity woman in her forties, with hair in ringlets; and retiring head of the Neighbourhood Community Group, April, played by Maggie Ollerenshaw, who’s a blonde-haired, white woman in her mid-70’s.

We first meet the notorious crime family, The Brennans, as matriarch, Stacey Brennan, played by Rebekah Stayton, is being released from prison. She’s a commanding-looking, white woman in her forties, with long red hair and a menacing scowl. She wears a long black-leather coat.

Her husband, Big Barry, played by Ben Crompton, is a short, thin faced white man with long, red hair and a beard. The other gang members are their son Little Barry, who is a good deal taller and more imposing than his namesake. He’s played by Josiah Eloi. He’s a young man with dark hair and a caramel-coloured complexion. He wears a Santa hat and a bomber jacket. And finally, daughter, Ashleigh Brennan, who’s played by Emily Coates. She is a white, young woman, similar in age to Neil’s daughter Chloe, who has long brown hair, scraped back in a ponytail and wears a red puffa-jacket.

Will Neil and Scott’s efforts be enough to repel the burglars? Will Christmas be ruined for the residents of this Stockport Street? A madcap ride is guaranteed as we find out.

The film is written by Laurance Rickard and Martha Howe-Douglas with Chris McCausland. It’s directed by Tim Kirkby and is a Sky Original Production.

Introduction and Audio Description by Stevyn McDonald.

Bad Tidings airs on Sunday 22^nd December at 7.30pm on Sky Max