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ITV 1 commissions new drama based on Justin Fashanu

ITV 1 commissions new drama based on Justin Fashanu credit:Bang Showbiz
ITV 1 commissions new drama based on Justin Fashanu credit:Bang Showbiz

ITV1 has commissioned a new drama based on the lives of John and Justin Fashanu.

The story of the footballing duo will be retold in new drama 'Fash' -and will focus on the peril of former Nottingham Forest star Justin - who was the first openly gay footballer but took his own life at the age of 37 in 1998 - and Norwich City player John, 60, who infamously abandoned his older brother upon learning of his homosexuality.

A press statement read: "'Fash' is the poignant, compelling and heartbreaking story of two complex and conflicted brothers, Justin and John Fashanu, and fearlessly uncompromising exploration of the institutional prejudices which tore them apart

John is serving as a consultant on the series - which has been written by BAFTA nominee Kwame Kwei-Armah - alongside close friend activist Peter Tatchell and a number of other contributors - will be available as a boxset on ITVX once the first episode has aired on ITV1 in 2023.

He said: "I’m so pleased to be working with Kwame and Happy Prince on this project. Much has been said and written about the relationship Justin and I shared over the years, but drama of this type has an ability to delve right to the beating heart and truth of events in a way other media can’t. I feel privileged to play a part in bringing it to the screen."

Meanwhile, Kwame explained that he wanted to "dive into the past" with the project after years of being fascinated with the pair of sports stars.

He said: "I grew up watching the Fashanu brothers. I was fascinated by them. Inspired by them. As an adult, my heart breaks for them. ‘The past is a foreign land’, the saying goes, ‘they do things differently there’. In Fash, I wanted to dive into that past, particularly one that has so many resonances with today