Frank Allcroft tells terrible jokes. To millions of people.
As a presenter on Midlands TV's regional news, Frank is a long way from journalism's cutting edge, and he knows it. Fifteen years ago, Frank hired gag-writer Cyril to inject some humour into his thoroughly unremarkable reports – of pie-baking contests, local crime and spectacular non-events. Cyril's gags turned out to be as pitiful as his CV, but the worse the jokes have got, the higher Frank's ratings have climbed. To his co-presenter Julia's intense annoyance, Frank is now officially 'the unfunniest man on god's earth' and a certified local legend.
It's a strange sort of success, but it seems to work, perhaps because Frank's ambitions have never extended much beyond his family and home: his wife, Andrea, who makes him feel comfortable in his skin (most of the time); and his daughter, Mo, whose questions bring the world alive. But as Frank reflects on his late father's legacy and what he in turn will… (tovább)
Frank Allcroft tells terrible jokes. To millions of people.
As a presenter on Midlands TV's regional news, Frank is a long way from journalism's cutting edge, and he knows it. Fifteen years ago, Frank hired gag-writer Cyril to inject some humour into his thoroughly unremarkable reports – of pie-baking contests, local crime and spectacular non-events. Cyril's gags turned out to be as pitiful as his CV, but the worse the jokes have got, the higher Frank's ratings have climbed. To his co-presenter Julia's intense annoyance, Frank is now officially 'the unfunniest man on god's earth' and a certified local legend.
It's a strange sort of success, but it seems to work, perhaps because Frank's ambitions have never extended much beyond his family and home: his wife, Andrea, who makes him feel comfortable in his skin (most of the time); and his daughter, Mo, whose questions bring the world alive. But as Frank reflects on his late father's legacy and what he in turn will leave behind, one news report of a particularly sad and lonely death catches his eye. Digging further into the past, he uncovers a story of thwarted hopes and a friendship tested with the ultimate request.
Both brilliantly funny and heartbreakingly sad, The News Where You Are is a blisteringly sharp satire on modern Britain, a moving exploration of loss, and an uplifting portrait of what makes us human, which shows that what remains of us is love.