• Robson Green – Michael Warren
• Saira Todd – Stephanie Warren
• Corey J Smith – Jamie Warren
• Judith Barker – Nancy Warren
• Helen Kirkby – Carol
• Glyn Grain – Peter
• Amy Searles – Lisa
• Craig Rogan – Blackie
• Roger Morlidge – Fred
• Ken Bradshaw – Col
• Henry Miller – Buzz

• Writer – Alison Hume
• Director of Photography – Dominic Clemence
• Executive Producer – Sandra Jobling and Jon East
• Director – Jon East

Beaten is a one-off production by Coastal Productions for BBC Daytime and was filmed on location in Newcastle upon Tyne.

Beaten was nominated for the Royal Television Society (RTS) Awards for Coastal/ BBC1.

2.2 million viewers, 36% of the audience, watched this drama on its UK debut transmission on Monday 14 March 2005 at 2.05pm, making it the leader for its time slot.

On it’s prime-time showing, 2.8 million viewers tuned in on Wednesday 25 May 2005 at 9.00pm, although the biggest rating winner that night was the Champion League finals which saw Liverpool emerge victorious and ITV taking viewers from all channels that night!

It was in September 2004 that Alison Sharman, director of BBC Daytime, commissioned Robson Green’s company (Coastal Productions) to produce an exceptional one-hour drama, scheduled for the following year, starring him.

Beaten was the first BBC commission for Coastal, created 8 years earlier. In 2003, Robson starred in Venus and Mars as part of Afternoon Plays, one of BBC Daytime’s hit series.

Robson Green said: “This commission from Alison Sharman is fantastic news for Coastal and it’s great to be working with the BBC again. Beaten will raise many important issues and I’m really excited to be working with Jon East and Alison Hume.”

Alison Sharman, meanwhile, says: “Beaten is a powerful and thought-provoking drama that will provoke audiences and we are delighted to be collaborating with Robson again.”

Jon East, director and executive producer for Coastal / BBC1, talks about his film: “The drama stars Robson Green and Saira Todd, a married couple who live with the spectre of domestic violence. Often hallucinatory, it also explores questions of perception and hope through multiple flashbacks and interspersed memories.”

Robson Green was aware that his rebranding could shock his fans since he appears (at first) as a violent man who beats his wife. He said in February 2005: “I just finished a film called Beaten, which is about a violent relationship that you discover through the eyes of a young boy. It’s certainly the most controversial film I’ve ever made.”

“I think it’s a very important and innovative play because it deals with things that we don’t talk about. And it’s written by a woman. “

“Michael is an ex-boxer, a dock worker in Newcastle, who seems to use his wife as a punching bag. Apparently I am violent, my wife’s face is swollen – and people think I am hitting her.”

Robson explains how the drama depicts a complicated situation behind appearances. “Their son witnessed this scene, so he believes that his father is brutalising his mother. We then begin to reveal little by little the particular reason that explains this act. You put yourself on the side of the woman – and then, I hope your beliefs suddenly change.”

“Then in the end you don’t take anyone’s side, but empathise with the boy, who is really at the end of this mental misunderstanding.”

“There is nothing extraordinary about the man. You don’t see why he would be involved in something like that. He is a hard-working man in a shipyard, who loves his wife, adores his son, and loves his home. “

“Beaten is incredibly clever, but very simple to tell. It’s about how, sometimes,” Robson reveals, “people get involved in incredibly unhealthy relationships — and how they try to convince themselves that everything will be okay, when in reality, it’s not normal.”

“I’m really excited about this movie, because when we developed the script, we thought that if we got the rights, it was going to sweep people’s minds. This will really change the perception of what we hear about domestic violence.”

It was one of the few performances for the BBC by Robson, a man who did not hesitate and liked to get things done. Although Robson admits that everything he knows about the UK, he learned from the BBC, he misses the way they work.

“There’s so much more to do with the BBC, the way they work and the amount of stuff you have to put up with. They take forever to decide what to do.

“I don’t have time! Let’s get to work. Let’s go! There’s so much hell to go through in BBC development. You have to go through so many departments. So many people are obsessed with the title rather than the storylines. It’s just ridiculous.”