Anne

Some might say that after the Jimmy McGovern drama on the Hillsborough football disaster there would be little more to add about the tragic events of that fateful day in April 1989 but not so. There are hundreds of stories about Hillsborough, from those who were directly impacted by the events of that day, to those who were subsequently affected by it later. The fight for justice and truth far exceeded the narrative of the 1996 drama and in many ways still continues to this day. One of the key individuals who fought for justice for her son was Anne Williams, who lost her son, Kevin aged 15. Williams co-authoured a book about her experiences (When You Walk Through A Storm) but her campaigning for justice went far beyond that. She took her case to the European Court of Human Rights.

Anne is the story of this incredible woman and I know she was incredible because I was lucky enough to meet her in person. Everything that she was is brilliantly brought to life in this drama by a tour de force performance by Maxine Peake. Her husband Steve (played by the hugely underrated Stephen Walters, who also appeared as Ian Glover in the 1996 drama) is the perfect pairing opposite her and fine casting on the part of the Casting Director. We follow their search for the truth which ultimately pulls their family apart. The production expertly recreates the scenes from that tragic day and all that followed in the wake of one of the worst catastrophes in the history of British football. The bigger horror of course was the way these individuals were treated and the extent to which the cover-up permeated every element of the subsequent events. The film conveys these in a visceral way which takes you firmly back to all that those who lost someone experienced. It's raw and brutal and Walters and Maxine relive every moment of it as if they lived it themselves. The number 51 scene alone is Oscar-worthy for both of these actors.

Anne Williams and her family are the people whose stories deserve to be told and I am so glad that a project which was no doubt tough to get funding, found a way to get made. People like Williams are the unsung heroes of humanity. Her like are the people who should be on the honours list. Ultimately she came to represent the best of us and this drama has done her justice. When her life became all about that same word - Justice. Producers, director, writers, cast, and production team, you have done her proud. I will raise a glass to Anne and you all tonight. First-rate superb drama.

Summary: Anne - first rate, acting, direction, writing - the type of drama we should be making.

This was a heartbreaking watch. It was television drama at its very finest on every level. The story of Hillsborough has been told many times, but this drama took it to a new level. The pin-point attention to detail and the acting was of the highest calibre. One of ITV's finest productions in recent memory. They have done Anne Williams and the victims of Hillsborough proud.

When my wife suggested that we watch this four-part ITV drama from earlier this year, I wasn't sure if I was up to it, knowing that it would be a tough watch, documenting as it does the struggles of Liverpool mother, Anne Williams, to achieve justice for all the 96, later 97 victims of the Hillsborough football disaster in 1989, whose number tragically included her own fifteen year-old son Kevin who she'd only reluctantly allowed to attend the game.

Not only did all the relatives have to undergo the shock and loss of their loved ones at what was a national sporting event, an F. A. Cup semi-final, they were all led by the authorities to believe that the victims had all died by 3.15, fifteen minutes after the game had kicked off and worse still that the conduct of the supposedly out-of-control drunken fans on the day had contributed to what was officially pronounced the "accidental death" of all the deceased.

But at their son's own inquest, Anne and her second husband, her children's stepdad, encounter a serving policeman who had tried to administer mouth-to-mouth resuscitation to their son around 3.30 which clearly contradicted the official version of events. This sets Anne on a path of determining the exact circumstances of her son's last minutes and leads to her horrific discovery that if he and several others of the deceaed could have had access to the prompt medical treatment they should have had by right, over forty of them could possibly have survived. She then tracks down an off-duty health worker who actually helped carry her son out of the crush and onto the pitch and a woman who heard him utter the word "Mum" again, just before he died, well after the official 3.15 time of supposed death.

It takes time for her to find a way out of her grief but we see her eventually hook up with supportive people in authority including a female council officer with whom she strikes up a friendship and a sympathetic local lawyer to unceasingly probe for answers. Despite setback after setback from authority figures who either aren't or don't want to be convinced by the mounting evidence, she keeps on keeping on, pursuing whoever was the Home Secretary of the day, through changing governments, before finally achieving a breakthrough.

Tragically this by then had taken well over twenty years and in the interim cost her both her marriage and her health as she succumbs to cancer but at least she dies knowing that the Hillsborough victims were just that, victims and weren't in any material way and certainly not accidentally, the cause of their own deaths.

Maxine Peake rightly won acclaim for her committed performance as the untiring Williams, who by the end of the exhaustive process was recognised as the figurehead of the Justice for the 96 (later 97) tragic victims that day.

There are still outstanding issues today which will now likely go unanswered as to who was ultimately responsible for the terrible decision-making which turned a much anticipated football match into an infamous national disaster.

This was a story which deserved to be told and hopefully helped correct once and for all, any lingering misconceptions stoked by the gutter press as to what happened on that terrible day as well as documenting the unstinting effort and courage of one ordinary woman's determination to get to the truth.

Growing up in Liverpool I've heard A lot about this disaster and the woman who started the campaign for justice for the victims.

But sadly she died years before the victims got justice. It great to see her story finally be told all these years later.

I really felt that this drama was handled in a very real and realistic way! The excellent acting from all the cast was balanced ,the contradictions came thick and fast and the approach from Kevin's mom;another excellent performance from Maxine Peake.