Catch up TV

Episode 15 September 2023

Line of Duty actor Tommy Jessop is on a mission to create his own movie with the help of his brother Will. Is Hollywood ready for a superhero with Down's syndrome?\n\nTommy is an award-winning actor and activist with Down's syndrome. He has starred in high-profile TV programmes and short films, and now he wants to be a leading man. But the right roles are not being offered to him. \n\nTommy wants to show that people with Down's syndrome can play heroes and so, inspired by the advice of his agent, he has decided to take matters into his own hands. \n\nEnlisting the help of his brother, film-maker Will Jessop, Tommy sets off on an epic creative journey to develop his own superhero movie. Tommy names his superhero Roger in honour of his teddy bear and bases Roger’s superpowers on his own experiences of being someone with Down's syndrome. Tommy sometimes feels as if the world does not understand or value people like him – he, and his super-powered alter ego, are determined to change that.\n\nTommy’s dream is to pitch Roger the Superhero in Hollywood, and he’s not one to take no for an answer. The brothers call in every favour they can think of and use guerrilla tactics as they try to get Tommy’s movie off the ground, from enlisting their mum as a stunt driver to sending video messages to famous actors asking them to play Tommy’s baddie. They even manage to charm their way into a stunt training day to shoot an action trailer, with Tommy facing off against a small army of bad guys. Amazingly, the bolder and more ambitious they are, the more it seems to pay off. And as the film idea develops, so too does the brothers’ relationship and their understanding of each other.\n\nSoon, Tommy and Will are jumping on a plane to Hollywood for their first trip abroad together on their own. The brothers romp through La La Land, singing along to S Club 7, making new A-list friends and preparing for the ultimate test: a pitch in front of a top Hollywood producer with the power to make Roger the Superhero a reality. Can the brothers’ trip to Tinseltown deliver Tommy’s dream?\n\nThis documentary has been created by Tommy and Will Jessop together, and it is their first collaboration since 2014’s Emmy-nominated Growing Up Down’s for BBC Three. Both of the brothers have a camera, and their different perspectives make for a warm, funny and highly original film with a powerful undercurrent of emotion. Tommy never hides away from the challenges he faces as someone with Down's syndrome. \n\nThis is as much a personal story about two brothers as it is an epic real-life superhero flick as Tommy chases his Hollywood ending!

Source: BBC 1