Trespasses new C4 drama starts 9pm Sunday 9 November 2025

[IwantToRetire]

Heartbreaking drama set in 1970s Northern Ireland.

When young Catholic teacher Cushla falls for a married Protestant man, their secret passion ignites a dangerous love that defies the Troubles divide.

Based on the book Trespasses by Louise Kennedy

Seems to have quite good reviews.

https://www.channel4.com/programmes/trespasses

All episodes seem ot be available on line.

I was really pissed off with the ending.

What was that about?

Some sort of mystical therapy type thing. Dont worry you can live through sectarian violence, have your work place bombed, the man your obsessed with killed by a young boy who was so ignorant he actual shot a "friend".

Just the sort of family history you want to reminise about in later years.

I even looked at one those web sites that explain endings to you, and I just thought what a waste.

I did wonder as there was a shot of her being sick down the toilet whether she was pregnant, but seems not.

I thought there would be some final scence when should would be explaining to her child about their father.

If there was a sulk emoji I would use it.

Im so glad I stuck with this, I nearly didn't after the first episode, due to the sound. I watched the 3rd and 4th this evening (with subtitles to help) and was engrossed. I thought the whole cast (in particular wee Davy) were fantastic. Can't stop thinking about young Cushla and imagining her life from then to the final scene.

I agree that the ending felt rushed; the book goes into more detail about Cushla’s and Davy’s later life, what happened to Tommy and Gerry etc. That could have been included to make a more rounded conclusion.

The egg was from the old guy at the pub who always used to bring one in his pocket and eat it at the bar. He had realised that Cushla and Michael were in love and he was trying to acknowledge that.

Some sort of mystical therapy type thing. Dont worry you can live through sectarian violence, have your work place bombed, the man your obsessed with killed by a young boy who was so ignorant he actual shot a "friend".

But that is the realty. People in Northern Ireland lived through horrific traumas in the 70s, 80s and early 90s and guess what they are getting on with it today in 2025 trying to live as best they can with their trauma it is the reality for many of my friends, people have no idea. A friends Dad died recently he was an alcoholic and died from complications associated with it, my friend would consider him a victim of the troubles using alcohol for the past 30 years to numb the trauma

Remember him sitting in the pub I was thinking it was a symbolic thing of a catholic woman being given it as she’d been seeing a Protestant! Was looking too deeply. Thank you for replying.

Dont worry you can live through sectarian violence, have your work place bombed, the man your obsessed with killed by a young boy who was so ignorant he actual shot a "friend"

It was our normal though, we just got on with it. It's said that NI as a collective basically has low level PTSD. I'm in my 50s and it's only really now that when I look back at it, I think 'well that was all a bit bonkers wasn't it'. Plus, as much as there's 'peace' here now, it never fully went away, we still live alongside terrorists on both sides controling communities and committing violent acts

@BeserkingTuesday There is no real back story to my comment. It's just highlighting the point that many (most?) young children were exposed to sectarian points-of-view as part of growing up in context of both school and religion. At least that was the case in my area as a preteen (I went to boarding school in England afterwards).

Was the brother the same guy who ran the sweet shop in Derry Girls?

It was about the priest having a son. Not unknown but unusual. I think I picked you up wrong.

My comment about the ending was that it presented a bland everyone is fine, its all just art exihibitions.

I am not that silly, and have had tv etc., to inform me, that living with experiences of trauma and loss, does leave live long damage. eg in the first series of Blue Lights this was a very strong theme.

It was just so bland.

Even if it was just about getting on with it, there was no acknowledgement of that.

Just a mawkish touching of the statue.

For many viewers it would just have been a "happy ending".

And it betrayed the extent to which the earlier episodes had made it explicit that no on, although some more than others, had / is impacted.

At least instead of a cliched walk by the river, some conversation between them.

It was as though running away from the reality.

I wonder if they were pressurised to wind it up in the bland way.

@IwantToRetire, the tv series reflects the book and ending is similar, the sculpture is of Michael.

I'm half way through episode 4. Could someone remind me who Mr Gallagher is?

I suppose it depends on what if anything is said or thoughts had prior to that scene.

As shown on tv it just sort of dismisses the reality.

Gallgher is the local IRA big man

Is Gallagher in the book? I only read it recently and I have no recollection of him at all!

Me too. Sweet Jesus 🥵

Loyalist paramilitaries. Presumably because they took in Davy's family when they were burned out by their protestant neighbours.

Had to quickly scroll through as only started having watched two episodes. I found it very true to life with the sets , clothes and the situations presented . Lots of people around Belfast lived in mixed communities like this with an uneasy peace . Thought Gillian was great and the family dynamics with her brother very familiar. But Michael just physically seemed too big and old man for Cushla and him to look good together. She looked far too young for him . Now Gerry and her looked like they should be a couple . Think his friends were so typical educated Protestant Ascendancy types finding it trendy to learn Irish and include Michael's latest bit of stuff . Not impressed with his declarations of love as wonder how many others there had been . And I was annoyed at Cushla staying with him knowing this plus his being a married man.

But Tom Cullen is definitely a ride .

This is a very sobering watch If anyone is interested in lived experiences. Sorry no good at links but it was on bbc iplayer

share.google/images/SRs1bFRH1fxSmH9kw

I thought this was very good. I was a teen in the 1970’s and this absolutely captured the essence of that era.
I’m sure I would have fell for Michael in that scenario, tale as old as time but often true nonetheless.
I lived in England but the programme really did transport me back to the 70’s.
Gillian Anderson was great and I’m so glad her character stepped up in the end.
I want to adopt Davy. What a gorgeous sweet kid.

Been a long time since I've watched something that got me emotional (thought my heart had turned in to a swinging brick!) but I loved this, if love is the right word. Knew it would end in heartbreak but didn't realise I'd feel so sad, I don't think it was just sadness for them, but sadness for everyone who went through (and as mentioned by others, thanks to ongoing ptsd) still goes through the troubles. The disruption we felt in London (one of my first jobs included training on how to deal with coded warning messages) was just so minimal in comparison but we felt it nonetheless.

If I had one complaint it was the total jump from young Cushla to old Cushla - I wanted to know where she had been in between, had she managed to live a 'normal' life etc. But I guess that wasn't what the programme wanted to concentrate on (was it in the book at all?).

I do want to watch Say Nothing but acutely aware of how unhappy Jean McConville's children were about the programme makes me feel bad. Is it a bit car crash tv watching stuff like that,or is it no different to any other true crime/drama show?

In real life Tom Cullen is 40 and Lola Petticrew is 29. I read a review that said his character was meant to be twice her age, so he was playing older and she was playing younger.

@TitsInAbsentia, in the book it goes from the bombed bar to meeting Davy by the sculpture and adds a few sentences about their lives in the present time.

So there really is nothing in between. Ah well, good to know thank you!

https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episodes/p0ff7cg0/once-upon-a-time-in-northern-ireland