Faith, Hope and Glory - Series 2: Hope and Jim - a podcast by BBC Radio 4

by Roy Williams

1953. Hope and Jim have attempted to make a life together in Britain since the loss of their baby, Eunice, 7 years earlier, but Jim's infidelities have reached a point that not even Hope can ignore.

Hope ..... Danielle Vitalis
Jim ..... Martins Imhangbe
Celia ..... Shanika Warren Markland
Garrison ..... Justice Ritchie
Lizzy ..... Grace Cooper Milton
Earl .... Chris Jack
Vincent ..... Neil McCaul
Sallow ..... Roger Ringrose
Clement ..... Stefan Adegbola
Matron ..... Christine Kavanagh
Mrs Greene ..... Jasmine Hyde
Sheila ..... Leilana Bermudez
Baby Eunice ..... Olantra Worrell

Directed by Sally Avens

Radio 4 has commissioned Faith Hope and Glory an ambitious new series telling brilliant intimate domestic stories that together illuminate the emergence of modern Britain.

Series 2 is set in 1953 the year of the Coronation, the publication of the Kinsey Report on female sexual behaviour and the sinking of the Princess Victoria passenger ferry with the loss of 133 lives.

In Series 1 we met Hope and Eunice friends from Antigua who came over to London, following Hope's husband Jim.

In 1946, Hope and Jim had a baby that they named after Eunice, but when Jim was unable to hold down a job, and Hope had to work full time, they asked Eunice who was not enjoying life in Britain, to take the baby back to Antigua to Hope's family.

At Tilbury Docks Eunice was tempted into a bar when she heard music and left the pram outside, when she returned the baby was gone. After a futile search for the baby, and too ashamed to admit what she had done, Eunice fled to Cardiff where she changed her name to Faith and started a new life with Trevor a dockworker and musician.

Hope and Jim believe both the baby and Eunice to be dead as the boat they were to sail on was lost at sea.

In fact the baby was found by Gloria and Clement, a childless celibate couple, who decided to bypass any adoption procedures, raise her as their own and call her Joy.

Joy’s life spans the entire series, up to the present day.

The writers are Roy Williams, Winsome Pinnock and Rex Obano
The cast includes Shiloh Coke as Faith, Danielle Vitalis as Hope, and Pippa Bennett Warner as Gloria, together with Gary Beadle as Trevor, Martins Imhangbe as Jim and Stefan Adegbola as Clement.

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