Domhnall Gleeson & Ian Hart Star in 'When Harvey Met Bob'

Great Meadow Productions commenced shooting on ‘When Harvey met Bob’ on Monday, July 5th and it is to have a three week shoot in Dublin.

Set in October 1984, the drama begins with Bob Geldof arriving home to find his wife, Paula, watching the legendary BBC broadcast by Michael Buerk from the feeding camps in Eritrea province. Bob takes his eyes from the screen only once to see Paula holding their baby and weeping. The rest of the drama sees Bob launch into action to help the Ethiopians affected by the tragedy. Along with music promoter, Harvey Goldsmith, Bob comes up with the idea of Band Aid which saw the release of ‘Do They Know It’s Christmas?’ and the series of Global live concerts that was ‘Live Aid’. The drama’s cast also features Padraic Delaney (The Wind that Shakes the Barley), Owen Roe (Val Falvey T.D.) and Chris Dunlop.

‘When Harvey Met Bob’ is written by Joe Dunlop (Spijkerhoek), directed by Nick Renton (Little White Lie) and produced by Catherine Magee (The Clinic). The executive producers are Robert Cooper and Kate Triggs (Margaret) for Great Meadow Productions and Stephen Wright (Five Minutes of Heaven) and Bethan Jones (Margaret Thatcher: The Long Walk to Finchley) for BBC. It was commissioned by Janice Hadlow Controller of BBC Two and Ben Stephenson, Controller of BBC Drama Commissioning.

Janice Hadlow says of the production: "To mark the 25th anniversary of Live Aid, BBC Two celebrates with an ambitious single drama which tells the story behind the biggest televised international charity event in history and the two inspiring men that made it happen."

Kate Triggs of Great Meadow Productions, further commented on their role, saying: "We were inspired by this story because it has, at its heart, a fantastic relationship that is funny, moving and borne out of the real drama of trying to achieve something huge and unprecedented. It's a film about two men who are prepared to think the unthinkable and achieve the seemingly impossible."

The budget for the project has not been disclosed. ‘When Harvey met Bob’ is expected to broadcast on RTÉ 1 in September and on BBC 1 in October following its post production which will be carried out in Dublin.

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