By Abby Robinson

Published: Tuesday, 04 January 2022 at 12:00 am

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Contains information from Anne episodes 3 and 4.

On 15th April 1989, thousands of Liverpool football fans made the journey to Hillsborough Stadium in Sheffield for an FA Cup semi-final match that should have played out like any other.

The major talking point should have been the game itself; prior to kickoff, the worst possible outcome for the visiting supporters should have been watching their team lose. But the tie was abandoned shortly after the referee blew his whistle. There was a crush in the West Stand – or Leppings Lane End – as a consequence of catastrophic mismanagement by South Yorkshire Police, which proved to be deadly.

The events of that day resulted in the deaths of 97 Liverpool fans, the youngest of whom was just 10 years old. Up until July 2021, the number of those claimed by the disaster stood at 96, but 55-year-old Andrew Devine died last year on account of the life-altering injuries he had suffered.

Following the disaster, the police altered their records of the events of the day to ensure that they were not held responsible for what had happened, with a number of press outlets and politicians seizing upon the claims that the blame lay firmly with the Liverpool fans themselves. But that line was firmly and repeatedly rejected by the victims’ families and those who joined their efforts.

Leading from the front was Anne Williams, whose 15-year-old son Kevin lost his life at Hillsborough. Her rallying cries for the truth are the focus of ITV drama Anne, in which Maxine Peake plays the indomitable force of nature.

Anne’s daughter Sara, who we meet as both a child and an adult in the series – further emphasising just how extensive Anne’s commitment to the cause was – is played in her older years by Lily Shepherd. Like Anne, she was also born and raised in Formby and is a Liverpool fan.

As you’d expect, given the weight of the subject matter and her own personal ties to the city, Shepherd “felt the heat” when she was working on the production. “This programme delves into some of the hardest moments of real people’s lives,” she told RadioTimes.com. “We were very lucky that they were letting us tell their story and we owed it to them to treat it with respect and tell it properly.”

One of the most challenging moments for Shepherd was the scene in which Sara is informed that her mother has cancer. The doctor informs the pair that there is no cure and instead, they must focus on pain management. Just a few years later, in 2013, Anne died.

“There’s pressure to do the scene well and it can be hard being emotionally vulnerable in front of people,” she said. “You shoot a scene several times for safety and different shots, so I had to bring the same energy every time.”

But in spite of the great tragedy at the heart of the series and the monumental pain and fury it engendered, there are also moments of warmth, solidarity and tenderness peppered throughout that are just as much a part of this story as the raw agony that still burns bright.

“I loved the Hillsborough 20th anniversary scene,” added Shepherd. “It was great to shoot at Anfield and everybody got their anger out.”

Thanks to Anne Williams and the other families and individuals who dedicated their lives to shining a light on what really happened, much is now known about that fateful day at Hillsborough.

The details have been covered extensively in myriad media forms, from screen to stage to print. But what does Shepherd think people will learn from this drama that they might not already know?

“It’s nice to get an account of Hillsborough and the aftermath from the perspective of the survivors and families who had to live through it themselves, instead of just the authorities and the press,” she said. “There were references to Hillsborough when speaking about hooliganism at the Euro 2020 final, so there is still misinformation spreading 32 years on.

“Also, some survivors worked as story consultants, so Anne will hopefully be a good insight into what actually happened.”

As for what she thinks the real-life Anne would have to say about seeing herself depicted in this way: “That’s hard to say because she sadly isn’t here, but I like to think we did her fight justice, and she deserves her story to be told to the world.”

Anne continues tonight at 9pm on ITV. All four episodes are available to stream now on ITV Hub. Looking for something else to watch? Check out our TV Guide and visit our Drama hub for more news, interviews and features.

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