Channel 4's Pure is a groundbreaking new drama about a woman with OCD
Pure is a fresh and groundbreaking new drama from Channel 4, which examines one young woman's struggle with a form of OCD that manifests itself in distressing intrusive thoughts.
The six-part series - adapted from the acclaimed biography from Rose Cartwright - centres on 24-year-old Marnie, who is caught in the grip of an excruciating form of obsessive compulsive disorder, nicknamed 'pure O'. These obsessions take the form of intrusive sexual thoughts, and the compulsions are unseen mental rituals that deeply affect her daily life.
Pure O is a lesser known form of OCD, and stands for 'purely obsessional'. Mental health charity Mind says: "If you have Pure O you will still experience mental compulsions - but you might not be aware of them. Because they are not as obvious as physical compulsions it can sometimes be difficult to define exactly what these compulsions are."
At breaking point, Marnie packs a bag and, with no plan, jumps on a coach to London. In the city, Marnie soon discovers she's not the only one who's lost, and makes a gang of new friends all with their own foibles. She move in with her deceptively cheery old school friend Shereen, and befriends Charlie, who is in recovery due to his porn addiction. He's now single, stuck with an old-school flip-phone and attends weekly Sex Addicts Anonymous meetings.
Queen among Marnie's new gang is journalist and ladies-woman, Amber who has been gaining a problematic reputation for her promiscuity. Then there's Amber's housemate, the irresistible Joe whom Marnie shares a will-they-won't-they romance.
Charly Clive makes her TV debut as Marnie, and stars alongside Black Mirror's Joe Cole who plays Charlie, Kiran Sonia Sawar plays Shereen, and The Bisexual's Niamh Algar stars as Amber.
The 25-year-old actress was cast in the show after producers watched her and best friend Ellen Robertson's comedy sketch, Britney, on Vimeo. Britney was named after the brain tumour Charly was diagnosed with in 2015.
Speaking to Channel 4, Charly revealed: "Britney, our first Edinburgh show which we've subsequently done in London a few times - it was about my brain tumour which I was diagnosed with a couple of years back.
"My best friend, who's also an actor and writer, moved in to my family home for all of the treatments and surgeries and that period of time. And while we were going through all of that, she kept saying, 'We should do a show about this!', which planted the seeds."
Director Aneil Karia added: "When I read the Pure script, it was immediately apparent the show wanted to do something bold and different - but crucially, not just for the sake of being different. Its difference was an intrinsic part of it, much like Marnie's difference is a difficult but immovable part of her.
"Beyond its portrayal of mental illness it was, more broadly, exploring something more universal - the process of moving to a new city and having to figure out who you are versus who you think you're supposed to be. There was a lot to like."
Pure is due for release on Channel 4 at 10pm on Wednesday 30th January.
('You Might Also Like',)
