He spoke to Christian Today about why he particularly wanted to write The Passion and the unexpected journey of discovery that penning the series has been for him.
CT: Were you sceptical at all or concerned that you wouldn’t have the freedom to remain faithful to the cross and resurrection of Jesus as the Bible tells it?
FD: It actually happened the other way around. I read in the newspaper that Peter Fincham, the controller of BBC One, wanted to do The Passion as a series across Easter week and I felt very drawn to the project and contacted the BBC, for whom I have written many dramas previously, and asked to be considered.
It is hard to say in those early meetings. It becomes very much a journey, and it is one that is a collaboration as well and one that has to be taken with a measure of good faith and trust and also requires that one is open to being surprised. But what I felt was that the BBC were taking a very responsible position in wanting to do a faithful adaptation but one that worked as a drama for a prime time audience, which is a big ambition, but one that I certainly found exciting,
CT: Knowing that your audience was going to be a mix of Christians and non-Christians what did you feel you wanted to convey - or indeed get away from - in your telling of The Passion?
FD: One of the things I wanted to get away from was a telling of the story of The Passion in which the majesty of Jesus is assumed and one in which a great deal of knowledge of the story and Christianity is assumed.
What I personally was fascinated by was the duality of Jesus in his divinity and his humanity. The more I read about it the more it became clear to me that this is essentially a mystery but his humanity has to be total otherwise he is somewhat of a tourist in his own Passion.
The Gospel accounts do differ. In Mark and in Matthew I found a very human Jesus whereas in John he seems almost all the time conscious of his eternal life. I was drawn by the human Jesus who goes to Gethsemane and pleads for his destiny, for the cup to be taken away, and is essentially met by God’s silence. I was touched by the transformation of that pain and suffering into something that is greater and transcends suffering and turns it into something more meaningful through sacrifice and love. So the redemptive story was very attractive to me.
