‘I, Daniel Blake’ Actor Dave Johns & ‘Life Is Sweet’ Star Alison Steadman Lead UK Comedy-Drama ’23 Walks’

EXCLUSIVE: I, Daniel Blake star Dave Johns and Life Is Sweet and Gavin & Stacey star Alison Steadman are starring in UK grey-pound comedy-drama 23 Walks, from the producers of Swimming With Men and Carol Morley’s Out Of Blue.

The film marks a return to the director’s chair after more than a decade for Wondrous Oblivion and Little Ashes director Paul Morrison, whose 2000 drama Solomon & Gaenor was Oscar-nominated for Best Foreign Language Film. Morrison has also written the script. Above is a first look.

23 Walks follows pensioners Dave and Fern, two strangers who meet walking their dogs in a North London park. Over the course of twenty-three walks together romance begins to blossom but the two also hide secrets which could derail their newfound love.

Pic is currently in the middle of a production hiatus as it waits for spring to shoot the scheduled second block of principle photography. The feature shot its first block of filming in the winter of 2018 in locations across north London and will wrap in May 2019.

Stewart le Maréchal and Anna Mohr-Pietsch of MetFilm Production, and Maggie Monteith of Dignity Film Finance are producing. Chris Reed of Freebie Films takes on exec producer duties.