Cucumber

Cucumber

Genre	Drama • Comedy • LGBTQ
Created by	Russell T Davies
Written by	Russell T Davies
Directed by	David Evans Alice Troughton Euros Lyn
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Original Language(s)	British English
Production
Producer(s)	Russell T Davies Nicola Shindler Julie Gardner Matt Strevens
Running time	45 minutes
Production company(s)	Red Production Company Adjacent Productions
Distributor	All 4
Release
Original network(s)	Channel 4
Original run	22 January 2015 – 12 March 2015
Related	Banana • Tofu

“	There’s a frustration in not seeing yourself represented, which is completely understandable when you are in a minority or you feel like you are in a minority. It’s much more complicated than that. I think if you saw a laser sharp representation of yourself on screen you wouldn’t recognise it, or you would react against it like it is wrong, because it is like looking at a photo of yourself. No one likes it.	”
	— Russell T Davies

Cucumber is a British television series created by Russell T Davies and aired on Channel 4 in 2015.

Premise

The series focuses on middle-aged Henry Best (Vincent Franklin), following a disastrous date night with his boyfriend of nine years, Lance Sullivan (Cyril Nri). Henry's old life shatters, and he embarks on a new life with unfamiliar rules. Original drama series from Russell T Davies exploring the passions and pitfalls of 21st century gay life, beginning with the most disastrous date night in history.

Starring

Episode Guide

#	Title	Writer	Director	Air Date
1	"Episode One"	Russell T Davies	David Evans	22 January 2015
MALE ERECTIONS – Henry and Lance are contented, but when they embark on a disastrous date night, life will never be the same again. At work, Henry is drawn to the enigmatic Freddie, while Lance greets Daniel.
2	"Episode Two"	Russell T Davies	David Evans	29 January 2015
HENRY'S TEST – Henry begins his new life, but Freddie marks out the battle lines – can they ever be friends, let alone anything more? Lance tries to work out where Henry’s gone and enlists Cleo’s help, but only Cliff is devious enough to work out the truth – and when Henry’s workplace becomes a battleground, the stakes are raised higher than ever.
3	"Episode Three"	Russell T Davies	David Evans	5 February 2015
ORGASM FACES – Henry stumbles into a dangerous trap when Freddie meets his old school teacher, Gregory, and sets out for revenge. Lance takes action and cuts Henry off completely, while at work, Daniel’s attempts to help seem to hint at something more. Is Lance imagining things, or is Daniel not as straight as he seems?
4	"Episode Four"	Russell T Davies	Alice Troughton	12 February 2015
DATE — Henry goes on a date with a complete stranger, while Lance’s long, dark night leads him to an unexpected bed. Across town, everyone’s searching for love, or sex, or both, as Cleo meets an old flame, Freddie hooks up with Anna, and Dean embarks on a mysterious journey into danger.
5	"Episode Five"	Russell T Davies	Alice Troughton	19 February 2015
Henry's secrets and lies catch up with him, while Lance's wildest dreams are in danger of coming true, as Daniel makes an extraordinary move.
6	"Episode Six"	Russell T Davies	Alice Troughton	26 February 2015
Lance tries to work out the truth about Daniel, so Henry takes a final, desperate chance to win his old boyfriend back. But is it too late for any of them to change paths?
7	"Episode Seven"	Russell T Davies	Euros Lyn	5 March 2015
THE FUNERAL – The day of Lance's funeral, Henry is forced to face further tragedies. The situation is not the best even for the rest of the gang, who despite themselves hath been found involved in this affair. Henry, Freddie and Dean are trapped together when a manhunt goes wrong, and some long-buried truths are revealed. Marie arrives to take charge.
8	"Episode Eight"	Russell T Davies	Euros Lyn	12 March 2015
THE COLLECTIVE – Everyone gets caught up in Henry's grand scheme, and life appears to be perfect. As events of the past catch up with them all, Henry reaches out to family, friends and lovers to survive, and yet he still has to face the greatest challenge of all.

Production

In development since 2006, the two interlinked series are joined by 4oD's Tofu — an online documentary companion to both shows that presents a frank and revealing look at modern sex in all its variety. ^[1]

Envisioned as a "spiritual sequel" to the seminal 1999–2000 Channel 4 series Queer as Folk, the series presents itself as an intergenerational drama that aims to portray a real-life perspective of LGBTQ people.^[1]

Russell T Davies says, “The worlds of Cucumber and Banana show an ever-changing city – from the centre to the suburbs, and all sorts of corners in between. And filling those streets, I wanted a wealth of characters; some of my own creation, but with other writers coming into Banana to give different perspectives on men and women. I hope we’ve created quite a kaleidoscope. Not just different sexualities, but people of different ages, class, ethnicity, attitudes, you name it! Just like any city in Britain today. A city UKIP would try to demolish – what a wonderful place to live! So here’s a guide to some of the faces you’ll get to see over the eight weeks...” ^[2]

Russell T Davies confirmed that Cucumber is a one-and-done story and will not return for a series 2. However, he has discussed possible second series of spin-off shows Banana and Tofu with broadcaster Channel 4.

"No – Cucumber comes to an end. It has a beginning, middle and an end - so you can write an article about it being axed! But we're talking about Banana because it's an anthology series and I've loved discovering new writers and new directors with it, so that could continue... Part of us is dying to continue. I went into this saying it would be one year only for the whole thing - then you make it and you think, 'Oh, it'd be nice to make some more of those' and you're tempted back..." ^[1]

The titles of all three shows come from a scientific study into the male erection which divided the erection into a hardness scale consisting of tofu, peeled banana, banana, and cucumber; upon reading the study, Davies remarked that, "right there and then, I knew I had my drama." ^[3]

Logo TV and BBC Worldwide North America announced a production deal for Logo TV to co-produce with Channel 4, and the programmes are slated to premiere on Logo TV in early 2015.^[4]

Trivia

Ten things you need to know about hit series' Cucumber, Banana and Tofu.
Following his work on the anthology series, Russell T Davies began working on a new Channel 4 drama series about the effect of the AIDS epidemic on young gay men in Britain. The working title, The Boys, was later changed to It's A Sin. ^[5]
According to Russell T Davies, Banana had potential for further instalments. However, Channel 4 did not renewed it for more series.
Cucumber was nominated for the GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding TV Movie or Limited Series.^[6]