Cast of The More You Ignore Me announced

The cast has been announced for Jo Brand’s first film.

The More You Ignore Me is based on her novel and revolves around a child coping with her mother's schizophrenia.

Sheridan Smith is taking the lead role of Gina, with Ella Hunt as her daughter Alice. Shooting starts in Blackpool today.

Former Two Pints Of Lager star Smith recently finished her West End run in Funny Girl, and will be returning to TV as one of the narrators in Crackanory. She won acclaim in 2014 for her TV portrayal as Cilla Black (pictured)

The cast features many familiar faces, including Sally Phillips, Sheila Hancock, Ricky Tomlinson, Lisa Stansfield, Tom Davies and Brand herself.

As Chortle reported in September, the film is set in the 1980s and is set to the songs of The Smiths, while drawing on Brand’s experiences as a former psychiatric nurse

Producers Genesius Pictures say the film ‘provides a sometimes stark, yet comical insight into life within this quirky household, whilst addressing mental health issues and their impact on the family’.

The More You Ignore Me is the debut feature from award winning commercials director Keith English, who has said: ‘It’s not often you read scripts as unusual and as good as this one. Jo has used all her insight gained during her years as a psychiatric health worker  to create a story that pulls no punches, but makes you laugh and leaves you with a wonderfully positive feeling at the end.’

Speaking to the Independent when The More You Ignore Me novel was published in 2009, Brand said that she 'wanted to show that a woman like Gina who is disturbed and dirty, because she's neglected herself – that that doesn't mean that there isn't someone that could love her.

'You don't really see ugly people that are old, or a bit grotty and smelly, in the media. If a Martian came down, they would think we were all tall, thin, attractive and wealthy.'

Published: 7 Nov 2016