Anthony Welsh

Based on the novel of the same name by Benjamin Myers, The Gallows Pole fictionalises the remarkable true story of the biggest fraud in British history, conducted by the enigmatic David Hartley and the Cragg Vale Coiners in 18^th century Yorkshire. Set against the backdrop of the incoming industrial revolution, David Hartley assembles a gang of weavers and land-workers to embark upon a revolutionary criminal enterprise that will capsize the economy.

Wunmi Mosaku, best known for her work in the award-winning The End of the F***ing World, comes in to audition for a role, but is turned away for being black.

“Look, it’s not that kind of film darling”, the panel says as she enters the audition suite. “They’re auditioning for that other film… Black Panther Returns… That’s in the next suite.”

“It was so awkward and so painful,” recalls writer and director Jessica Swale. “It does make you feel dirty setting that scene up, knowing that it is not that far away from what [Mosaku may] have faced in real life.”