Season three of Big Boys hits screens this evening (Sunday, February 9) and marks the final outing for the critically-acclaimed Channel 4 comedy-drama. The show is a semi-autobiographical take on writer Jack Rooke’s own experiences of grief and coming out as a young gay teenager. Big Boys first started off life as a stage show a decade ago, which Rooke took to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, before it morphed into a sitcom adored by audiences today.
Big Boys splashed onto screens in 2022 and followed a teenage version of the writer (played by Dylan Llewellyn). At the heart of Big Boys is the friendship between Jack and his best mate and lad’s lad Danny (Jon Pointing) with the unlikely duo forming a firm bond. Many might be interested to know the inspiration for the character of Danny. The character is an amalgam of several of the writer’s male friends, with Rooke revealing “three of them are still here, and one of them isn’t” in an interview with the Evening Standard from 2022.
Rooke sadly lost his friend to suicide in 2015, and the topic of male mental health and grief are close to him with these themes underscoring his work. The writer previously authored the 2020 book Cheer the F**K Up: How to Save your Best Friend, a moving yet comedic memoir and guide to mental health. In the book, Rooke looked at grief, sexuality and depression in a humorous way and also encouraged others to have difficult conversions with loved ones who may be struggling.
Rooke is also a mental health advocate and has worked with the charity Campaign Against Living Miserably - or CALM - as an ambassador. In an interview with the charity, he said: “I’ve lost a friend, so I feel like I can come at it from all angles. I think the fact that I’m not a psychologist is better because I’m just talking from experience, and I’m giving another perspective as somebody who’s lived through it, as well as being an ambassador for CALM for a really long time.”.
In writing Big Boys, Rooke has also said he wanted to explore the friendships between gay and straight men, something he felt wasn’t depicted often enough on screen. With the show now coming to an end with its third and final season, Rooke said it was “huge honour” to give Big Boys a “proper sendoff”. Adding: “I’ve known the ending since the pilot, and I hope it still represents those first Edinburgh shows but also the collaborative genius of our incredible cast, crew and creative team. I’ll be indebted to them always for giving me the funniest, happiest years making Big Boys one to - three. Thank you!”.
