BBC Radio 4, 26 February 2010
The last in a four-part sequel to the original play Bad Faith,
broadcast in July 2008, Nothing Sacred recounted the experience of Jake Thorne (Lenny Henry), a Methodist minister
and police chaplain fighting against his own internal demons as well as trying to relieve the sufferings of his parishioners.
In this episode he tried to counsel a police officer who had lost his memory
as a result of a fatal blaze, as well as dealing with his own father Isaac (Oscar James), whose dementia manifested itself
in a desire to wreak revenge on the whole world, as well as his family. In truth, however, Nothing Sacred was more about Jake's
own failings; his loss of belief and his failure to confront the truth about his own life. We heard a lot from him, as
he talked direct to listeners about his reactions to particular situations, but seldom did he actually bother to
discover what produced such reactions. Instead he protected himself behind a facade of bonhomie; why confront anything
when jokes could be told instead.
Ultimately Jake discovered to his cost that the only person he fooled was himself. Tiring
of a half-life spent with such an emotional infant, his wife Ruth (Jenny Jules) left him, leaving Jake isolated. His
bad faith had ultimately caused bad consequences.
Basically a modern morality-play, stressing the importance of telling the truth both
to other people and (more importantly) to oneself, Nothing Sacred did nothing to discourage the belief that a man
of the cloth is the last person to approach in a crisis.
