01x02 - Episode 2

[bunniefuu]

Tony Conroy?

So, this is what you're doing now?

Driving a cab? Yeah.

27 years loyal service,

so they could just throw me

on the scrapheap.

You lost your job

because your face didn't fit?

There must have been

more to it than that, Tony.

I taught science.

How about I pick your brains

sometime over a coffee?

Ow!

Ste, my ex, he won't leave me alone.

Protect the vulnerable

and those who have no-one

to look out for them.

Well, folks, the sun

is rising over the Mersey,

so it's time for me to sign off

for another night.

ON RADIO: 'But before we go, we're

getting reports of a hit-and-run

'near West Derby Road.'

SIRENS BLARE

'So, as always, my friends,

please stay vigilant and stay safe

'because there are

some crazy people out there.

'This has been me,

Lawrence Brightway, on Night Talk.'

PHONE LINE RINGS

VOICEMAIL:

'It's Tony, leave a message.'

BEEP

'Tony, it's Jimmy. What time

are you dropping the cab over at?'

BEEP

'Tony, are you dropping the cab

over this morning or what?'

BEEP

'Tony, answer your bloody phone!'

BEEP

'Come on, Tony, I need the cab,

mate! Come on, I need the cab.'

ROSA: 'Hi, Tony,

I just picked up your messages.

'Sorry you were worried about me,

but I had to turn my phone off.

'Ste wouldn't stop calling me.'

Jimmy, er, it's me.

JIMMY: 'Tony, where are you?

Is everything OK?'

Yeah, listen, erm,

yeah, I'm OK, yeah.

Listen, erm

we got a problem with the cab.

'Cab? Ah, shite, Tony.

Did you have a crash or something?'

No, no, it's nothing major.

I think it's probably the cam belt,

or something.

'Right, well, get it over

to me and I'll get it to my guy.

'He'll sort it.'

Yeah, I

'I need the cab on the road, Tony.'

Yeah, I'll sort it.

I'll sort it, OK.

'Every day it's off the road

costs me a bloody fortune.'

OK, all right,

yeah, two days tops, mate. Yeah.

'Two days max, Tony, all right?'

Yeah, leave it with me.

'All right, bye.'

OK, bye. Bye, bye.

WOMAN: 'Police have now named the

victim of this morning's hit-and-run

'as 48-year-old Steven Murray.

'Murray remains in a critical

condition in hospital,

'and police are continuing

to appeal for witnesses.

'As they look to examine

'CCTV footage from the area

around the incident,

'our reporter

Shauna Williamson spoke

'to DS Marshall,

who is investigating the case.'

DS MARSHALL: 'We would like to

appeal to anyone who might have seen

'anything suspicious this morning

to come forward.

'We know it was the early hours

of the morning, but the incident

'took place on West Derby Road,

which is a busy thoroughfare,

'and we are very confident

somebody will have seen something.

'This was

a particularly nasty incident,

'in which the victim

was left lying in the street

'with life-threatening injuries.

'It's imperative

we find the person responsible

'for this callous

and cowardly attack

'and bring them before the court,

'before they commit

any further offence.'

LAWRENCE:

'So, the victim of the hit-and-run

'was Steven Murray,

'he's got a list of convictions

the length of my arm.

'He's been done

for selling class A drugs,

'he's been done for fraud,

deception, burglary,

'and as*ault -

no less than three times.

'That's right, folks, you

heard me correctly - three times!

'So I think we can safely say

that our friend Mr Murray

'has been something of a menace

to society.'

But even so, are there ever any

circumstances when it's acceptable

to take the law into your own hands

and to meet out justice?

I mean, you know,

we're all capable of losing it.

'Myself as much as the next person,

'but but surely

it can never be justified?

'Eddie, my friend,

you are on Night Talk.

'What's on your mind, mate?

EDDIE: 'Rat, lad! And d'you know

what, that Ste Murray is a rat.

'And I bet

the rest of his family are rats.

'And d'you know what,

the only way to deal with rats is

'to exterminate them before they

bring any more rats into the world.'

Right! Well, you know,

thanks for that nugget, Eddie.

Er, Sue?

SUE: 'Lawrence,

I'm afraid I don't think

'we're gonna see eye to eye

on this one.

'Yeah, and why's that, Sue?

'Because people are fed up with

the Ste Murrays of the world.

'Oh, Sue, isn't he

the actual victim in all of this?

'Oh, don't make me laugh!

'Well, he is in hospital

on life support.

'And that's not really

a laughing matter, is it, Sue?

'But what if Ste Murray hurt

someone close to you, Lawrence?

'Your daughter or your wife?

How would you feel?

'I hear what you're saying, Sue.'

'I'm not sure you do, Lawrence.'

Oh? Come on, Sue, I mean,

two wrongs, they don't make a right.

'No, we'll just have

to agree to disagree.

'Ok, Sue, well, thanks for that.

'You look after yourself,

and give my love to Kenny.'

'Ah, thanks, love.'

'Sam from Speke,

you're on the line.'

SAM: 'All right, Lawro,

so, are you saying

'it wouldn't be acceptable

to take out a t*rror1st, then?'

Yeah, that's different, mate.

Isn't it?

If there's a clear

and present danger, then certainly.

'Well, you're tryna tell me

this Murray fella

'wasn't a danger to life.

'That he's never been off his head

when driving?

'That he's not been tooled up

when breaking into people's houses?

'That he hasn't gone on a night out

carrying a knife?

'You tell me

how that's any different, go on.

'Go on.'

And you're saying

that makes him fair game, yeah?

'Too bloody right it does, yeah.'

I suppose, you know,

when you put it like that, mate,

it's hard to argue, isn't it?

'Aye.'

'Whether it'd stand up in a court

of law, I'm not so certain, mate.'

'Well, that's up to the court,

innit?'

As for the court of Night Talk,

you the jury have delivered

your verdict loud and very clear

in the matter of the hit-and-run

case of Mr Stephen Murray.

Case is dismissed.

All right, Rob?

Oh, hello.

Rosa in work?

Yeah, yeah, she's upstairs.

Oh.

Although she probably shouldn't be.

Er, why?

Because some nutter ran over her ex

and then just drove off.

sh*t.

f*ck right off.

Sorry?

Mate, what the f*cking hell

is wrong with you?

What?

Ey, I warned you, didn't I,

to stay out of it.

I don't know

what you're talking about.

Yeah, OK, f*ck off, f*ck off.

You what?

OK, where's your cab?

It wasn't running too smoothly,

I thought it might cut out.

I think it needs a new cam belt.

Yeah.

CHUCKLES

Yeah, of course it does, yeah.

Do you know anyone who can sort it?

I need it done fast.

Mm-hm, I bet you do.

Do you know anyone?

Listen.

Why would I want dragging

into your sh*t, hm?

It goes no further. Promise.

Please, mate.

OK.

There's a place

just off the dock road.

It's called Paddy's Autos,

it's on Regents Street, OK?

Now, it's

it's run by a bunch of rough arses,

but, er,

they'll do a decent enough job.

Thanks.

No, no.

This. I don't want nothing else

to do with this.

D'you hear me?

OK.

Mate!

Hi.

Hi.

Erm

One of the other drivers

told me about Ste.

I mean, what happened?

Someone knocked him over

and left him lying in the road.

Jesus H.

He's in hospital. In a coma.

I'm sorry.

I know what sort of man he is,

but no-one deserves this.

No.

Are you gonna be OK?

Yeah.

And thanks.

For what?

Being nice to me.

For looking out for me last night.

You got my number.

Sorry?

Ring me.

LAWRENCE, ECHOING: 'In the matter of

the hit-and-run case

'of Mr Stephen Murray,

case is dismissed.'

'Listen, I'm sending a fella round.'

I think he knows about

the other thing.

MAN: 'You think

it's him that mowed down Ste?'

Yeah. 'Right. Well, we'll take

a look when he gets here.'

So, er, me and you, er,

we're sorted out, yeah?

'Yeah, if it's definitely him.'

Yeah.

'Then you're in the clear,

all right?'

OK, then. All right, that's it, bye.

'All right.'

All right?

Hey, I got your number from a mate.

I need some body work done.

I, er

I hit a bollard.

Yeah, all right, lad.

Sorry?

If it's a bollard,

there'd be scratching

and damage to the paint work.

Looks like someone's

been tryin' to clean it.

All right, yeah, it was a dog.

Er, you know, it was a mess.

Blood and stuff.

Must've been a big dog.

It was an Alsatian.

When do you need it by?

Soon as.

Day after tomorrow?

Yeah, great.

It'll be 800.

You what?

Cash.

OK.

You got a mobile?

So I can text you when it's ready.

All right, yeah, erm

Keys?

In the cab.

PHONE LINE RINGS

VOICEMAIL:

'Hi, you've reached Rosa's phone.

'Please leave a message

after the beep.'

BEEP

Hi, Rosa, it's me, Tony.

Erm, I'm just calling to see

if you're doing OK.

I just thought,

you know, well, erm

Erm anyway, give us a call

if you want to talk or anything.

Take care.

BABY COOS

BRAKES SCREECH

Cheers, mate.

Hi, er, two, please.

Wait, oh, sorry.

BEEP

Thank you.

LAUGHS

INDISTINCT CHATTER

LAWRENCE, ECHOING: 'You lost your

job because your face didn't fit?

'I think there must've been

'something more to it than that,

Tony?

'Your instinct may be to tune out,

'close the curtains, hide away,

'but you know what,

that just makes things worse.

'Give us the name.'

INAUDIBLE

GIRL: Come on!

WOMAN ON RADIO: 'I've been joined by

a very special guest -

'none other than Night Talk host

Lawrence Brightway,

'who's here to talk to us

all about his fabulous new book.

'Lawrence, welcome to the show.'

LAWRENCE: 'Thank you, thank you,

thank you so much for having me.

'The book's about my life,

'my career, and, er, it's chocker

full of great anecdotes.'

Though I I would say that

myself, wouldn't I?

But seriously

'You know, folks

'the book is about us lot

'and the good times we've had

together over the years.

'And the bad times.

'Because let's face it,

it's not all been plain sailing.'

'Definitely not.'

It's an homage to you,

the listeners.

My listeners.

'My second family

and my best friends.

'Anyway, so, apparently,

there's only a few tickets left,

'so, please, you know, come along

'for a glass of plonk

and a few nibbles, a few laughs.

'And possibly a few tears.

'Mersey Art Centre, two o'clock,

Thursday afternoon.'

I'll be signing copies

of the new book: Listen.

'And the book launch, as you say,

is tomorrow.

'It's the, er,

Mersey Art Centre at two o'clock.

'Er, you must be really excited?'

PHONE VIBRATES

'I am, every time I get to meet

my listeners.

'After all,

they are my best friends,

'they're my second family'

Tony Conroy?

Yeah?

I'm DS Marshall,

this is DC Gardner.

Sorry to disturb you,

but I'm investigating a hit-and-run

on West Derby Road

and wonder if you could spare us

a moment of your time.

I'm just about to go back again.

Mr Conroy,

your taxi was caught on CCTV

in the vicinity of West Derby Road

around the time of the incident.

Could we come in?

Yeah, yeah, yeah, sure. OK.

We have CCTV footage of your cab,

which you confirm you were driving,

on West Derby Road

at 1:19 yesterday morning.

You were heading towards

the junction,

where the victim was run over,

sometime between 1:15 and 1.30am.

But the camera only covers

that stretch of road.

That's all the footage we have.

At the moment. So?

Did you see anything?

Someone walking along the pavement

or crossing the road?

No.

Or someone driving erratically

or at speed?

Erm no.

Did you have a fare?

Might they have seen something?

Well, no, I was on me way home,

I was knocking off for the night.

At 1:30?

Do you always finish at that time?

No. No, I usually work till,

er, you know, five or six,

but I had a migraine.

I suffer from them.

I can't imagine driving at night's

good for a bad head.

Yeah, well, it's a choice

between that and insomnia.

CHUCKLES WEAKLY

Is there anything you can think of

that might help us?

The victim is

in a serious condition.

We need to find who did this.

Yeah, well, I'm sure

there's no shortage of suspects.

Sorry, do you know the victim?

Only what I've heard.

And what's that?

Off the radio, you know,

that he upset quite a few people.

Where's the cab now?

It's out on the road.

Jimmy, the, er, the fella I rent it

from, he's, er, he does days.

But I should have it back tomorrow,

if you need to have a look.

OK, thanks for your help.

And if you do think of anything

Yeah.

We'll be in touch, Mr Conroy.

So, why Liverpool?

Growing up in the middle

of nowhere in North Wales,

Liverpool always had

this kind of allure to it.

SHE CHUCKLES

The music, football, nightlife.

All seemed so glamorous.

So after my mum passed,

I came up here

and worked in a bar and nightclub.

Working nights suited me.

And after a while, your body

gets used to being awake at night

and it knows no different,

so I got the job in the night cafe.

Are these plates finished with?

Mm, thank you. Thank you.

If someone asked me to guess, I

would have said you were a teacher.

OK?

You've all the right qualities.

You're wise, patient,

kind, and considerate.

And the big thing - you listen.

Everyone hears,

but not everyone listens.

Yeah.

It's a gift. A special quality.

So, do you miss it?

Teaching?

It was me calling in life,

it's all I ever wanted to do.

And you say you taught science?

I was head of science.

Wow!

Head of pastoral care as well.

And again, wow!

THEY CHUCKLE

That must've been an eye-opener,

the pastoral care.

The pressure on kids these days,

social media

and all that kind of stuff.

I bet you lots of them

were really struggling.

Sorry, I need to

LAWRENCE, ECHOING:

'Because you know what happens

'when you keep it all in.

'You simmer and fester

'until it comes to the point

where you just explode.'

You OK?

Are you all right?

Yeah, I'm fine, I'm sorry.

I was just checking

the local news about Ste,

seeing if the police had

arrested anyone.

And have they?

Not that I can see.

You said he was in your cab

the night he was run over?

Yeah.

Well,

maybe you should tell the police?

It might help them

find the person who did this.

Well, he was only in there

for about ten minutes.

Was he gonna meet someone?

I don't know.

Er, just got in the cab

Where?

Er, top end

of Wavertree High Street.

Where'd you drop him?

Excuse me, can we have the bill,

please? Thank you.

Yeah. Yeah, of course.

I'll just go and get it for you.

Sorry, sorry.

I'm sorry, all these questions.

Nah, it's all right.

I'm just thinking about

the person who did this to him.

What do you mean?

Well, they need to be found.

Before they do the same thing

to someone else.

There you go, sir.

Thanks.

We can go Dutch.

No, no, this is on me.

Are you sure?

Oh, yes.

Thank you. Aw!

Pat says thanks for the heads-up.

You and him are all good.

And these are on the house.

OK.

So, erm, so,

what's gonna happen now?

Bout what?

Come on, man. About the other thing.

Lad, it's got you out the sh*t,

so what do you care?

ROSA: 'Thank you, that was lovely.

TONY: Shall I get you a cab?'

I wouldn't mind some fresh air.

Shall we walk?

Where to?

You said you live quite close by.

Yeah, well, it's still

a good 15-minute walk that way.

It's OK, I'm wearing flats.

You what?

SHE LAUGHS

So, coffee at your place, then?

Yeah, sure.

Er, this way.

I thought you said it was that way.

Yeah, but it's just as quick

if we go on the main road.

Come on.

Did you tidy for ME?

No.

What, it's always this tidy?

Erm, well, I suppose so, yeah.

You should see

the state of my place. Ha!

Aw, this is nice!

So many memories.

Suppose you must've had

your favourites.

Yeah.

Aw

There you go.

Ta.

So, erm,

do you fancy watching a film?

Er, yeah, why not?

Don't blame me if I nod off, though.

LAWRENCE ON RADIO: 'Yeah, but don't

we all have a responsibility, Mark,

'to the wider community?'

MARK: 'Yeah, but it depends what

you mean by community, Lawrence.'

Oh, you know, at work, at school,

you know, the football match,

the pub, the street where you live,

the park where your kids play.

The people

that you rub shoulders with

when you're outside

the newspaper shop.

'It's the people

you don't even particularly like.

'You know, the nosey neighbour,

the teenager who plays loud music,

'but my point is

we are all part of something,

'like it or not,

and it's called community.'

And it's a strong community

where people

take themselves seriously

and look out for one another.

CHATTER ON TV

SWITCHES TV OFF

Ah, I just wanted to say

sorry, mate. 'For what?'

Me phone cut out on me while

we were talking the other night.

'Oh, I honestly really

wouldn't worry about it, mate.

'I'm actually used

to people hanging up on me.'

No, I'd never do that, mate.

'Yeah.'

I know, I know you wouldn't, Tony,

I know you wouldn't.

'So, what are you doing,

you out on the road, are you?' No.

No, er, night off.

'Ooh, nice.'

'Just kicking back, chilling?'

Yeah, yeah.

So, what's on your mind,

my old mucker?

Well, nothing, really,

erm I just You know.

'Yeah, yeah, I know, mate.'

Believe me, I know.

Yeah, the wee small hours can play

tricks on a man's mind.

But, you know, whenever I'm feeling

a little bit er, well yuck

..I think about sitting outside

a lovely old boozer by the river

'..with a decent pint

and the sun on my back,

'me and my old mucker

putting the world to rights.

'And you know what, Tony, if you've

got nothing better to do tomorrow,

'it'll be lovely to see you

at the book launch.' Yeah.

'It'd be great to finally put

a face to the name, and a voice.'

MAN ON PHONE:

Taxi's ready. 1,200. Cash.

AUTOMATED: You have reached the

voicemail of MAN: Paddy's Autos.

AUTOMATED: You have reached the

voicemail of MAN: Paddy's Autos.

AUTOMATED: You have reached the

voicemail of MAN: Paddy's Autos.

All right?

I got your message. Cab's ready.

I thought we agreed on 800?

It's 1,200 now. Why?

Took a bit longer, I suppose.

You suppose? Yeah.

How much longer?

How much longer did it take?

If you're not happy

with the price

you can always call the bizzies.

Oh, for f*ck's sake.

Aren't you gonna count it?

Nah.

ENGINE STARTS

CHATTER

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

Hey! Namaste, namaste, namaste.

SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC

WOMAN: OK, everyone,

let's get started.

Stop it.

So, listen, so after a great deal

of thought and much deliberation,

I simply decided to call it

Listen

cos it ain't rocket science,

essentially that's all I do, really.

I listen.

I listen to you, the audience.

The real stars of the show.

LAUGHTER

I mean, it is you

that comes up with the banter,

that comes up

with the the laughter,

the tears, the rants, the raves.

And God forbid if ever

I should get too big for my boots,

you're the ones

that'll put me in my place

and remind me that

I'm here to a job.

And that job is to what? Is to?

CROWD: Listen!

Listen, that's right.

But tonight, I'm gonna do something

a little different,

if that's OK with you guys?

I'm gonna ask you

to listen to me for a moment.

Because I have something

I'd like to share with you

that I've not shared with anyone but

the closest members of my family.

So, er big breath, here we go

"Monday the 10th of September.

"It's raining again."

SNIGGERING

"It's the sort of day

"that you can't see one side

of the Mersey from the other.

"And it's bloody miserable.

"And that's exactly how I feel -

miserable.

"Imagine the worst hangover

that you've ever had

"and times it by ten."

SNIGGERING

"Ouch!

"Chemo is a swine.

"It leaves you, erm

it leaves you washed up,

"it leaves you washed out, but

it also leaves you with hope.

"And sometimes, that all

"and sometimes, that's all

I feel I have at the moment.

"Hope.

"Julie, my nurse

well, she's the power of good,

"she's a force of nature.

She also has the gift of the gab

"and is always keen to tell me

"how brave I've been

and what a hero I am.

"But as I, I learn about the three

children that she brings up,

"the husband that she cares for,

"the two buses she takes

every single day to go to work,

"I tell her

I know who the real hero is.

"Once the chemo session is over

"Julie, she tells me to rest up

for a couple of days and I tell her,

" 'I'm gonna be

on air at midnight.' "

CHUCKLING

"She ticks me off, but I tell her

"I know the quickest road

to recovery

"will be me spending time with

the people who mean the most to me.

"My audience."

CROWD: Aww.

"I tell her

"..that the show must go on."

INDISTINCT,

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

WOMAN: Well done, Lawrence!

Are we ready for some questions?

Oh! Yes? Hello, Sue.

You have a question for Lawrence?

Lawrence, can I ask

just about your

Oh, forget it. Can I just give

you a bloody big hug instead?!

LAUGHTER

APPLAUSE

Oh!

Help! Help! HR! HR!

Thank you, darling, thank you.

God bless you.

Oh, bless her. Oh, bless.

Do you have any more questions?

Oh. Thanks.

WOMAN 2: Why do you think

you have such a unique bond

with your listeners on Night Talk?

The, erm, amazing thing is,

erm, that I I couldn't believe

actually how many people actually

felt that they'd been left behind.

That they'd actually been

marginalised in some capacity,

that they had no voice.

And that is ever more apparent

with people that work nights,

who struggle to function

during the day

due to trauma

or they've got something else

going on in their lives.

And that is when I realised that

I had an important part to play

in their lives.

That I could be that person they

could talk to that would listen.

I could be that friend in need.

So, in answer to your question,

yes, there is a bond,

a genuine bond

between me and my audience.

It's indelible, it's unbreakable.

Because I have a feeling,

and correct me if I'm wrong,

that we trust each other

we get each other.

But the thing is when I'm talking

to you lot on the radio

..I genuinely forget

that I'm live on air.

Now it feels like two old mates

down the local boozer,

in front of a roaring fire

putting the world to rights

over a couple of pints.

So, the first round's on me.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

Aw, love you, Lawrence.

Cheers, Betty. Bless your heart.

Thank you. Thank you,

keep listening, by the way.

Hello, mate. How are you, sir?

All right. Great speech.

Thanks for your time. Thanks

for coming and buying my book.

Spoiler alert, it's fantastic.

HE CHUCKLES

Thank you.

Mary? Mary! Absolute pleasure, Mary,

it's a pleasure to see you.

Thank you. Thanks for coming,

and thanks for listening.

Hey! It's only me!

Oh, my, it's Sue, it's trouble!

Hey, I don't suppose

there's any chance of a photo?

Darling, for you.

Here, let me take it for you.

Thanks, love! Come round

to the other side of my office.

No photos (!)

You're a bloody marvel!

Well, that's very, very sweet of you

to say so, thank you.

Keep up the good work!

Well, I'm trying to, my darling,

I'm trying to.

It's my Kenny.

We've got some bad news. He's

been diagnosed with Parkinson's.

INAUDIBLE SPEECH

We're gonna have to leave it there,

folks, we have to call it a day.

I know.

No. No, no.

I know.

No, I need, I need, I need to,

I need

Sorry, if you wouldn't mind.

Thank you so much, I'm sorry.

Argh!

SHOUTING

This one's for Ste, you prick!

Argh!

CAR HORN HONKS

You see your money, yeah?

You f*ck' auld maggot.

ARGH!

Hey! Hey!

I've called the police!

Now f*ck off!

Hang on in there, mate.

TONY WHEEZES

I'll call an ambulance.

Just hold on, OK?

LABOURED BREATHING