| Genre: | Crime drama |
| Creator: | Gillian White |
| Director: | Stuart Orme |
| Composer: | Colin Towns |
| Country: | United Kingdom |
| Language: | English |
| Num Series: | 1 |
| Num Episodes: | 2 |
| Executive Producer: | Pippa Harris |
| Producer: | Joy Spink |
| Editor: | Ardan Fisher |
| Cinematography: | Derek Suter |
| Runtime: | 60 minutes |
| Company: | BBC Worldwide |
| Channel: | BBC1 |
The Sleeper is a single British television crime drama film, written by Gwyneth Hughes and directed by Stuart Orme, that first broadcast on BBC1 on 26 December 2000.[1] The film was initially broadcast in two parts,[2] and is based on the novel by Gillian White.[3]
The film was commissioned as part of the BBC's £42 million-pound Christmas schedule line-up for 2000.[4] Neither part of the film attracted more than 6.4 million viewers, placing it outside of the Top 30 most watched programmes that week.[5] Although the film remains unreleased on VHS or DVD, both parts are available to watch on YouTube.[6]
The Sleeper focuses on the Moon family, headed by Violet (Eileen Atkins), who descend into conflict when Fergus (Ciarán Hinds) and Claire (Annabelle Apsion), Violet's son and daughter-in-law, decide to sell the family farm from beneath her.
In Part One, as the family gather in the farmhouse to spend one last family Christmas together, a figure from Violet's past, determined to exact revenge, makes her way up to the farm amidst a rain and hail storm which cuts off power in the area, leaving the farm in pitch darkness.[1]
In Part Two, suspicious are raised amongst the family when Cath goes missing, forcing Lillian and George to mount a search party. Claire also begins to suspect her mother's motives for bringing the family together.[2]