'Against the Law' writer: Why my drama is so important

The writer of Against the Law has said the best way of commemorating the change of the law criminalising homosexual acts in England and Wales is by "depicting what times were like before the law".

2017 is the 50th anniversary of the 1967 Sexual Offences Act which decriminalised homosexual acts in England and Wales between adult males, in private.

In docudrama Against the Law, Daniel Mays plays Peter Wildeblood, a gay journalist whose lover, gave evidence against him, Montagu, and Michael Pitt-Rivers, in one of the most explosive court cases of the 1950s.

Writer Brian Fillis told 5 live's Sarah Brett combining drama with real-life testimonies was an important in order to show "it happened within living memory."

This Clip is from Afternoon Edition on 24 July 2017.