
Martin Compston has revealed he has been overwhelmed by the support for moving drama Mayflies.
The BBC drama is based on Andrew O’Hagan’s book on friendship and stars Tony Curran, 53, from Your Honour.
The two-part film, shot in and around Glasgow, focuses on assisted suicide and opens in 1986 with Jimmy (Martin) and Tully (Tony) forging a connection based on music, movies, and rebellion.
Thirty years later, the two are reconnected when Tully phones Jimmy with news that will put their friendship to the test.
The series moved many viewers to tears, with several tweeting that they had been ‘sobbing their eyes out’.
Many more applauded Martin, 38, and Tony’s ‘strong’ performances, describing Mayflies as a ‘heartbreaking and uplifting’ show.
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Martin has since reacted to fans’ messages, revealing he had been ‘blown away’ by the response to the show.
He wrote on Instagram: ‘Whole cast and production team of MAYFLIES been blown away by reaction of those who watched on @bbcscotland and @bbciplayer
‘The messages [have] genuinely been wonderful especially those reaching out who have dealt with loss. Can’t thank you all enough.


‘Episode one airs tonight on BBC One at 9pm. Thanks again ❤️.’
Speaking previously about Mayflies, Martin told the BBC that he was immediately taken by the script, calling it ‘just beautiful writing.’
He added: ‘And then it isn’t until you’re actually on set day after day you’re going, oh man, what have I signed up for here, in the best possible way, because every scene for the older one of us is really emotionally challenging.
‘I’ve said this before, it’s the most emotionally present I’ve ever been on a job.


‘We’ve got different mechanics and tools as actors to get you where you need to be for emotional scenes and I’ve killed off all my family and friends in my head over the years and remembered dogs passing away and all that thing.
‘But with this, just with the subject matter and the talent of the cast around you, you didn’t need to go anywhere, you could just be present.
‘And also having somebody like a close friend Tony Curran going with it, it didn’t feel like you were going through it alone so in that sense it was lovely.’
The series also stars Ashley Jensen as Tully’s wife Anna and Tracy Ifeachor as Jilly’s wife Iona, with Tom Glynn-Carney and Rian Gordon play the younger versions of Tully and Jimmy.
Mayflies is available to stream on iPlayer.