ACTOR David Morrissey believes his new TV drama The Singapore Grip, which deals with the fall of the city to Japanese soldiers in 1942, is often overlooked because it was a disaster we do not wish to be reminded of.

“Churchill did say it was the biggest military capitulation in British history so it’s not something we wish to examine, which is true of our colonial past in general really,” Mr Morrissey has told The Herald Magazine in a new interview.

Best known for his roles in The Walking Dead and State of Play, Mr Morrissey stars alongside Charles Dance, Jane Horrocks and Colm Meaney in Christopher Hampton’s adaptation of JG Farrell’s novel which begins on STV on Sunday, September 13. He plays a businessman who is trying to do deals even as the Japanese close in on the city.

“It’s not a heroic tale of Britain," he said. “We are shining a light on a period of British history which is not in any way heroic.”

You can read the full interview in The Herald Magazine tomorrow.