Join actor Christopher Eccleston to celebrate the release of his memoir ‘I Love the Bones of You’. In this one-off talk Eccleston, perhaps best-known as the ninth Doctor Who or Maurice in The A Word, will discuss his career and the one man who, in life and death, has accompanied him every step of the way – his father Ronnie.

‘My father was an “ordinary man”, which of course means he was extraordinary. I aim to capture him and his impact on my life and career.’ - Christopher Eccleston

In his book I Love The Bones Of You, Eccleston unveils a vivid portrait of a relationship that has shaped his entire career trajectory, mirroring and defining his own highs and lows, from stage and screen triumph to breakdown, anorexia, self-doubt, and a deep belief in the basic principles of access and equality denied to generations. The actor reveals how his background in Salford, and vision of a person, like millions, denied their true potential, shaped his desire to make drama forever entwined with the marginalised, the oppressed, and the outsider. Movingly, and in scenes sadly familiar to increasing numbers, Eccleston also describes how the tightening grip of dementia on his father slowly blinded him to his son’s existence, forcing a new and final chapter in their connection, and how ‘Ronnie Ecc’ still walks alongside him today.

I Love the Bones of You is published on 19 September. After the talk, Christopher Eccleston will be signing copies of I Love the Bones of You. When you buy your copy from the National Theatre Bookshop, you support the work of the NT.

Photograph: Johnny Ring