Some outdoor scenes were filmed in North East England including the Roker pier in Sunderland.

Ever since his father threw him high in the air from South Shields pier, he dreamt of being able to fly, and specifically of being an angel.

He lives with his brutish but terminally ill father, played by Iain Glen, his mother (Rosie Rowell) and philosophical grandfather (David Bradley).

Whilst "praying" in a derelict and abandoned church one day, Jimmy is visited by Gabriel (Billy Connolly), who advises him on how to become an angel.

He visits dad in hospital wearing his angel dress and plays Swing Low, Sweet Chariot on the trumpet.