[2] Created and scripted by Andy King-Dabbs and Stephen Powell as a follow-up to BBC Classical Music's previous BBC Three special, Flashmob – The Opera, it was a contemporary retelling of the Passion of Jesus Christ set to British popular music, broadcast live from various locations in Manchester, England, culminating with the procession of a large, lighted cross to the main stage at Albert Square.
[3] The broadcast was presented and narrated by Keith Allen, and starred Darren Morfitt as Jesus.
[4] The BBC Executive Producer was Sue Judd and the music arrangements were by Philip Sheppard.
While originally held as a one-off event, Dutch producer Jacco Doornbos created a localized version of the special known as The Passion, which was first broadcast in the Netherlands in 2011.
The Passion has since been broadcast annually in different Dutch cities, and its format has also been exported to other countries, including Belgium, Germany and the United States.