I, Daniel Blake

At 80, Ken Loach was inspired to come out of retirement for his Newcastle-set tale. Winning at Cannes was a nice bonus too, writes Helen Barlow

WHEN Ken Loach won his second Palme d’Or at Cannes for I, Daniel Blake, he seemed genuinely surprised. This tale of the demise of the welfare state in Britain was an altogether smaller affair than his 2006 winner, The Wind that Shakes the Barley, set in West Cork.

“It’s extraordinary really because it’s the same little gang from 2006 who have done it,” he says of writer Paul Laverty, producer Rebecca O’Brien, and his other regular crew members. “It’s nice to be in that team and we really weren’t expecting this.”