Men Only is the antithesis of the current trend for cool laddy drama. It doesn't glorify the action of the men nor does it place them in some cartoon world. What is most striking about these men is their apparent normality.

Writer Richard Cottan, believes this is one of the most challenging aspects of the drama, especially for women: The premise that the man women viewers are sitting next to is potentially the same as the men on the screen is a difficult one: "Take that guy on the sofa and try to imagine him out of the room, away from his partner. Imagine him feeling frustrated and undervalued. How can that escalate with other men who feel the same way?"

Producer Jake Lushington says of the drama: "It is a world where men seem to be much more schizophrenic, sneakier, guilty, demanding lots of emotional support but also wanting the respect and power which their fathers had but has been lost to them for a generation."

This loss of power is darkly observed in the various degrees of sexual dysfunction in the group. Jason uses sex as a power base, Jamie can't perform, Des is cowed by circumstance, Mac has a low sperm count and Dwight is almost disinterested. Richard Cottan elaborates on this theme: "The sexual side of the men's lives informs all others; if sex is denied, if it's distorted, undervalued, it festers and has no proper outlet." Director Peter Webber was drawn to the project because he found it the most painfully honest account of male sexuality he had ever read. "Male sexuality has some very dark corners. Also I found each of the five men instantly recognisable as people I'd either met or knew."

Stephen Moyer who plays Jason suggested that the men are all running away from something not realising they are looking for something else. They just see it as letting off steam. Jake Lushington agrees: " A lot of blokes see laddy behaviour as acceptable, necessary, but it's how much steam they let off that can so easily get out of hand. This is where the premise for the piece comes from."

There is a strong element in the drama of people looking at themselves and of watching other people in a divorced manner. The use of film inside the film adds to the feeling of estrangement . Des, whose job is monitoring a shopping precinct on CCTV camera, sees his wife having an affair but seems incapable of conceiving the reality of it. Jason's home movies are a way of proving his virility. Watching pornography is a pastime and ultimately the video of the rape of Alice gives Jamie a hold over the group. Throughout the drama, their inability to communicate is very telling.

This was something that the production team discussed at length: "It is very, very tempting," explains Richard Cotton, "and it happens in some dramas that you make your characters unrealistically articulate to tell everything through dialogue, but we kept holding back and saying no, we've got to do it through the action." Sophie Balhetchet, Executive Producer, expands their thoughts: "These macho thirty-something men in a pack don't actually express themselves through words. They express themselves behaviourally; by the way they swig a beer, or walk into a club, hit a snooker ball or fuck women. Here it's not really what you say, it's how you do it."

The relationship between lighting, design and character is something that has been extremely carefully thought through in Men Only. Each character had to be placed in a visual environment that expressed to the audience what the world they inhabit is like and why they are trying to escape.

Sophie Balhetchet says: "When we put the men out into the night we wanted to show them having a good time. Tuesday nights were about a place of fantasy and fun. Their home lives are not their fantasies. That's when the two parts of themselves are pulling in opposite directions. Men Only really expresses that split and sense of alienation."

As Peter Webber explains: "We went on a recce of clubs and quite by chance when visiting the Scala in King's Cross we came across a fantastic red stairway that reminded me of Dante's inferno." When asked how he created the distorted world of the drug taker Peter explains: "The moment they took Ketamine I warped the picture and came in very close to the actors' faces making them look slightly contorted to create a fast, dangerous atmosphere."

There is a clear perspective from the creative team that this was never intended to be a conventional drama in the sense of a thriller or a morality tale in which society punishes the perpetrators. It is about ordinary regular lives in extraordinary circumstances and any suggestion that the rapists get away with their crime is not a view shared by the programme creators, as Peter Webber explains: "Normally on TV, PC Plod comes along and the villains are found guilty and that's it. In Men Only you are faced with men living their lives with the consequences of what they've done."

For men there will be a lot of recognition. The notion of 'what if' or 'that could have been me' may make many male viewers consider thhe decisions they make in life not to behave like these men. Jake Lushington adds: "It's all about taking responsibility for what you do. You can't just run with the crowd. And you can't excuse of justify it." This sentiment was reflected on set as Peter Webber describes: "When we shot the rape scene it was just myself, a camera and the actors. I've spent most of my career shooting documentaries and nothing was as distressing or difficult as filming this moment. I've directed the filming of a man having brain surgery while fully conscious but this shocked me in such a powerful manner. Everyone was totally shaken for hours afterwards."