The highly addictive drama is getting the spin-off treatment.
Just when we’d finished mourning TV’s loss of Doctor Foster, the BBC is toying with our hearts all over again – confirming the news that a Manchester-based spin-off titled Life is on its way… And really soon, may we add.
Created and written by the man behind the original series, Mike Bartlett, the new six-part story will follow the lives of the residents of a large house divided into four flats – including Anna, who you may remember as Gemma Foster’s neighbour. Anna leaves town following the events that ended Doctor Foster with a bang, starting up a new life in Manchester under the name Belle. It has also been confirmed that Adam James, who played Anna’s cheating husband Neil, will make an appearance at some point in the series.
Speaking of the new story, Bartlett said earlier this year: “In the last series of Doctor Foster Anna split up with Neil and moved away. But I loved her as a character and suspected that was really the start of her story, rather than the end.”
The BBC has also gifted us with a bit of backstory ahead of the show’s premiere on September 29, saying: “As each of the four stories unfold and intertwine in surprising ways, they tell a larger story about what happens when we step out of our personal space and take a closer look into other people’s lives. Life explores love, loss, birth, death, the ordinary, the extraordinary and everything in between.
“Gail (Alison Steadman), married to Henry (Peter Davison), is about to celebrate her 70th birthday when a chance encounter throws her whole life into question.
“David (Adrian Lester) is happily married to Kelly (Rachael Stirling), but is conflicted by temptation when he meets the impulsive Saira (Saira Choudhry) on holiday.
“Pilates teacher Belle’s (Victoria Hamilton) neatly ordered life is disrupted by the unexpected arrival of her chaotic 15 year-old niece Maya (Erin Kellyman).
“Heavily pregnant Hannah (Melissa Johns) – who is happily coupled up with safe and stable Liam (Joshua James) – has her plans upended by the return of Andy (Calvin Demba), with whom she had a passionate one-night stand nine months previously…”
Filmed in and around Manchester, Life is set to premiere on BBC on September 29 at 9pm on BBC One. While the show won’t answer any of the burning questions we still have following that cliffhanger finale, it will give us a tiny piece of hope as we eagerly await an announcement around Doctor Foster season 3.