A new BBC television drama called Babies is set to launch soon, starring Paapa Essiedu and Siobhán Cullen in the principal roles.
The show focuses on Lisa (brought to life by Cullen) and Stephen (interpreted by Essiedu), a pair in their thirties confronting serious difficulties as they endure repeated miscarriage.
The programme description indicates that Charlotte Riley (recognised from The Peripheral and Press) and Jack Bannon (of Pennyworth and Pulse fame) portray Amanda and Dave, a fresh couple navigating their own set of challenges while evaluating whether they are well-suited to one another.
Their complex dynamic, positioned alongside Lisa and Stephen’s continuing battle to conceive, progressively uncovers rifts in the long-standing friendship between Stephen and Dave.
The production comes from writer Stefan Golaszewski, whose earlier work encompasses Him & Her, Mum and Marriage.
Though the series does not draw from personal experience, Golaszewski took influence from a lengthy period of pregnancy-related traumas he and his wife encountered between 2012 and 2015.
Speaking to the Radio Times, he remarked that by this point his youngest son had arrived, and somewhere amid the joyful mayhem of having three small children, he felt prepared to transform those earlier traumatic experiences more directly into a narrative.
His forthcoming series, Babies, featuring Paapa Essiedu and Siobhán Cullen, has now launched.
While not based on his own life, it depicts a romance between a pair enduring recurrent pregnancy loss.
He added that it represents an effort to discuss honestly an experience that continues to be considered unmentionable, treated medically rather than as mourning, and to offer some comfort to those who have suffered such loss.
Full cast list for Babies
Siobhán Cullen as Liz
Paapa Essiedu as Stephen
Charlotte Riley as Amanda
Jack Bannon as Dave
Carla Freeman as Kimberley
Elizabeth Rider as Jenny
Simona Brown as Bella
Rachel Harper as Gemma
Taj Kandula as Anji
Ola Forman as Gosia
Nathan Jago as Alfie
Simon Bubb as Will
Sarah Ridgeway as Nicola
Zion Veerapen-Bernard as Daniel
Ryan McKen as Ben
Gary Beadle as Kevin
Nia Anisah as Erin
Nadine Marshall as Patty
Luke Norris as Harry
Rosie Raven as Ruth
Gary Pillai as Dr Khan
Lewis Hart as Jim
Marianne March as Mary
George Potts as Father Michael
Gary Lilburn as Alan
Noah Marullo as Kieran
Lottie Amor as Rose
Laura Matthews as Victoria
Victoria Blunt as Ellen
Tracy Anne Green as Tina
Richard Teverson as Dr Mark
Michael Jinks as PCSO Frank
Arabella Smith-James as Maisie
When will Babies air?
The first instalment of Babies will air at 9pm on Monday, March 30 on BBC One.
The following day, Tuesday, March 31, the second episode will broadcast in the same evening timeslot.
The remaining four episodes will adhere to this weekly schedule and will additionally be available through BBC iPlayer.