Calling all fans of Adolescence and Lord of the Flies, BAFTA‑winning writer Jack Thorne is backkkk with a new TV series! But this time he’s bringing his signature storytelling to a layered and quietly charming love story (his first ever romantic-drama!).
Think the charm and wit of Fleabag meets the slow-burn tension of Normal People, diving into love, faith, and everything in between. If forbidden romance and complicated feelings are your thing, this one’s for you!!
Channel 4’s new romantic drama lands from Tuesday 19th May at 9pm, followed by the second episode on Wednesday evening. And the full series is ready to stream from the Tuesday if you’d rather not wait!
It follows the forbidden connection between nun Anna (Keeley Hawes) and Catholic priest David (Paapa Essiedu), as they try to balance faith, duty and feelings they weren’t planning on.
And yes, we’re calling it: Paapa Essiedu is coming for Andrew Scott’s hot priest crownnnnnn.
What is Falling about?
It’s soft, it’s sharp, and it's oh soooo romantic! Psssst, get ready to laugh at a nun casually asking a priest if he wants to see her cabbages.
Anna is a nun, living a life of quiet devotion in pastoral nunnery, rooted in a routine of faith and a clear sense of purpose. Whereas David, is a Catholic priest navigating the restless, urban energy of Bristol. When David sets foot in the nunnery, something subtle but seismic shifts between the two. A series of glances becomes a quiet disruption, and suddenly neither of their lives sit quite as comfortably as it once did.
Falling unfolds as an unexpected coming-of-age story. Anna is wide-eyed but resolute, as she leaves the safety of the nunnery to follow David into a world she barely knows, guided as much by instinct as by belief. What begins as a forbidden connection evolves into something more searching. Falling is gentle but pulses with what love means in the modern world, and what happens when it doesn’t quite reconcile with the life you’ve chosen. As Jack Thorne put it:
But that thing of being in a place where you can find love, and what love actually means, and that you can question what love means, I find immensely powerful.
Who’s in the cast of Falling?
Falling stars a seriously talent cast, so settle in, because we’re about a name-drop a few familiar faces.
Keeley Hawes
Keeley Hawes (Miss Austin, Upstairs Downstairs): takes on the role of nun Anna with steadfast purity
Paapa Essiedu
Paapa Essiedu (Black Mirror, I May Destroy You): takes on priest David, bringing a quiet intensity and deep compassion to the role.
Adrian Scarborough
Adrian Scarborough (Gavin and Stacey, The Chelsea Detective): steps in as fellow priest Francis, bringing the same dry wit that made Pete an all-time fan fave.
Sophie Stone
Sophie Stone (Reunion, Doctor Who, The Chelsea Detective): dazzles as David’s deaf sister, bringing a relationship full of warmth and tension as the pair navigate life on two very different paths - his grounded in faith, hers not.
Also in the cast expect to see, Rakie Ayola (Kaos, The Pact), Jason Watkins (The Crown, Dirty Business, Line of Duty), Niamh Cusack (Heartbeat), David Dawson (My Policeman), Susan Brown (Mr Bates vs The Post Office) and Sandra Voe (Vera Drake).
The Trailer for Falling:
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BSL in Falling
A key part of Falling is its focus on BSL, woven naturally into the story. Sophie Stone, the first ever deaf actor to be accepted into RADA, is brilliant as David’s sister, bringing depth, warmth and real presence to the role.
With a BSL consultant on set, the show treats sign language as central, not secondary. Paapa Essiedu learnt BSL for the role, and Sophie has shared that she pushed him early on in filming to fully communicate through it. It pays off, as Essiedu puts it:
that intimacy, that relationship… it was one of the most meaningful [he’d] had.
Their relationship becomes one of the show’s most moving threads: two siblings on very different paths, his guided by religion, hers not, but completely connected regardless. As Sophie Stone explains:
I don't think that they could survive without each other. They need each other in many ways, and it's very rooted in love and spirituality of different things.
It’s a quiet but resonant reminder that belief may take different shapes, and still bind people together.
When does Falling start? Where can I watch it?
Falling lands on Channel 4 from Tuesday 19th May at 9pm. The second episode airs the following evening but allllll episodes will drop on the Tuesday on Channel 4 if you’d like to dive straight in!
We’re so ready to fall for this one - not in a flash, but in that slow, warm, quietly irresistible way. Soft, charming, and full of layers, it’s a love story we can’t wait to sink into.
If you loooove Keeley Hawes, you’ll know she’s basically period drama royalty (Upstairs Downstairs fans, we see you). And if you’re in the mood for more, our round-up of the best Victorian dramas to watch has you covered.
