Keeley Hawes is one of those British actors we can't get enough of, in the same breath as Sarah Lancashire and Sheridan Smith. We loved her in Bodyguard, Miss Austen and Scoop - and thankfully, she's got a new drama on tonight that we can really sink our teeth into. But what is Falling, and who else stars? Here's what you need to know.
What is Channel 4's Falling about?
Think Fleabag and the hot priest, but written by Adolescence's Jack Thorne and for Channel 4, rather than the BBC. It's tipped to be gripping, emotional and her best performance since Bodyguard.
The Channel 4 description reads, "Jack Thorne’s first love story. When devout nun Anna (Keeley Hawes) and Catholic priest David (Paapa Essiedu) fall for each other, they must wrestle with what it means for their relationship with God."
Who is in the cast of Falling?
- Keeley Hawes (Scoop, Miss Austen) will star as Anna, plays a devoted nun
- Paapa Essiedu (Black Mirror, The Lazarus Project) plays David, a Catholic priest
- Rakie Ayola plays Muriel, supportive and pragmatic hospital worker
- Jason Watkins plays Bishop Peter
- Niamh Cusack plays Francesca
- Adrian Scarborough plays Francis
- David Dawson plays Phil
What has Keeley Hawes said about Falling?
Speaking to The Guardian about her new show, Keeley opened up about the challenge of playing a character who she had no shared life experience with, because Anna has been in the convent since she was a teenager.
“That was the most difficult thing – to play as someone of my age [50], but with no experience of any of the life that someone of my age would have lived. She just went in at 18. And that has been her life. But I wasn’t aware I was pulling a face.”
When the show was first announced, she also said, "I’m thrilled to be taking on the role of Anna and so looking forward to working alongside the brilliant Paapa Essiedu to bring Jack Thorne’s beautiful scripts to life.”
What is Falling's release schedule?
The good news for binge-watchers is that all six episodes of Falling will be available to stream from 9pm on Tuesday 19th May. But if you prefer to watch things on TV with everybody else, you can catch the show on Channel 4 at 9pm on:
- Episode one - Tuesday 19th May
- Episode two - Wednesday 20th May
- Episode three - Tuesday 26th May
- Episode four - Wednesday 27th May
- Episode five - Tuesday 2nd June
- Episode six - Wednesday 3rd June
We now what we'll be watching this evening.
