In The Club Series 2
The second series of the critically acclaimed and hugely popular BBC One drama In The Club, from the pen of Bafta-winning writer Kay Mellor OBE, creator of The Syndicate, Band of Gold, Fat Friends and A Passionate Woman - will air this spring.
Published: 19 April 2016
It was an absolute pleasure to visit all my characters again with their complicated lives; the shift in their relationships now they’ve become parents and the opportunity to explore how they’re dealing with life now - ten months on.
The second series of the critically acclaimed and hugely popular BBC One drama In The Club, from the pen of Bafta-winning writer Kay Mellor OBE, creator of The Syndicate, Band of Gold, Fat Friends and A Passionate Woman - will air this spring.
In The Club is a contemporary drama about pregnancy, imminent birth, love, and the changing nature of relationships that babies bring about, in modern families.
The first series followed six very different couples who bonded in their local Parentcraft class and stumbled into parenthood together. Each had their own, unique issues to deal with - from paternity fears to debt, divorce and even death. Now, ten months on, the second series sees the return of all of the couples.
Business woman Roanna (Hermione Norris - The Crimson Field, Agatha Raisin And The Quiche Of Death, Cold Feet) tries to hide her past from young lover Simon (Luke Thompson - The Suspicions Of Mr Whicher: The Ties That Bind), but as the reality of her choices starts to become all to real for her, it’s only a matter of time before they implode.
Blogger and teaching assistant Kim (Katherine Parkinson - The Kennedys, Humans, The Honourable Woman) finds her love life is complicated by her ex-partner Susie (Tara Fitzgerald, Game Of Thrones, Waking The Dead), while her relationship with Neil (Jonathan Kerrigan - Emmerdale, Heartbeat, Casualty) is in jeopardy as she struggles to be the perfect mum to baby Emily.
With her husband Rick (Will Mellor - Broadchurch, In With The Flynns, Two Pints Of Lager And A Packet Of Crisps) in prison, housewife Diane (Jill Halfpenny - Humans, Babylon, Waterloo Road) is learning to cope on her own. But as his release draws near she worries that she’s become too independent for their relationship to work.
Things haven’t got any easier for spirited Jasmin (Taj Atwal - Moving On, Stella) and her lovable husband Dev (Sacha Dhawan - 24: Live Another Day, Line Of Duty, Not Safe For Work) since he left baby Amber in the van. Their overbearing mothers have moved in and refuse to leave - but when Dev and Jasmin receive some devastating news that's the least of their worries.
Life with a baby and a full-time job isn’t easy for caring midwife Vicky (Christine Bottomley - Cucumber, DCI Banks, Great Night Out) and when things go terribly wrong at work it's a matter of life and death - and she's caught in the middle.
When an abandoned baby is found in the hospital loo it creates chaos on the maternity ward - and the search is on for the mother!
After flushing the morning-after pill down the loo, what will happen to schoolgirl Rosie (Hannah Midgley - Emmerdale) and her boyfriend Jude
(Danny Breeze) and how will they cope with no money and her father in care?
The new series brings more secrets, heartbreak, comedy and pathos for our characters as they spill out of the world of pregnancy and into the reality of parenthood. For some of them, the journey is about to start all over again…but for who?
With the second series come new characters: pregnant surrogate Shelly (Gemma Dobson) has rented out her womb to gay partners Andrew (Andrew Buckley - Shameless, Great Night Out, Wallander) and Nathan (Paul Nicholls - The C Word, Law & Order: UK, Holby City). She thinks it’s the perfect way to make some easy money, but her mum Maxine (Sandra Huggett, The Scandalous Lady W, In the Flesh, Doctors) isn’t so sure. Can handing over your own flesh and blood ever be a simple business transaction? They are about to find out...
In The Club 2 was commissioned by Charlotte Moore, Controller BBC One and Polly Hill, Controller of Drama Commissioning for the BBC. The Executive Producer for the BBC is Liz Kilgarriff, Independent Commissioning Editor for BBC Drama. Liz says: “Kay has once again created fantastic characters and stories which have, of course, attracted an enormously talented and stellar ensemble cast. In the Club captures the extraordinary drama that can happen to ordinary people in everyday life and the series is set to be yet another treat for our BBC One audience.”
Kay Mellor adds: “I was delighted by the response to series one of In The Club and even though we left on a compete high, with viewers growing week by week, I felt bereft the series had finished, so it was wonderful when the BBC asked me to write and produce a second series. It was an absolute pleasure to visit all my characters again with their complicated lives; the shift in their relationships now they’ve become parents and the opportunity to explore how they’re dealing with life now - ten months on.
“It also enabled me to invent some new characters - cleaner Maxine and her daughter Shelly, who is carrying a baby for her mother’s bosses Nathan and Andrew. With the surrogacy scenario I’m able to look at a very modern family structure and all the complications, fun and heartbreak that comes from that situation. Having a child changes everything: it was one of the most profound things that happened to me. Birth is the ultimate creation but with it comes huge responsibilities and huge joy.”
In The Club 2 is written by Kay Mellor. The co-producer is Rebecca Davies and the series will be directed by Kay Mellor, Jane Prowse (The Commander: Windows of the Soul, Rocket Man, The Fugitives) and Audrey Cooke (Coronation Street, EastEnders, Waterloo Road). The Executive Producers are Kay Mellor and Yvonne Francas (Death In Paradise, The Syndicate 2, Scott & Bailey). It is a Rollem Productions production for BBC One.
Pictured: Jasmin (Taj Atwal), Roanna (Hermione Norris), Kim (Katherine Parkinson), Diane (Jill Halfpenny), Vicky (Christine Bottomley), Rosie (Hannah Midgley), Shelly (Gemma Dobson), Maxine (Sandra Huggett)
For further information please contact:
Anya Noakes / Kat Blair (Publicists for Rollem Productions)
07973 363341
