2025: THE YEAR AHEAD IN DRAMA, NEW AND RETURNING TITLES

A look ahead to some of the new and returning drama series expected to air in 2025.

BBC

It's March 1970. The team support a pregnant teenage girl whose parents believe in an immaculate conception. Demonstrations cause havoc for the Nonnatus team, whilst Nancy’s relationship blossoms.

BBC

Offering the perfect cocktail of sun-soaked escapism, shimmering seas and clear blue skies, the detective drama enters its fourteenth year on BBC iPlayer and BBC One, with its much-loved combination of magnificent murder mysteries and plot twists which leave audiences on the edge of their seats.

BBC

The third series will see the return of Kris Marshall as DI Humphrey Goodman, Sally Bretton as Martha Lloyd, Zahra Ahmadi as DS Esther Williams, Dylan Llewellyn as PC Kelby Hartford, Barbara Flynn as Anne Lloyd, Felicity Montagu as Margo Martins, Jade Harrison as CS Charlie Woods, and Melina Sinadinou as Zoe Williams. Jamie Bamber will also reprise his role as the charming Archie Hughes who is back following his departure from Shipton Abbott at the end of series one.

BBC

After a challenging first year in Australia, series two follows nurse Kate Thorne (Michelle Keegan) and the Roberts family (led by Faye Marsay and Warren Brown) into 1957 on their adventure down under, each determined against all odds to achieve their slice of the Australian dream. As Kate, Annie and Terry settle into their new lives, they each struggle to reconcile their hopes for the life they were promised with the harsh realities they face at Galgownie.

BBC

A turf war is brewing in the underbelly of the city with the police losing its grip on gang rivalries as they spill out onto the streets of Bradford. When a young dealer is murdered, Harry’s duty to uphold the law clashes with his links to members of the crime gangs. With his personal life in chaos, he must hunt down whoever is targeting those around him.

BBC

Ncuti Gatwa is back with a second series of adventures on BBC One and iPlayer. The Doctor meets new series companion Belinda Chandra (played by Varada Sethu).

BBC

February’s series will see new Headteacher Dame Stella Drake seek Jack Rimmer’s help as she struggles through her first few weeks as head of Waterloo Road. Viewers will have to wait for the new series to see just how difficult Stella’s journey at the school is, and whether Jack’s advice and expertise can help her.

BBC

Paddy Mayne takes control of the SAS following David Stirling’s capture, and now attention must turn from the conflict in North Africa to mainland Europe. But GHQ have cast doubt over the future of the regiment, while the creation of a second unit and an influx of new arrivals make things even more difficult for the men. Can they prove that the SAS remain essential to the war, wherever it may lead them?

BBC

Lord of the Flies is the story of a group of young schoolchildren who find themselves stranded on a tropical island with no adults, following a deadly plane crash. In an attempt to remain civil, the boys organise themselves, led by Ralph and supported by the group’s intellectual, Piggy. But Jack, who is in charge of signal fire duty, is more interested in hunting and vying for leadership and soon begins to draw other boys away from the order of the group and, ultimately, from hope to tragedy.

BBC

In Riot Women, we dive headfirst into the world of five women who, along with two riotous backing singers, come together to create a makeshift punk-rock band in order to enter a local talent contest, but in writing their first original song, soon discover that they have a lot to say - and this is their way to say it.

BBC

The drama begins in 1830, many years after Jane has died. Cassandra (Keeley Hawes) rushes to visit Isabella (Rose Leslie), the niece of her long-dead fiancé, who is about to lose her home following her father’s death.

BBC

King and Conqueror is the story of a clash that defined the future of a country – and a continent – for a thousand years, the roots of which stretch back decades and extend out through a pair of interconnected family dynasties, struggling for power across two countries and a raging sea.

BBC

Co-created and written by Declan Lawn and Adam Patterson, Blue Lights is an authentic, gripping and darkly funny drama about ordinary people doing an extraordinary job.

BBC

The show follows John ‘Ludwig’ Taylor, whose identical twin brother James mysteriously vanishes. John takes on his brother’s identity to uncover the truth behind his disappearance. But there’s a twist: John has lived a quiet, uneventful life, designing puzzles and avoiding the outside world, while his brother is a high-flying DCI leading a major crimes team in Cambridge. Filling in for James leads to hilariously high stakes and serious crime-solving.

BBC

After solving the Andie Bell case Pip‘s world has been transformed by her actions, and not always for the better. Pip is determined to fix the fallout - and stay away from any more investigations. But as Max Hastings’ trial approaches, key witness Jamie Reynolds suddenly disappears and Pip finds herself in a race against time to find him. This new mystery will take Pip to unexpected places as she struggles with the idea of justice, straying even further from the 'good girl' she once was.

BBC

It is the end of World War One. As Britain celebrates the Armistice on the streets of London, men return from the front expecting to rejoin society and pick up where they left off - but a newly empowered generation of women are loath to simply return to the kitchen.

BBC

Boarders follows five talented black inner-city teens transported to an alien world – a British boarding school – after gaining scholarships to the prestigious St. Gilbert’s. They set out to make the most out of the opportunity, despite their places only being offered as a poorly-disguised PR exercise to improve the reputation of the school.

ITV

Set against a sweeping Cornish landscape, two couples discover that their toddlers were switched at birth in a hospital mix-up and face a horrifying dilemma: do they keep the sons they have raised and loved or reclaim their biological child? Living a waking nightmare, Pete (James Norton) and Maddie (Niamh Algar) are jettisoned into the world of the other couple Miles (James McArdle) and Lucy (Jessica Brown Findlay).

ITV

County lines drug-dealing and an escalating and insidious crime wave sweeping the British countryside are the subject of this drama starring Martin Clunes as a farmer confronted with dark forces seeping into his rural community.

The drama will depict the stealthy and surreptitious invasion of the land our farmer cherishes with devastating consequences as his livelihood, homestead and family life are threatened by local county lines drugs dealers who are essentially urban gangs using the British countryside as a field of operations and moving drugs and money between their inner-city hubs and provincial areas.

ITV

1961 - life is good for Will and Geordie (Robson Green). The families are always together, from Sunday lunches to planning summer holidays - with honorary grandparents Mrs C and Jack and adopted uncles Daniel and Leonard, it’s one big happy family! However, when Will is approached with a life-changing offer, can he leave Grantchester and Geordie behind?

ITV

The hugely successful and critically acclaimed drama - created and written by multi-award-winning screenwriter Chris Lang - returns and invites viewers once again into the emotional depth and complexity of cold case investigations. The sixth series sees the return of Sinéad Keenan and Sanjeev Bhaskar as DCI Jess James and DI Sunil ‘Sunny’ Khan, bringing back their compelling on-screen partnership as they delve into unresolved crimes and promising another powerful exploration of hidden truths and long-buried secrets.

ITV

Set in Morecambe, Marsha Thomason remains as Morecambe’s MIU Family Liaison Officer DS Jenn Townsend alongside cast regulars Daniel Ryan, Erin Shanagher and Andrew Dowbiggin. Olwen May (Happy Valley, Trying) joins the team, Barry Sloane returns as Chris Fischer, Georgia Scholes plays Chris’s daughter Erin, and David Carpenter and Emme Hayes return as Conor and Maddie, Jenn’s children - Suzanne Packer (Casualty, Keeping Faith) joins as Jenn’s mum Anne Townsend.

ITV

 In the societal turmoil of 1984, Catriona Grant is the heiress to an oil fortune when she is kidnapped at gunpoint with her young son Adam - it’s assumed that the motivation is political as the huge investigation creates an uncontrollable press storm… but when the culprits unexpectedly fall silent, the case runs cold and Catriona and Adam are never seen again.

ITV

Episode 1 - The Devil's Work

The demise of the Shirewell patriarch sparks a vicious inheritance dispute when eldest son Lucian announces plans to break up an estate that's been in his family for centuries.

ITV

 As much of a conspiracy thriller as it is a police drama, this is the story of a compromised but ultimately honest police officer who is out of her depth yet acutely driven to understand the truth of her lover and how far a case of corruption goes

CHANNEL 4

Patience Evans (Ella Maisy Purvis) works in the criminal records department of Yorkshire Police, cataloguing and filing the evidence produced during major cases. A young autistic woman, she craves routine and order, relishing the solitude and structure her job provides but she yearns for more. A brilliant, self-taught criminologist, Patience has an instinctive eye for crime scenes and a passion for problem-solving.

CHANNEL 4

1989. When Brian and Margaret came together for their last ever TV interview, little did they know they were about to embark on one of the most famous political exchanges of all time. The 45-minute showdown became a national talking point and set in train a series of events that ended with Margaret’s resignation. Afterwards, they never spoke again…

CHANNEL 5

The series is based on the best-selling books by American author Parnell Hall and begins when a strange murder takes place in the sleepy market town of Bakerbury. The local police are baffled by a crossword puzzle left on the body.

CHANNEL 5

The Madame Blanc Mysteries Series 4 (7 x 60’) will return to the wonderful world of Sainte Victoire, packed with unusual antiques and objéts d’art, murder, mystery, sunshine and laughter for a 7-episode series including a Christmas special.

CHANNEL 5

The Au Pair follows Zoe Dalton (Sally Bretton), who seems to have it all— a successful husband Chris (Kenny Doughty), two adorable stepchildren, Amber and Noah, a thriving tailoring business and a gorgeous countryside home in a picturesque English town. However, all is not as it seems as she experiences marital issues and pressure mounts when her diabetic father, George (David Suchet), moves in next door.

More details on all the titles will be revealed in due course.