''Doctor Foster: A Woman Scorned'' is a British psychological thriller television series that first debuted on

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, p ...

on 9 September 2015. Created and written by Mike Bartlett, the series is about Gemma Foster (

Suranne Jones Sarah Anne Akers (née Jones; born 27 August 1978), known professionally as Suranne Jones, is an English actress and producer. She rose to prominence as Karen McDonald in ''Coronation Street'' between 2000 to 2004. Upon leaving, she furthered h ...

), a doctor who suspects her husband Simon (

Bertie Carvel Robert Hugh Carvel (born 6 September 1977) is a British actor. He has twice won a Laurence Olivier Award: for Best Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical for his role as Miss Trunchbull in ''Matilda the Musical'', and for Best Actor in a Supporti ...

) is having an

affair An affair is a sexual relationship, romantic friendship, or passionate attachment in which at least one of its participants has a formal or informal commitment to a third person who may neither agree to such relationship nor even be aware of i ...

. After she follows several lines of enquiry, she slowly begins to lose her sanity as her life unravels from what secrets she finds. The storyline was inspired by the ancient

Greek myth A major branch of classical mythology, Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the ancient Greeks, and a genre of Ancient Greek folklore. These stories concern the origin and nature of the world, the lives and activities of ...

Medea In Greek mythology, Medea (; grc, Μήδεια, ''Mēdeia'', perhaps implying "planner / schemer") is the daughter of King Aeëtes of Colchis, a niece of Circe and the granddaughter of the sun god Helios. Medea figures in the myth of Jason an ...

, a wronged wife who kills her children and poisons her husband's new bride. Internationally, the series was brought to many countries by different networks (see

Broadcast Broadcasting is the distribution of audio or video content to a dispersed audience via any electronic mass communications medium, but typically one using the electromagnetic spectrum ( radio waves), in a one-to-many model. Broadcasting began ...

). The second series of the show started on 5 September 2017 and concluded on 3 October 2017. A future third series has been played down by lead actress Jones, citing incompatibility of schedules. Bartlett has said while there is more to explore with Gemma Foster's story, he would bring the show back only if there were a vital story to be told, with no immediate plans for a return. He did, however, write a spin-off, ''

Life Life is a quality that distinguishes matter that has biological processes, such as signaling and self-sustaining processes, from that which does not, and is defined by the capacity for growth, reaction to stimuli, metabolism, energ ...

'', featuring the character of Anna Baker from the first two series.

Cast

Series one *

as Dr. Gemma Foster, a 37-year-old general practitioner in the town of "Parminster", who begins to suspect her husband, Simon, is having an affair *

as Simon Foster, a 40-year-old

property developer Real estate development, or property development, is a business process, encompassing activities that range from the renovation and re-lease of existing buildings to the purchase of raw land and the sale of developed land or parcels to others. R ...

, Gemma's husband and the series' main antagonist. *

Clare-Hope Ashitey Clare-Hope Ashitey (born 12 February 1987) is an English actress. She attended the Centre Stage School of Performing Arts, Southgate while being educated at The Latymer School, located in the Edmonton area of London, for seven years. She took ...

as Carly Williams, a patient of Gemma's, who helps support Gemma, due to her suspicions of Simon *

Cheryl Campbell Cheryl Campbell (born 22 May 1949) is an English actor of stage, film and television. She starred opposite Bob Hoskins in the 1978 BBC drama '' Pennies From Heaven'', before going on to win the 1980 BAFTA TV Award for Best Actress for ''Testamen ...

as Helen Foster (episodes 1-3) *

Jodie Comer Jodie Marie Comer ( ; born 11 March 1993) is an English actress who rose to global prominence for her role as Oksana Astankova / Villanelle in the BBC America spy thriller ''Killing Eve'' (2018–2022). She has received various accolades inc ...

as Kate Parks, a 23-year-old university student who has been secretly having a two-year affair with Simon Foster *

Navin Chowdhry Navin Chowdhry (born 1 January 1971) is a British actor He is best known for his roles as Indra Ganesh in Doctor Who Sunil Mitesh in The Job Lot and as Nish Panesar in the BBC soap opera EastEnders. Early life Chowdhry is of Indian-origin and ...

as Anwar (episodes 2–3, 5) *

Victoria Hamilton Victoria Hamilton (born 5 April 1971) is an English actress. After training at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art, Hamilton began her career in classical theatre, appearing in productions with the Royal Shakespeare Company and the ...

as Anna Baker (episodes 1–3, 5) *

Tom Taylor Tom Taylor (19 October 1817 – 12 July 1880) was an English dramatist, critic, biographer, public servant, and editor of ''Punch'' magazine. Taylor had a brief academic career, holding the professorship of English literature and language a ...

as Tom Foster, Gemma and Simon's 13-year-old son *

Martha Howe-Douglas Martha Howe-Douglas is an English actress and writer. She is a member of the British Horrible Histories troupe, in which she starred in the TV series ''Horrible Histories''. She also starred in and co-created ''Yonderland'' and ''Ghosts''. S ...

as Becky Hughes * Adam James as Neil Baker (episodes 1–3, 5) *

Thusitha Jayasundera Thusitha Jayasundera (born 1971) is a Sri Lankan actress who lives in the United Kingdom. She attended an all-girls school run by Australian missionaries, and graduated from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in 1993. Jayasundera played Tushura ...

as Ros Mahendra *

Sara Stewart Sara Scott Griffith (born 28 June 1966) is a Scottish actress. She played Stella in '' Sugar Rush''. Early life Stewart was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, to American parents. After spending some time in the U.S., she trained at the Central Sch ...

as Susie Parks (episodes 1–2, 4-5) *

Neil Stuke Neil Robert Stuke (born 22 February 1966 in Deal, Kent) is an English actor best known for his role of Matthew in the TV sitcom '' Game On'' and more recently for playing Billy Lamb in the BBC legal drama ''Silk''. Career Stuke played Matthew i ...

as Chris Parks (episodes 1–2, 4-5) *

Robert Pugh Robert Pugh (born 11 October 1950) is a Welsh actor, known for his many television appearances, including the role of Craster in the HBO series ''Game of Thrones''. Life and career Pugh was born in the Tynte, Mountain Ash and grew up in Cilfy ...

as Jack Reynolds (episodes 1–2, 4) *Ricky Nixon as Daniel Spencer (episodes 1,4) *Daniel Cerqueira as Gordon Ward, a hypochondriac who regularly visits Gemma at the medical practice *Megan Roberts as Isobel, a friend of Tom's Series two *

as Gemma Foster *

as Simon Foster *

as Tom Foster *

as Kate Parks (episodes 1-4) *

as Anna Baker (episodes 1-4) * Adam James as Neil Baker (episodes 1-3) *

Prasanna Puwanarajah Prasanna Puwanarajah ( ta, பிரசன்னா புவனராஜா; born 1981) is an English actor, director, writer, and former junior medical doctor. Early life Puwanarajah was born at Ipswich Hospital in Suffolk to Eelam Tamil par ...

as James, Gemma's new love interest (episodes 1–3, 5) *

Sian Brooke Sian Brooke (born Sian Elizabeth Phillips; born 1980) is a British actress. Her television work includes '' Cape Wrath'' (2007), '' Sherlock'' (2017), '' Doctor Foster'' (2017), ''Good Omens'' (2019), ''Guilt'' (2019), and '' Trying'' (2020–). ...

as Siân Lambert, a new Doctor at Gemma's surgery with mysterious links to Simon (episodes 1–2, 4-5) *Hope Lloyd as Isobel (episodes 1, 3) *Frank Kauer as Max, Tom's best friend (episodes 1-3) *

as Ros Mahendra (episodes 1–3, 5) *Joanie Kent as Amelie Foster, Simon and Kate's daughter (episodes 1-4) *Daniel Cerqueira as Gordon Ward (episodes 1-2) *Helena Lymbery as Mrs Walters, Tom's headteacher (episodes 2-3) *

as Becky Hughes (episode 1) *

as Susie Parks (episodes 1, 4) *

as Chris Parks (episodes 1, 4) *

as Carly Williams (episode 4) *Philip Wright as Connor, Ros' fiancé and then husband (episodes 1, 3, 5)

Episodes

Series 1 (2015)

Series 2 (2017)

: The ratings over a 28-day period, including the broadcasts on BBC One and streaming through

BBC iPlayer BBC iPlayer (stylised as iPLAYER or BBC iPLAYER) is a video on demand service from the BBC. The service is available on a wide range of devices, including mobile phones and tablets, personal computers and smart televisions. iPlayer services del ...

Production

The series was commissioned by Charlotte Moore and

Ben Stephenson Benjamin Stephenson is a television executive, formerly controller of drama at the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) and currently Head of Television at Bad Robot Productions in the United States. Personal life Stephenson attended The H ...

. The

executive producer Executive producer (EP) is one of the top positions in the making of a commercial entertainment product. Depending on the medium, the executive producer may be concerned with management accounting or associated with legal issues (like copyrights o ...

s are Roanna Benn,

Greg Brenman Greg Brenman is an English film and television producer. As previous Head of Drama at UK's Tiger Aspect Productions, he produced over 400 hours of British TV drama. Titles include ''Peaky Blinders'', ''Ripper Street'', ''My Mad Fat Diary'', ''Pri ...

, Jude Liknaitzky, and Matthew Read. Filming took place in Green Lane, Croxley Green, Hertfordshire, Copse Wood Way, Northwood, London, Enfield and the

Market Square The market square (or sometimes, the market place) is a Town square, square meant for trading, in which a market is held. It is an important feature of many towns and cities around the world.Hitchin Hitchin () is a market town and unparished area in the North Hertfordshire Districts of England, district in Hertfordshire, England, with an estimated population of 35,842. History Hitchin is first noted as the central place of the Hicce peopl ...

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is one of the home counties in southern England. It borders Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to the north, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, and Buckinghamshire to the west. For govern ...

. The surgery location shoot was at the

Chess Chess is a board game for two players, called White and Black, each controlling an army of chess pieces in their color, with the objective to checkmate the opponent's king. It is sometimes called international chess or Western chess to disti ...

Medical Centre, in

Chesham Chesham (, , or ) is a market town and civil parish in Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (), abbreviated Bucks, is a ceremonial county in South East England that borders Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, Oxfordsh ...

Bucks Bucks may refer to: Places * Buckinghamshire, England, abbreviated Bucks * Bucks, Alabama, United States, an unincorporated community * Bucks, Illinois, United States, an unincorporated community * Bucks, Michigan, an unincorporated community ...

, renamed Parminster Medical Centre for the show. The railway station featured in the show was Enfield Chase station. The scene that features Tom playing football was filmed at the Southgate Hockey Centre, Enfield. It was announced at the end of Series 1 that the show would return for a second series, with both Suranne Jones and Bertie Carvel. At the

21st National Television Awards The 21st National Television Awards were held at The O2 Arena on 20 January 2016. The awards were hosted by Dermot O'Leary. Performances * Gloria Gaynor – "I Will Survive/ Survivor" * Fleur East – " More and More" * Raya Yarbrough - "The ...

Jones announced that the new series began filming in September 2016. The second series started on 5 September 2017 and concluded on 3 October 2017. The BBC is yet to confirm whether the show will return for a third series although writer Mike Bartlett does not dismiss the possibility.

Reception

In general, the show has received acclaim. The opening episode received generally positive reviews from critics, with Lucy Mangan from ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' calling it a "gripping portrait of a marriage slowly being poisoned," although Mangan expressed fears of the show descending into "

melodrama A modern melodrama is a dramatic work in which the plot, typically sensationalized and for a strong emotional appeal, takes precedence over detailed characterization. Melodramas typically concentrate on dialogue that is often bombastic or exces ...

in the not too distant future". In a review for ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was fo ...

'', Michael Hogan gave the drama four stars out of five, describing it as "an edgy nail-biter" that was "sparkily written by

Olivier Award The Laurence Olivier Awards, or simply the Olivier Awards, are presented annually by the Society of London Theatre to recognise excellence in professional theatre in London at an annual ceremony in the capital. The awards were originally known as ...

-winner Mike Bartlett", despite a soundtrack that was "overbearing". Less enthusiastically, Victoria Segal of ''

The Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News UK, whi ...

'' wrote of the fourth episode that it "clattered unsteadily to its

denouement Dramatic structure (also known as dramaturgical structure) is the structure of a dramatic work such as a book, play, or film. There are different kinds of dramatic structures worldwide which have been hypothesized by critics, writers and scholar ...

...this episode is as desperately uneven as the rest of the series, thrashing about between high melodrama and muted misery." Catherine Blythe of ''The Telegraph'' bemoaned its "absurd plot" and the lack of "emotional logic" in a series of "melodramatic contortions that required a character who was supposed to be brainy to act like an utter fool".

Accolades

Broadcast

Internationally, the series premiered in Australia on 17 November 2015 on

BBC First BBC First is an entertainment subscription television channel featuring comedy, crime, drama and film programming, originating from UK and mostly from the BBC. The channel is wholly owned and operated by BBC Studios. The channel began rolling ou ...

, in New Zealand on 17 January 2016 on TV One, in France on 15 June 2016 on C8, in Poland on 3 August 2016 on

Ale Kino+ Ale Kino+ is a Polish television channel owned and operated by Canal+. It is available on the networks of cable television and the digital platform Cyfra+ (now nc+ Canal+ (formerly Cyfra+ (Canal+ Cyfrowy), nc+, Platforma Canal+) is a Polish s ...

, in Sweden on 15 August 2016 on

SVT1 SVT1 (SVT Ett; commonly referred to as Ettan) is the primary television station of the Swedish public service broadcaster Sveriges Television in Sweden. History Television in Sweden officially launched on 4 September 1956 with the launch of '' ...

, and in Finland on 28. February 2018 on Yle TV1. The series aired in the US on

Lifetime Lifetime may refer to: * Life expectancy, the length of time a person is expected to remain alive Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Lifetime (band), a rock band from New Jersey * ''Life Time'' (Rollins Band album), by Rollins Band * ...

in April 2016 as ''Doctor Foster: A Woman Scorned'' and began streaming on

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...

in October 2016. In Spain, the series' first instalment was first broadcast on

Nova A nova (plural novae or novas) is a transient astronomical event that causes the sudden appearance of a bright, apparently "new" star (hence the name "nova", which is Latin for "new") that slowly fades over weeks or months. Causes of the dramati ...

in June 2018, and will air again on Antena 3 with two episodes per week as of 5 September and 6 September, respectively. In

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

, ''Doctor Foster'' aired on KBS 1TV from 25 January 2016 to 9 January 2018. Due to the

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

pandemic A pandemic () is an epidemic of an infectious disease that has spread across a large region, for instance multiple continents or worldwide, affecting a substantial number of individuals. A widespread endemic (epidemiology), endemic disease wi ...

, as well as the immense popularity of its

local adaptation Local adaptation is a mechanism in evolutionary biology whereby a population of organisms evolves to be more well-suited to its local environment than other members of the same species that live elsewhere. Local adaptation requires that different po ...

which aired on

JTBC JTBC (shortened from ''Joongang Tongyang Broadcasting Company'' (; stylized as jtbc) is a South Korean nationwide pay television network. Its primary shareholder is JoongAng Holdings, with a 25% stake. It was launched on 1 December 2011. JTBC ...

, the latter will re-air ''Doctor Foster'' following the end of the local adaptation. ''

Graceful Friends ''Graceful Friends'' () is a South Korean television series starring Yoo Jun-sang, Song Yoon-ah, Bae Soo-bin, Han Eun-jung, Kim Sung-oh, Kim Hye-eun, Jung Suk-yong, Lee In-hye, Kim Won-hae and Kim Ji-young. It aired on JTBC from July 10 to Septe ...

'', the drama that was supposed to air after the local adaptation, was pushed back to July 2020.

Adaptations

Spin-off

In 2020,

broadcast the spin-off series ''

'', similarly written by Mike Bartlett and with

reprising her role as the character of Anna Baker, now known as "Belle Stone", living in a converted house in

Manchester, England Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

. The series also featured Anna's ex-husband Neil Baker (played again by Adam James).

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Doctor Foster (Tv Series) 2015 British television series debuts 2017 British television series endings 2010s British drama television series Adultery in television BBC high definition shows BBC television dramas 2010s British medical television series English-language television shows Television shows set in England Works about physicians