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''This Life'' is a
BBC television drama BBC television dramas have been produced and broadcast since even before the public service company had an officially established television broadcasting network in the United Kingdom. As with any major broadcast network, drama forms an importan ...
that was produced by World Productions and screened on
BBC Two BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream a ...
. Two series were broadcast in 1996 and 1997, with a later reunion special in 2007. It centres on the life of twentysomething law graduates embarking upon their careers while sharing a house in
south London South London is the southern part of London, England, south of the River Thames. The region consists of the boroughs, in whole or in part, of Bexley, Bromley, Croydon, Greenwich, Kingston, Lambeth, Lewisham, Merton, Richmond, Southwark, Sutt ...
. Unusually for a show about lawyers, there are no courtroom scenes in either the first or second series, and only one brief scene in the TV sequel. Broadcast during the height of "
Cool Britannia Cool Britannia was a name for the period of increased pride in the culture of the United Kingdom throughout the mid and second half of the 1990s, inspired by Swinging London from 1960s pop culture. This loosely coincided with John Major's conserv ...
", the series is set in London and is notable for its
Britpop Britpop was a mid-1990s British-based music culture movement that emphasised Britishness. It produced brighter, catchier alternative rock, partly in reaction to the popularity of the darker lyrical themes of the US-led grunge music and to the U ...
soundtrack and for its depiction of
casual sex Casual sex is sexual activity that takes place outside a romantic relationship and implies an absence of commitment, emotional attachment, or familiarity between sexual partners. Examples are sexual activity while casually dating, one-night ...
and drug-taking. It became a popular
word-of-mouth Word of mouth, or ''viva voce'', is the passing of information from person to person using oral communication, which could be as simple as telling someone the time of day. Storytelling is a common form of word-of-mouth communication where one pe ...
hit and was included on BFI's list of the 100 greatest British television programmes of all time.


Production

The series was created by Amy Jenkins, who was also its principal
writer A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles and techniques to communicate ideas. Writers produce different forms of literary art and creative writing such as novels, short stories, books, poetry, travelogues, pla ...
. Other writers contributed scripts, including Joe Ahearne (who also directed some episodes—the only person to do both on the series),
Ian Iqbal Rashid Ian Iqbal Rashid (born in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania) is a poet, screenwriter and filmmaker known in particular for his volumes of poetry, for the TV series '' Sort Of'' and '' This Life'' and the feature films '' Touch of Pink'' and '' How She M ...
,
Amelia Bullmore Amelia Mary Bullmore (born 31 January 1964) is an English actress, screenwriter and playwright. She is known for her roles in ''Coronation Street'' (1990–1992), ''I'm Alan Partridge'' (2002), '' Ashes to Ashes'' (2008–2009), '' Twenty Twelve ...
, and
Matthew Graham Matthew Graham is a British television writer, and the co-creator of the BBC/ Kudos Film and Television science fiction series ''Life on Mars'', which debuted in 2006 on BBC One and has received international critical acclaim. Career Graham b ...
. Tony Garnett was the executive producer and Jane Fallon worked as a producer on both series. When the first series was screened it was a modest critical success. Nevertheless, the original production agreement secured a second series. In the lead-up to the broadcast of the second series, the entire first series was repeated, helping to generate a critical buzz around the programme, including front-page newspaper coverage, to the point that millions of viewers were waiting to discover the ultimate resolutions to the various plot-lines.


Broadcasts

The original run of the first series in 1996 was neither a critical nor a ratings success. It was only its repeat run of the first series, beginning 2 January 1997, then every Wednesday evening from 3 January in a post-
Newsnight ''Newsnight'' (or ''BBC Newsnight'') is BBC Two's news and current affairs programme, providing in-depth investigation and analysis of the stories behind the day's headlines. The programme is broadcast on weekdays at 22:30. and is also avail ...
 slot, that the show really began to attract serious, but still relatively moderate, viewer attention. This rerun ran smoothly into the start of the new second series, from Monday, 17 March 1997, restored to its peak-time slot, by which time it was attracting praise as a cult hit. By the time the second series ended, the show was attracting strong audience figures for a BBC Two show of around four million, and became a national talking point, regularly making headlines in both tabloid and broadsheet newspapers. Both of the series were then repeated late-night from 12 June to 2 August 2000 (each episode was shown twice during the first run). The lack of repeats was mainly due to the high VHS sales during the late 1990s. Another screening of the first series only was shown on Sunday evenings between 30 March and 13 July 2003. As a run-in to the reunion, the BBC repeated every episode, two each night Monday to Thursday, starting 6 November 2006, on
BBC Two BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream a ...
. As of March 2013, the entire series including ''This Life +10'' and ''That Life'' (a short documentary about the reunion special) has been made available via Virgin On Demand. From 3 February 2020, series one of ''This Life'' was repeated on
BBC4 BBC Four is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was launched on 2 March 2002
, carrying a dedication to its executive producer, Tony Garnett, who had died aged 83 during the previous month.


Locations

* The south London
terraced house In architecture and city planning, a terrace or terraced house ( UK) or townhouse ( US) is a form of medium-density housing that originated in Europe in the 16th century, whereby a row of attached dwellings share side walls. In the United Stat ...
that is the key location for the series is said to be in "Benjamin Street" though the building is in Anchor Terrace on
Southwark Bridge Road Southwark Bridge Road is a road in Southwark, London, England, between Newington Causeway near Elephant and Castle and Southwark Bridge across the River Thames, leading to the City of London, in a meandering route. The road was created by con ...
. The house has since been converted into flats. * The barristers' offices were filmed on
High Holborn High Holborn ( ) is a street in Holborn and Farringdon Without, Central London, which forms a part of the A40 route from London to Fishguard. It starts in the west at the eastern end of St Giles High Street and runs past the Kingsway and So ...
near the junction with
Chancery Lane Chancery Lane is a one-way street situated in the ward of Farringdon Without in the City of London. It has formed the western boundary of the City since 1994, having previously been divided between the City of Westminster and the London Boro ...
. * The location for external shots of Moore Spencer Wright in "Gresham House" is at 179-191 Borough High Street, now the
FTC Kaplan Kaplan Financial Ltd is a British company providing training in accountancy and financial services. It was founded in 1958. Kaplan Financial is part of Kaplan, Inc., a subsidiary of Graham Holdings Company. Kaplan Financial has more than 48,000 ...
offices. The waiting room in which Egg and Warren's job interviews take place is in Norwich Street at the City law firm Macfarlanes. * External shots at the barristers’ chambers were filmed outside Verulam Buildings on
Gray's Inn Road Gray's Inn Road (or Grays Inn Road) is an important road in the Bloomsbury district of Central London, in the London Borough of Camden. The road begins at the City of London boundary, where it bisects High Holborn, and ends at King's Cross and ...
, part of Gray's Inn; the interior scenes were filmed in the Anchor Terrace house (see above). * "Cochrane's Cafe", the cafe that Egg works in, and later runs, is on Victoria Road in North Acton next to the Tube station. * "Conti's", the cafe where the characters are often seen having lunch, was just further down Southwark Bridge Road from the Anchor Terrace house (on the same side). It was called the Island Cafe. * The job centre Egg visits is on Borough High Street, Southwark, London. * In the 2007 reunion, Miles's country house (Whithurst Park in
Sussex Sussex (), from the Old English (), is a historic county in South East England that was formerly an independent medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdom. It is bounded to the west by Hampshire, north by Surrey, northeast by Kent, south by the Englis ...
) is the same location used in the first episode of the first series of '' Lewis'', "To Whom the Gods Would Destroy".


Episodes


Series one (1996)

''This Life'' is based around life in a London law firm and
barristers' chambers In law, a barrister's chambers or barristers' chambers are the rooms used by a barrister or a group of barristers. The singular refers to the use by a sole practitioner whereas the plural refers to a group of barristers who, while acting as sol ...
of trainee solicitors and pupil barristers, but is essentially a character-driven drama. Egg and Milly have been dating since they were at university, but their career choices create tension between them. Conscientious Milly is ambitious, spending a lot of time working with her older boss Mr O'Donnell. Egg suffers a crisis of dissatisfaction with a career in law, and soon resigns from the firm. Anna and Miles had a brief fling at university, and Anna is fixated on the indifferent Miles. Their love–hate relationship makes their work and home life frequently tense. The other housemate Warren is a gay man. He spends some time dealing with issues around his sexuality, especially in relation to "
coming out Coming out of the closet, often shortened to coming out, is a metaphor used to describe LGBT people's self-disclosure of their sexual orientation, romantic orientation, or gender identity. Framed and debated as a privacy issue, coming ou ...
" to friends and family. In an unusual (at the time) plot device he is frequently seen discussing his feelings with a therapist who is heard and only rarely seen by the viewer. Miles appears sometimes to dislike Warren, and subjects him to occasional homophobic abuse when angered. Miles's manipulative girlfriend, the drug addicted and bulimic Delilah, moves in with him. This results in conflict in the house. When Miles, who has not been practising
safe sex Safe sex is sexual activity using methods or contraceptive devices (such as condoms) to reduce the risk of transmitting or acquiring sexually transmitted infections (STIs), especially HIV. "Safe sex" is also sometimes referred to as safer s ...
with Delilah, discovers that she is still sleeping with her heroin addict ex, Truelove, he has an HIV scare. Milly clashes with Egg over his perceived lack of ambition, and becomes attracted to O'Donnell.


Series two (1997)

During the second series, storylines were expanded to include other connected characters. These included Ferdy (
Ramon Tikaram Ramon Tikaram is a British stage and screen actor of Indo-Fijian and Southeast Asian descent. He is known for playing such roles as Ferdy in the BBC television series '' This Life'' and Qadim Shah in the BBC One soap opera ''EastEnders''. Earl ...
), briefly Warren's boyfriend; Rachel (
Natasha Little Natasha Emma Little (born 2 October 1969) is an English actress. She is best known for her roles as Edith Thompson in the film '' Another Life'', Lady Caroline Langbourne in the BBC miniseries ''The Night Manager'', and Christina Moxam in the B ...
) a new junior trainee at Milly's law firm; and Francesca, Miles's girlfriend and later fiancée. Previously secondary characters Jo (
Steve John Shepherd Stephen John Shepherd (born 1 August 1973) is an English actor. He is known for his portrayals of Jo in the TV drama '' This Life'' and Michael Moon in the soap opera ''EastEnders'' from 2010 to 2013. Personal life Shepherd was born in Londo ...
) and Warren's cousin, Kira (
Luisa Bradshaw-White Luisa Bradshaw-White (born 9 December 1974) is a former English actress, known for playing Tina Carter in ''EastEnders'' and for her previous roles on '' Bad Girls'', ''Holby City'' and '' This Life''. She has also made appearances in television ...
) feature more heavily as they embarked upon a relationship. Moore Spencer Wright receptionist Kelly (Sacha Craise) also became much more prominent. Ferdy was a
bisexual Bisexuality is a romantic or sexual attraction or behavior toward both males and females, or to more than one gender. It may also be defined to include romantic or sexual attraction to people regardless of their sex or gender identity, ...
character, seen as a replacement for Warren when Jason Hughes decided to leave the show (he did return for the final scene). Finding a relationship with Anna impossible, Miles began a relationship with Francesca, a woman nearly a decade older than he was. Miles proposed to Francesca, but still harboured feelings for Anna. Rachel had a long-running passive-aggressive feud with Milly, although on the surface the pair were able to work together without mention of their mutual dislike. Milly's dislike of Rachel was very strong, viewing her as a threat to her relationship with O'Donnell, and disliking her apparently perfect demeanour. Milly confided in Anna that she found Rachel almost suffocatingly "nice". The tension between the two went unresolved throughout the second series, culminating in the final scene, in the episode "Apocalypse Wow!" At Miles and Francesca's wedding reception, after Milly learns that Rachel has told Egg of her affair with O'Donnell, Milly punches Rachel in the face.


''This Life + 10'' (2006)

In 2006, the BBC reconvened the original cast for a special one-off 80-minute special, looking at what had happened to the lead characters in the intervening ten years. The episode begins with the original five housemates reuniting for Ferdy's funeral. Milly and Egg are together, though not married, and have had a young son but Miles is divorced from Francesca and has a new Vietnamese wife, Me Linh. The circumstances of both Ferdy's death and Miles's divorce are not revealed. This new episode was entitled ''+ 10'' onscreen, and kept the original title sequence and programme title ''This Life''. It was screened on 2 January 2007, and was a co-production between
BBC Wales BBC Cymru Wales is a division of the BBC and the main public broadcaster in Wales. It is one of the four BBC national regions, alongside the BBC English Regions, BBC Northern Ireland and BBC Scotland. Established in 1964, BBC Cymru Wales is ...
and the original producers World Productions. ''This Life + 10'' was written by Jenkins, directed by Ahearne and produced by Garnett. It gained 3.5 million viewers, with a 14% audience share.


Cast

*
Jack Davenport Jack Arthur Davenport (born 1 March 1973) is an English actor. He is best known for his roles in the television series '' This Life'' and ''Coupling'', and as James Norrington in the ''Pirates of the Caribbean'' series. He has also appeared ...
as Miles Stewart *
Amita Dhiri Amita is a female name of Indian, Hebrew and Italian origin. The name means "infinite, boundless" in Sanskrit, and "truth" in Hebrew. List of people with the given name Amita * Amita Bhushan (born 1970), Indian politician * Amita Dhiri (born 1966 ...
as Djamila "Milly" Nassim *
Andrew Lincoln Andrew James Clutterbuck (born 14 September 1973), known professionally as Andrew Lincoln, is an English actor. His first major role was as the character Egg in the BBC drama '' This Life'' (1996–1997). Lincoln later portrayed Simon Casey ...
as Edgar "Egg" Cook *
Daniela Nardini Daniela Nardini (born 26 April 1968, Largs) is a Scottish actress who played Anna Forbes in the BBC Two television series '' This Life''. The role earned her a BAFTA Best Actress award in 1998 and also earned her a Scottish BAFTA. She won a s ...
as Anna Forbes * Jason Hughes as Warren Jones *
Ramon Tikaram Ramon Tikaram is a British stage and screen actor of Indo-Fijian and Southeast Asian descent. He is known for playing such roles as Ferdy in the BBC television series '' This Life'' and Qadim Shah in the BBC One soap opera ''EastEnders''. Earl ...
as Ferdinand "Ferdy" Garcia * David Mallinson as Michael O'Donnell *
Luisa Bradshaw-White Luisa Bradshaw-White (born 9 December 1974) is a former English actress, known for playing Tina Carter in ''EastEnders'' and for her previous roles on '' Bad Girls'', ''Holby City'' and '' This Life''. She has also made appearances in television ...
as Kira *
Steve John Shepherd Stephen John Shepherd (born 1 August 1973) is an English actor. He is known for his portrayals of Jo in the TV drama '' This Life'' and Michael Moon in the soap opera ''EastEnders'' from 2010 to 2013. Personal life Shepherd was born in Londo ...
as Jo *
Natasha Little Natasha Emma Little (born 2 October 1969) is an English actress. She is best known for her roles as Edith Thompson in the film '' Another Life'', Lady Caroline Langbourne in the BBC miniseries ''The Night Manager'', and Christina Moxam in the B ...
as Rachel * Juliet Cowan as Nicki * Sacha Craise as Kelly * Cyril Nri as Graham * Geoffrey Bateman as Hooperman * Gillian McCutcheon as Therapist *
Tony Curran Tony Curran is a Scottish actor who has appeared in '' Underworld: Evolution'', ''Doctor Who'', '' Roots'', and the Netflix historical epic '' Outlaw King''. He appears in the Marvel Cinematic Universe film '' Thor: The Dark World'' (2013) as B ...
as Lenny * Paul Copley as Jerry Cooke *
Mark Lewis Jones Mark Lewis Jones (born 31 August, 1964) is a Welsh actor, whose roles include that of a First Order Captain Moden Canady in '' Star Wars: The Last Jedi'', a police inspector in BBC drama series '' 55 Degrees North'', a whaler in the film '' Mas ...
as Dale Jones * Rachel Fielding as Francesca *
Michael Elwyn Michael Elwyn (born 23 August 1942) is a Welsh actor, notable for his work in film ('' Shadow Man''), stage ('' The Audience'', as Anthony Eden) and television ('' Stella''). Elwyn was born in Pontypridd. He is the partner of actress Aliso ...
as Montgomery * Clare Clifford as Sarah Newly * Charlotte Bicknell as Delilah * Keith-Lee Castle as Truelove * Paul J. Medford as Paul


Guest Cast

* ''
The Office ''The Office'' is a mockumentary sitcom created by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, first made in the United Kingdom, then Germany, and subsequently the United States. It has since been remade in ten other countries. The original series of ...
'' and '' Sherlock'' star
Martin Freeman Martin John Christopher Freeman (born 8 September 1971) is an English actor. Among other accolades, he has won an Emmy Award, a BAFTA Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award, and has been nominated for a Golden Globe Award. Freeman's most not ...
appears in the first episode of the second series, pictured stealing money from Milly and Egg's bedroom after a party, and accidentally drinking Egg's
urine Urine is a liquid by-product of metabolism in humans and in many other animals. Urine flows from the kidneys through the ureters to the urinary bladder. Urination results in urine being excreted from the body through the urethra. Cellular m ...
from a can, believing it to be beer. *
Ralph Ineson Ralph Michael Ineson (; born 15 December 1969) is an English actor and narrator. Known for his deep, rumbling, Yorkshire-accented voice, his most notable roles include William in '' The Witch'', Dagmer Cleftjaw in ''Game of Thrones'', Amycus Ca ...
, also from ''The Office'' featured in an early episode as a client of Milly, as the character Jessop. * ''
EastEnders ''EastEnders'' is a British soap opera created by Julia Smith and Tony Holland which has been broadcast on BBC One since February 1985. Set in the fictional borough of Walford in the East End of London, the programme follows the stories o ...
'' actor
Nitin Ganatra Nitin Chandra Ganatra (born 30 June 1967) is a Kenyan-born British actor. He is known for portraying Masood Ahmed in the BBC soap opera, ''EastEnders''. Early and personal life Ganatra was born on 30 June 1967 in Kenya. Both sides of Ganatra' ...
, appeared in an episode of the second series playing a prospective housemate who manages to upset Milly. * Another later well-known actor appearing early in the second series is
Martin Hancock Martin Hancock is an English actor best known for his roles as Geoffrey "Spider" Nugent in the English soap ''Coronation Street'' (between 1997 and 2003 and again from 2022 onwards) and as Reg Lund in ''Holby City''. Early life Hancock was bo ...
, who went on to star in ''
Coronation Street ''Coronation Street'' is an English soap opera created by Granada Television and shown on ITV since 9 December 1960. The programme centres around a cobbled, terraced street in Weatherfield, a fictional town based on inner-city Salford. Ori ...
'' as Spider, followed by ''
Holby City ''Holby City'' (stylised on-screen as HOLBY CIY) is a British medical drama television series that aired weekly on BBC One. It was created by Tony McHale and Mal Young as a spin-off from the established BBC medical drama ''Casualty'', and p ...
'' as Reg Lund. * Clare Clifford, played lesbian lawyer Sarah Newly who propositions Anna in episode five of the second series. * Stuart Organ, best known as Mr Robson in ''
Grange Hill ''Grange Hill'' is a British children's television drama series, originally produced by the BBC and portraying life in a typical comprehensive school. The show began its run on 8 February 1978 on BBC1, and was one of the longest-running progra ...
'' appeared as a flasher in the first series. *
Jodie Whittaker Jodie Whittaker (born 17 June 1982) is an English actress who is best known for portraying the thirteenth incarnation of the Doctor in ''Doctor Who'' (2017–2022) and as Beth Latimer in '' Broadchurch'' (2013–2017). She came to prominence ...
, later the Thirteenth Doctor in ''Doctor Who'', plays Clare in ''This Life +10''.


Characters

This Life initially featured a core cast of five main characters sharing a rented house in Southwark with a supporting cast drawn from their professional and private lives.


Main Cast

;Egg (series 1-2 & +10 special) Born Edgar Cook in Manchester, Egg is an English graduate with a conversion in Law and is in a full time relationship with girlfriend Milly. At the beginning of the series he interviews, and is successful, in gaining a junior position with solicitors firm Moore Spencer Wright. Egg met Millie at university and they have been in a solid relationship since then. In the first series, Egg struggles to fit in at his legal firm, feeling demotivated by the tedium of the job. Early in the series, he is assigned one of his boss’ clients as a case, but the client, who has cancer, dies by unexpectedly taking his own life and Egg realises Law is not for him, quitting the firm midway through series 1. After brief stints attempting to write a novel and working at telesales (before he is fired for going off-script after only one day on the job), Egg finds his passion early in series 2 when he gets a job in a café working alongside single mum Nicki; enjoying the work, despite the low pay, Egg decides to purchase the café after its owner Mrs Cochrane moves to Ireland and puts it up for sale. Egg also has challenges with his family- his father Jerry visits from Manchester and reveals that his mother has been having an affair with a family friend, although they are later reconciled in the second series. It is revealed also that Egg is a keen football fan and supports Manchester United. Egg’s relationship with Milly is initially strained in the first series- she is unhappy with his lack of motivation and being the sole breadwinner after he quits his job, although they rekindle their passion after a therapy session and has sex for the first time in months in the final episode of series 1. Throughout the second series, Egg spends less time with Milly due to their increased time at their respective jobs. Milly begins an affair with O’Donnell, which is revealed via Rachel at the climax of the second series at Miles’ wedding; a devastated Egg split from Milly. 10 years later, Egg is a successful author and he and Milly have reconciled and have a young son called Oscar. Milly and Egg again are close to separation, but a series of events make them realise they deeply care for each other and they remain together. ;Milly (series 1-2 & +10 special) Jamilla Nassim was born in Barnet to an Indian emigrant family and, whilst studying for a law degree, met Egg and they began a relationship. Milly is, at the beginning of the series, a solicitor who has just completed her final training and is a junior partner at Moore Spencer Wright. Milly is hardworking and, despite her relative youth, is keen to secure the best outcomes for her clients. When Egg quits the firm midway through the first series, Milly finds it hard to deal with his apathetic attitude and harbours romantic thoughts towards her boss Michael O’Donnell. At the climax of the first series, Egg and Milly visit a therapist and initially resolve their differences. In the first episode of the second series, Milly meets a new trainee at her firm, Rachel. Initially put out that she wasn’t informed the firm was getting a trainee, Milly and Rachel form an uneasy working relationship, although Milly finds Rachel’s extremely positive demeanour irritating and is jealous of the relationship she has with her boss. After a brief romantic encounter at the end of the first series, Milly embarks on a full-blown affair with O’Donnell in the latter half of the second series, but the relationship ends when she discovers he has lied about separating from his wife. Throughout the second series, the underlying tensions between Milly and Rachel increase- after Warren leaves early in the second series, Rachel wants to move into the shared house that Milly and the others live in which Milly is deeply opposed to. After Miles marries Francesca, Rachel enquires again about the possibility of moving into the shared house, at which point Milly reveals her complete antipathy towards Rachel. Rachel gains revenge by telling Egg about the affair between Milly and O’Donnell, at which point Milly marches across the dancefloor and punches Rachel in the face. 10 years later, Milly and Egg are married with a young son called Oscar. Milly is resentful at having given up a promising career in Law to raise Oscar, whilst Egg has become a successful writer. Although initially planning to separate from Egg, she later reverses her decision and they remain together at the close of the series. ;Anna (series 1-2 & +10 special) Anna Forbes was born in Glasgow. It is revealed in the first episode that her childhood was difficult, with an alcoholic mother who neglected her frequently. Despite her difficult upbringing, Anna is a tenacious, charismatic and talented barrister, albeit one who frequently takes risks on behalf of her clients. In the first series, Anna interviews for a position at chambers but is unsuccessful. Nonetheless, chambers clerk Jo suggests that she ‘squat’ and undertake supplementary work and unwanted cases in order to earn an income. Anna moves into the shared house and is reunited with her former boyfriend Miles whom she dated at university. The on/off relationship between Miles and Anna is one of the main storylines that runs throughout the entire series. Anna and Miles initially reunite as friends, although Anna is uncomfortable early in the first series when Miles is dating drug addict and thief Delilah and helps to sabotage the relationship. Near the end of the first series, Anna sleeps with Egg’s father Jerry although at a house party to celebrate his book being accepted by a publisher, she hides from him and ends up sleeping with Miles. At the beginning of the second series, Anna sees Miles talking to another woman at a bar and, misunderstanding the situation, thinks he is cheating on her and promptly dumps him. The head of chambers, James Hooperman, decides to hold a vote on Anna’s tenancy midway through series 2. The majority of the chambers partners vote in favour of Anna gaining a tenancy, partly because Anna has been successful at getting extra work from the law firm Rankin-Jamall. The increased work is, in part, due to Anna flirting with Rankin-Jamall lesbian barrister Sarah Newley and, although the relationship never progresses and further, some of the partners at chambers remain sceptical about Anna’s abilities as a barrister, in particular Miles (who doesn’t support her tenancy vote) and Graham (who abstains from voting). When Anna finds out Miles voted against her, she is furious although later reconciles with him when he admits he was jealous of the extra work she was receiving. Later in the second series, Anna manages to be assigned the Aylmore case, involving a teacher who has allegedly had an affair with one his pupils. Working with Graham as his junior brief, Anna correctly deduces, after reviewing witness testimonies and social services reports, that the girl fabricated her story and is lying. Unfortunately, Anna’s work on the case occurs at the same time her mother dies from her alcoholism and, after initially refusing to attend the funeral, later relies on alcohol and drugs to sustain her work. After Graham catches her snorting cocaine in chambers toilets, she is nearly fired but Hooperman offers her a conditional return, subject to her attending AA meetings. Miles takes over the Aylmore case and helps Graham win it, but Anna is envious of the hard work she put in. Anna finds out about Milly’s affair with O’Donnell and is angry that her friend did not listen to her advice, although they later reconcile. 10 years later, Anna is a very successful barrister but is unmarried and has no children. Desperately wanting a child, she visits a sperm bank and is told there is an extensive waiting list. After reuniting with the others, she makes amends with Milly and it is implied that she and Miles sleep together before he departs to travel the world. ;Miles (series 1-2 & +10 special) Miles Stuart is introduced at the start of the series as a junior barrister in chambers. Born into a wealthy and privileged family, Miles initially displays views and makes comments that are considered racist, sexist and (in particular) homophobic. At the beginning of the first series, Miles is reunited with former flame Anna, although they keep their relationship platonic initially. Miles embarks on a relationship with drug addict and thief Delilah, whom he meets whilst Anna is defending her boyfriend Truelove at court. Miles remains oblivious to Delilah’s true nature, even after she is accused of robbing his housemates and continuing to take drugs with Truelove. After Delilah moves out, Miles believes they have turned against him and lashes out at Anna and Warren in particular, although he later makes up and apologises to both of them. Miles’ homophobic views again come to fore in the second series after Warren leaves and Ferdy replaces him as a housemate- the pair frequently argue, more so after Miles is forced to perjure himself to prevent Ferdie being arrested for property damage. Midway through the first series, Miles is offered the brief in the Sherringham case, a high level trial which involves fraudulent stock exchanges. Realizing, after a conversation with Graham, that he is protecting people that are privileged like himself, he looks for a way out of the case. By chance, Miles’ father Montgomery was one of the key witnesses to Sherringham’s innocence and this enables Miles to recuse himself from the case to avoid professional embarrassment. The relationship between Miles and Montgomery is contentious- Miles blames his father for being absent when he was a child and, despite his sizeable inheritance, initially wants nothing more to do with him. In the second series, Montgomery makes amends to Miles and reveals to his son that he is going to marry Caroline, a young fundraiser he met at a charity event. Miles is initially sceptical and refuses to go to the wedding, but Anna convinces him otherwise. Miles himself becomes engaged later in series two after meeting designer and store purchaser Francesca. Despite Francesca being nearly 10 years old than him, they announce their wedding plans which takes place at in the final episode of the second series. Unbeknownst to Francesca, Miles had sex with Anna a few days after their engagement whilst he was comforting her after her mother’s death. Miles continue to wind up Ferdy, but later stops after he punches him in the face and Anna reveals he had witnessed them having sex in the front room. 10 years later, Miles has divorced Francesca and is married to a Vietnamese woman called Me Linh and it is implied that he has left chambers to found his own businesses. The relationship between husband and wife is strained, more so when Anna returns and Miles reveals that he is in severe financial trouble due to his businesses failing. Penniless and homeless after his mansion is repossessed by the bailiffs, Miles leaves to go travelling around the world. ;Warren (series 1-2 & +10 special) Warren Jones is a solicitor originally from Wales. During the early episodes in series 1, it is revealed that his family are working class and that he seeks a better life for himself in London. Like Egg, he interviews and is successful in gaining a position at solicitor’s firm Moore Spencer Wright. Initially Egg is antagonistic towards him, but softens and invites him to rent with them as the fifth housemate. Warren’s sexuality and his acceptance of it are a major part of the character in the first series- he is worried that his family back home, who are unaware that he is gay, may reject him. In order to deal with his anxieties, he regularly visits a therapist who encourages him to embrace his sexuality and tell his friends. Whilst Egg, Milly, Miles and Anna are initially all aware, other colleagues and family members are not. Near the beginning of the first series, both Warren’s cousin Kira and his older brother Dale come to visit him at various times. Kira gets a job at Moore Spencer Wright and Warren struggles to hide the truth about his sexuality from her until one night when he is cottaging (cruising for gay sex in a nearby park) and she fends off a man whom she mistakenly thinks is attacking Warren. Whilst Kira is happy and accepting of his sexuality, Dale (who is on leave from the Army) is extremely uncomfortable and refuses to accept it. The relationship between the brothers is permanently damaged and, despite the best efforts of Kira, Dale refuses to make amends. Whilst Warren’s professional life is going well, he struggles to find a suitable partner. Near the end of the first series, he meets motorbike courier Ferdie, although he later discovers that he is engaged and in denial about his sexuality. Ferdie and Warren meet again early in series 2 after Ferdie splits from his fiancée- they embark on a brief romance whilst Ferdie sleeps in the front room. Warren’s private life comes uncomfortably to the fore when he goes cottaging one night and is caught up in a sting operation with an undercover police operative who is assaulted by another man whom Warren was about to have sex with. Initially arrested and bailed, pending a trial, Warren finds that his private life becomes tabloid fodder and he is fired by his boss O’Donnell after bringing the firm into disrepute. Following a police line-up, he is cleared of assault and Anna successfully defends him in court, with only a small fine to pay for breach of the peace. With his redundancy pay, Warren decides to go travelling around the world, starting in Australia. Dale makes a final visit and tries to convince Warren not to tell his parents the truth about why he is leaving and his sexuality. Warren refuses, at which point Dale calls him selfish and walks out of Warren's life for good. The housemates bid him a fond farewell and he leaves Southwark in a taxi. Warren keeps in touch with his friends via postcards through the rest of series 2 and makes a cameo appearance at the very end of the final episode during Miles and Francesca’s wedding (in doing so, Warren becomes the character to have uttered both the first and last lines of the series, not including the +10 special). 10 years later, Warren has his own online therapy organisation, but is battling severe depression and initially tries to keep it a secret from his former housemates. After they mistakenly believe he is trying to commit suicide, he reveals his true mental state and they collectively support him. ;Ferdy (series 1 guest, series 2 main) Ferdinando Garcia, known to his friends as Ferdy, is introduced in the penultimate episode of series 1 as a motorbike courier of Mexican descent delivering documents to Moore Spencer Wright, where he catches the eye of Warren. After visiting a bar together, they later have sex, although Ferdy admits it is a mistake and he is engaged to be married. Whilst drunk, Warren phones Ferdy, but ends up mistakenly confessing what has happened to Ferdy’s father. Ferdy is furious and attacks Warren before telling him to stay out of his life for good. Ferdy returns in the second series and reveals that his fiancée Mia found out that he had been seeing other men and called off the engagement whilst his parents disowned him and kicked him out of their home. Ferdy stays on the sofa in the shared house and rekindles his relationship with Warren, accepting that he is attracted to men and is bisexual. After Warren leaves to go travelling around the world, Ferdy is offered his room and agrees to become a paying tenant. Continuing to struggle with his sexuality, Ferdy tries to reconcile with Mia, but discovers she is now seeing his former rival and co-worker Seb. Adding insult to injury, Mia reveals it was Seb who told her about Ferdy’s affairs with other men whilst Seb taunts Ferdy about his sexuality. In a rage, Ferdy trashes Seb’s car although the police are unable to link him to the crime as both Miles and Egg act as unwitting alibis. Miles is furious about having lied to the police and the animosity between him and Ferdy only deepens until the end of the series when he invites him to his wedding to Francesca. Ferdy continues a stream of relationships throughout the latter half of series two- he initially tries to involve himself in the gay club scene with Warren’s friend Paul but finds it is too camp and leaves. Later, he begins a relationship with Scottish plumber Lenny who visits the house after the boiler breaks. Despite their intimacy, Ferdy refuses to accept he is gay and picks up a girl from a local club, although she leaves after Miles reveals Ferdy likes men too. Ferdy later reconciles with Lenny and they attend Miles and Francesca’s wedding together, where Ferdy tells Lenny that he loves him. In +10 special set ten years later, it is revealed that Ferdy has died – his funeral is the catalyst for the original five housemates to reunite. In the interim period Ferdy and Warren reunited, living together for five years prior to Ferdy's death.


Music

A then-largely-unknown
Ricky Gervais Ricky Dene Gervais ( ; born 25 June 1961) is an English comedian, actor, writer, and director. He co-created, co-wrote, and acted in the British television sitcoms '' The Office'' (2001–2003), '' Extras'' (2005–2007), and ''An Idiot Abroad' ...
, partner of producer Jane Fallon, was credited as "Music Advisor" for the series, and commissioned the theme tune written by The Way Out. In 2000,
BBC Music BBC Music is responsible for the music played across the BBC. The current director of music is Bob Shennan, who is also the controller of BBC Radio 2, BBC Radio 6 Music, and the BBC Asian Network. Officially it is a part of the BBC's Radio ...
issued a compilation CD featuring the theme tune and songs from the 1990s by bands including Blur, The Charlatans, The Lightning Seeds, Pulp,
Jamiroquai Jamiroquai () are an English funk and acid jazz band from London. Formed in 1992, they are fronted by vocalist Jay Kay, and were prominent in the London-based funk and acid jazz movement of the 1990s. They built on their acid jazz sound in the ...
,
Manic Street Preachers Manic Street Preachers, also known simply as the Manics, are a Welsh Rock music, rock band formed in Blackwood, Caerphilly, Blackwood in 1986. The band consists of cousins James Dean Bradfield (lead vocals, lead guitar) and Sean Moore (musician ...
,
Suede Suede (pronounced ) is a type of leather with a fuzzy, napped finish, commonly used for jackets, shoes, fabrics, purses, furniture, and other items. The term comes from the French , which literally means "gloves from Sweden". The term was ...
,
Oasis In ecology, an oasis (; ) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environment'ksar''with its surrounding feeding source, the palm grove, within a relational and circulatory nomadic system.” The location of oases has been of critical imp ...
,
The Divine Comedy The ''Divine Comedy'' ( it, Divina Commedia ) is an Italian narrative poem by Dante Alighieri, begun 1308 and completed in around 1321, shortly before the author's death. It is widely considered the pre-eminent work in Italian literature an ...
, Everything but the Girl, New Order,
Skunk Anansie Skunk Anansie are a British rock band whose members include Skin (lead vocals, guitar), Cass (bass, guitar, backing vocals), Ace (guitar, backing vocals) and Mark Richardson (drums and percussion). Skunk Anansie formed in 1994, disbanded in ...
,
The Clash The Clash were an English rock band formed in London in 1976 who were key players in the original wave of British punk rock. Billed as "The Only Band That Matters", they also contributed to the and new wave movements that emerged in the w ...
,
Happy Mondays Happy Mondays are an English rock band formed in Salford in 1980. The original line-up was Shaun Ryder (vocals), his brother Paul Ryder ( bass), Gary Whelan (drums), Paul Davis (keyboard), and Mark Day (guitar). Mark "Bez" Berry later joined ...
,
The Prodigy The Prodigy are an English electronic dance music band formed in Braintree, Essex, in 1990 by producer, keyboard player and songwriter Liam Howlett. The original line-up also featured dancer and singer Keith Flint and dancer and occasiona ...
, and
Supergrass Supergrass are an English rock band formed in 1993 in Oxford. For the majority of the band's tenure, the line-up consisted of brothers Gaz (lead vocals, guitar) and Rob Coombes (keyboards), Mick Quinn (bass, backing vocals) and Danny Goffey ...
.


Legacy

The second series ended with a close-up of an advert for the house, and the original intention was to re-cast with new characters. The controversial stage writer
Mark Ravenhill Mark Ravenhill (born 7 June 1966) is an English playwright, actor and journalist. Ravenhill is one of the most widely performed playwrights in British theatre of the late-twentieth and twenty-first centuries. His major plays include '' Shoppi ...
was involved in drafting storylines and early scripts for a third series, but the plans were aborted, and the decision was taken to end the programme "on a high". In 1998,
Adam Buxton Adam Offord Buxton (born 7 June 1969) is an English actor, comedian, podcaster and writer. With the filmmaker Joe Cornish, he is part of the comedy duo Adam and Joe. They presented the Channel 4 television series ''The Adam and Joe Show'' (1996 ...
and
Joe Cornish Joseph Murray Cornish (born 20 December 1968) is an English comedian and filmmaker. With his long-time comedy partner, Adam Buxton, he forms the comedy duo Adam and Joe. In 2011, Cornish released his directorial debut ''Attack the Block''. He ...
parodied ''This Life'' in their sketch show ''
The Adam and Joe Show ''The Adam and Joe Show'' is a British television comedy show, written and presented by Adam and Joe (Adam Buxton and Joe Cornish), which ran for 22 episodes and four series on Channel 4 from 6 December 1996 to 16 May 2001. All four series a ...
'' In 2001, NBC broadcast a loosely adapted US remake titled '' First Years''. It attracted scathing reviews and low ratings. The young production team behind ''This Life'' went on to further success: *Jane Fallon went on to become Executive Producer on the
Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service i ...
series ''
Teachers A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. wh ...
'' which also starred
Andrew Lincoln Andrew James Clutterbuck (born 14 September 1973), known professionally as Andrew Lincoln, is an English actor. His first major role was as the character Egg in the BBC drama '' This Life'' (1996–1997). Lincoln later portrayed Simon Casey ...
. *Joe Ahearne later went on to write and direct the cult Channel 4 series ''
Ultraviolet Ultraviolet (UV) is a form of electromagnetic radiation with wavelength from 10 nm (with a corresponding frequency around 30  PHz) to 400 nm (750  THz), shorter than that of visible light, but longer than X-rays. UV radiatio ...
'' (1998) which also starred
Jack Davenport Jack Arthur Davenport (born 1 March 1973) is an English actor. He is best known for his roles in the television series '' This Life'' and ''Coupling'', and as James Norrington in the ''Pirates of the Caribbean'' series. He has also appeared ...
. He also directed episodes of the first series of the revived ''
Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the ...
'' in 2005. *
Matthew Graham Matthew Graham is a British television writer, and the co-creator of the BBC/ Kudos Film and Television science fiction series ''Life on Mars'', which debuted in 2006 on BBC One and has received international critical acclaim. Career Graham b ...
co-created the
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 (broadcasting), flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News ...
series ''
Life on Mars The possibility of life on Mars is a subject of interest in astrobiology due to the planet's proximity and similarities to Earth. To date, no proof of past or present life has been found on Mars. Cumulative evidence suggests that during t ...
'' (2006) and has written episodes of '' Hustle'', '' Spooks'', and three episodes of ''Doctor Who'', one in 2006 and two in 2011. *
Ian Iqbal Rashid Ian Iqbal Rashid (born in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania) is a poet, screenwriter and filmmaker known in particular for his volumes of poetry, for the TV series '' Sort Of'' and '' This Life'' and the feature films '' Touch of Pink'' and '' How She M ...
went on to write and direct the feature films ''
Touch of Pink ''Touch of Pink'' is a 2004 Canadian-British gay-themed romantic comedy film written and directed by Ian Iqbal Rashid and starring Jimi Mistry, Kyle MacLachlan, and Kristen Holden-Ried. The film takes its title from the Cary Grant film '' That ...
'' ( Sony Pictures Classics, 2004) and '' How She Move'' (
Paramount Vantage Paramount Vantage (also known as Paramount Classics) was a film distribution label of Paramount Pictures (which, in turn, has Paramount Global as its parent company), charged with producing, purchasing, distributing and marketing films, generally ...
, 2008).


Home media


References


External links

* *
''This Life''
at World Productions
''This Life''
at the
British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves film-making and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, ...
* *{{epguides, ThisLife 1996 British television series debuts 1997 British television series endings 1990s British legal television series 1990s British workplace drama television series 1990s British LGBT-related drama television series BBC television dramas Bisexuality-related television series British legal drama television series British LGBT-related drama television series British workplace television series Casual sex in television English-language television shows Episode list using the default LineColor Gay-related television shows Television shows set in London