BBC announce major new drama 'Waiting For The Out'.
The BBC has greenlit Waiting For The Out, a new six-part original drama inspired by Andy West’s celebrated memoir The Life Inside.
The BBC has greenlit Waiting For The Out (working title), a new six-part original drama inspired by Andy West’s celebrated memoir The Life Inside. The series comes from acclaimed writer Dennis Kelly (Together, Utopia, Matilda The Musical) and will air on BBC One and BBC iPlayer. Production is underway in and around Liverpool, with the series produced by the award-winning team at SISTER (Chernobyl, This Is Going to Hurt, The Split, Black Doves).
Leading the cast is BAFTA nominee Josh Finan (The Responder) as Dan, a philosopher who begins teaching a group of male inmates. Each week, Dan facilitates discussions on themes like freedom, dominance, and fate—timeless philosophical questions that take on new resonance in the prison setting, sparking both insight and conflict.
As Dan becomes more immersed in the lives of his students, he’s forced to confront his own history—raised by a violent father (played by Gerard Kearns), with a brother (Stephen Wight) and uncle (Phil Daniels) who also ended up in prison. Though Dan has followed a different path, his experiences behind bars as a teacher lead him to question whether he truly escaped his family’s fate. His growing inner turmoil begins to threaten not just his future, but the lives of those around him.
Joining Finan in the ensemble cast are Gerard Kearns (The Day of the Jackal), Samantha Spiro (Sex Education), Phil Daniels (House of the Dragon), Stephen Wight (Bergerac), Ronkẹ Adékoluẹjo (Rain Dogs), Neal Barry (Rain Dogs), Alex Ferns (Andor), Francis Lovehall (A Thousand Blows), Steven Meo (House of the Dragon), Ric Renton (One Off), Tom Moutchi (Gladiator II), Nima Taleghani (Heartstopper), Sule Rimi (The Day of the Jackal), Charlie Rix (The Rings of Power), and Jude Mack (Such Brave Girls).
Dennis Kelly, writer and executive producer, says: “It’s not at all unusual for the men in Andy West’s family to end up in prison - but Andy is the only one that chose to be there. His book is funny, insightful, beautiful, genuinely heartbreaking and nothing like what you’d expect it to be - we’ve tried to take that into the series. God alone knows if we’ve succeeded, but we’ve tried…”
Andy West, executive producer and author of The Life Inside, says: “I’m so thankful to the writers, directors, producers and everyone involved in adapting The Life Inside. They have brought extraordinary creative and moral imagination to the stories in the book. We all hope to make a series that goes beyond the cliches about prisons and the families inside them and that touches people either side of the wall.”
Josh Finan says: “Having the chance to work with writing of this quality, inspired by such a rich real-life story, alongside such talented creatives is a genuine gift. A real pinch me moment. Every stage of the process so far has been both a joy and a welcome creative challenge. I’m itching to get filming and can’t wait for people to get the chance to watch this hugely sensitive, empathic, hilarious and at times deeply emotional story.”