The BBC has dropped first look photos for ‘Waiting For The Out’ (w/t), a brand new six-part series from multi-award-winning writer Dennis Kelly (Together, Utopia, Matilda The Musical), arriving on BBC iPlayer and BBC One in early 2026.
Based on Andy West’s acclaimed memoir The Life Inside, the drama comes from award-winning production company SISTER (Black Doves, This Is Going To Hurt, Chernobyl), with filming recently wrapping in and around Liverpool.
Leading the cast is BAFTA-nominated Josh Finan (The Responder) as Dan, a philosopher who begins teaching a prison class. His lessons explore dominance, freedom, luck and other concepts that take on unsettling new weight when filtered through the eyes of incarcerated men.
As Dan works with the prisoners, he’s forced to confront his own turbulent past. Raised by an abusive father (played by Gerard Kearns), Dan also saw his brother Lee (Stephen Wight) and uncle Frank (Phil Daniels) sent to prison. His mother is played by Samantha Spiro. While Dan has chosen a different path, his time inside the system makes him fear he is destined to end up behind bars just like them.
The ensemble cast of inmates includes Francis Lovehall (Small Axe), Josef Altin (Game of Thrones), Steven Meo (Gavin & Stacey), Ric Renton (One Off), Tom Moutchi (Famalam), Sule Rimi (Dominion) and Charlie Rix. Also appearing are Alex Ferns (Andor), Ronk? Adékolu?jo (Rain Dogs), Nima Taleghani (Heartstopper), Sophia Brown (Witcher: Blood Origin), Neal Barry (Rain Dogs), and Jude Mack (Such Brave Girls).
Behind the camera, the series features episodes directed by Jeanette Nordahl (The Responder) and Ben Palmer (Douglas Is Cancelled), with Louise Sutton (Black Mirror) and Ken Horn (Line of Duty) producing. Kelly is joined in the writers’ room by Levi David Addai (Damilola, Our Loved Boy) and Ric Renton, with executive producers including Kelly, Jane Featherstone, Chris Fry, Katie Carpenter, and Andy West for SISTER, alongside Tanya Qureshi for the BBC.
‘Waiting For The Out’ (w/t) will air in early 2026 on BBC iPlayer and BBC One. If you want to keep track of this or any other shows, you can add them via our Never Miss system, and you’ll be notified when it gets a UK premiere date. Visit Never Miss.
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