Mistresses | |
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The four central women.
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Genre | Serial drama |
Created by | S. J. Clarkson and Lowri Glain |
Written by | Rachel Pole Richard Warlow Harriet Braun Catrin Clarke |
Directed by | SJ Clarkson Philip John Peter Hoar |
Starring |
Sarah Parish Sharon Small Shelley Conn Orla Brady Raza Jaffrey Adam Rayner Patrick Baladi Max Brown Adam Astill |
Country of origin | United Kingdom |
Original language(s) | English |
No. of series | 3 |
No. of episodes | 16 (list of episodes) |
Production | |
Executive producer(s) | Matt Arlidge Douglas Rae Lucy Bedford |
Producer(s) | Lowri Glain |
Location(s) | Bristol |
Running time | 60 minutes |
Release | |
Original network |
BBC One BBC HD |
Original release | 8 January 2008 | – 26 August 2010
External links | |
Website |
Mistresses is a British serial drama television programme that follows the lives of four female friends and their involvement in an array of illicit and complex relationships. The programme was written by Rachel Pole, Richard Warlow, Harriet Braun and Catrin Clarke and filmed in Bristol by Ecosse Films for BBC Drama, Wales.
The first series was broadcast on BBC One from 8 January to 12 February 2008 in a six-episode run. A second series of six episodes aired from 17 February to 24 March 2009. Mistresses returned for a third and final series comprising four episodes on 5 August 2010.
Katie Roden (Sarah Parish) is a GP who, at the beginning of series one, is having an affair with John Grey, a terminally ill patient whom she later helps commit physician assisted suicide. After John's death, his son, Sam (Max Brown), discovers evidence of this. Distraught, he confides in Katie, unaware of her role in his father's life and they begin a reluctant relationship as she struggles with her grief and guilt over helping John die. Ultimately, unable to lie any longer, Katie tells Sam, who informs his mother and the authorities resulting in Katie being suspended from work for a year.
Series two begins with Katie taking a junior post in a hospital department working alongside an old lover from medical school, Jack Hudson (Steven Brand), now married to Megan (Natasha Little) but still holds a torch for Katie. Katie also meets Jack and Megan's friend, fellow surgeon Dan Tate (Mark Umbers), with whom she strikes up a relationship. All goes well until Jack decides to act on his feelings for Katie and they embark on a brief affair. Katie ends the affair before she is discovered but Dan witnesses a final kiss between the pair and decides to move to Australia to take up a medical post he's been offered. Katie leaves a heartfelt note of apology for Dan, which he reads before asking her to go with him to Australia.
Series three introduces Katie's mother Vivienne Roden (Joanna Lumley), with whom Katie has a tense relationship. Vivienne has found a new man and intends on selling the old family home where Katie lived as a child, much to Katie's distaste. Later, Katie discovers that her (now-deceased) father had a mistress during his marriage to Vivienne, and Katie softens toward her mother. Also this series, Katie becomes close with Trudi's partner, Richard, (Patrick Baladi) and the two lean on each other during hard times as well as sharing a kiss. After rejecting a relationship with Richard, but agreeing to counsel him on his marriage, Richard is killed in a car accident on his way to meet Katie at the train station. Trudi later discovers the plan and, feeling betrayed (thinking the two were having an affair and that Richard intended to leave her for Katie), ends her friendship with Katie.