This Life
This is the main title caption that was seen throughout the series.
Genre	Drama
Running time	50 minutes
Creator(s)	Amy Jenkins
Starring	Jack Davenport Daniela Nardini Andrew Lincoln Amita Dhiri Jason Hughes Ramon Tikaram Luisa Bradshaw-White Steve John Shepherd Natasha Little Cyril Nri
Country of origin	UK
Original channel	BBC Two
Original run	March 18, 1996–August 7, 1997 January 2, 2007
No. of episodes	33
IMDb profile

This Life was a BBC television drama, produced by World Productions and screened on BBC Two, running for two series in 1996 and 1997 and a reunion special in 2007. Image File history File links Thislife. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... This Life was a BBC television drama series, produced by World Productions and screened on BBC Two, running for two series in 1996 and 1997. ... Jack Davenport at Pirates of the Caribbean premiere in LA Jack Davenport (born March 1, 1973) is an English actor. ... Daniela Nardini (1968 – ) is a Scottish actress, best known for her role as Anna Forbes in the BBC tv series This Life. ... Andrew Lincoln (14 September 1973) is a British actor. ... Amita Dhiri (born 1968 in Brighton, England) is a British actress. ... Actor Jason Hughes on the set of Midsomer Murders, circa February 2006. ... Ramon Tikaram (born 1968) is an actor of Indian-Fijian and Malaysian parentage, raised in Germany and the United Kingdom. ... Bradshaw-White as Kira in This Life (1996). ... Steve John Shepherd is a British actor. ... Natasha Little (born in 1970) is a British actress. ... Cyril Nri (born 1961 in Nigeria) is a British actor, writer and director. ... BBC Two (or BBC2 as it was formerly styled) was the second UK television station to be aired by the BBC and Europes first television channel to broadcast regularly in colour (from 1967), envisaged as a home for less mainstream and more ambitious programming. ... March 18 is the 77th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (78th in leap years). ... 1996 (MCMXCVI) was a leap year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year for the Eradication of Poverty. ... August 7 is the 219th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (220th in leap years), with 146 days remaining. ... 1997 (MCMXCVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... January 2 is the second day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2007 (MMVII) is a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Cathy Come Home, a 1966 entry into The Wednesday Play anthology series, voted the best drama and second highest programme overall in the British Film Institutes 2000 survey of the 100 Greatest British Television Programmes of the 20th century. ... World Productions is a British television production company, founded in the early 1990s by acclaimed producer Tony Garnett. ... BBC Two (or BBC2 as it was formerly styled) was the second UK television station to be aired by the BBC and Europes first television channel to broadcast regularly in colour (from 1967), envisaged as a home for less mainstream and more ambitious programming. ...

Centering on the life of five twentysomething law graduates attempting to make lives and careers while sharing a house in South London, England, the series was created by Amy Jenkins A twenty-something is a person in the age group 20 to 29. ... This article is about the capital of England and the United Kingdom. ... Motto: (French for God and my right) Anthem: God Save the King/Queen Capital London Largest city London Official language(s) English (de facto) Unification    - by Athelstan AD 927  Area    - Total 130,395 km² (1st in UK)   50,346 sq mi  Population    - 2005 est. ... This Life was a BBC television drama series, produced by World Productions and screened on BBC Two, running for two series in 1996 and 1997. ...

Original production

Created by Amy Jenkins, other writers who contributed scripts to the series included Joe Ahearne (who also directed some episodes — the only person to do both on the series), Amelia Bullmore and Matthew Graham. Tony Marchant was the executive producer and Jane Fallon worked as a producer on both series. This Life was a BBC television drama series, produced by World Productions and screened on BBC Two, running for two series in 1996 and 1997. ... Joe Ahearne appearing on Doctor Who Confidential Joe Ahearne is a British television director, best known for his work on several fantasy-based cult programmes. ... Amelia Bullmore (b. ... Mathew 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 critical acclaim. ... Tony Marchant is a playwright and British television dramatist. ... Jane Fallon is a British TV executive producer currently in a relationship with the comedian Ricky Gervais. ...

When the first series was screened it was a modest critical success, developing a small "cult following", rather than being a massive ratings hit. 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, to the point that millions of viewers were waiting to discover the ultimate resolutions to the various plot-lines, generating front-page newspaper coverage.

Synopsis

This Life was heavily based around life in a London law firm and a barristers' chambers for a group of twentysomething recent law graduates, but essentially it was a character-driven drama. Egg and Milly's relationship from their university-days survived their graduation but career choices created tension between the two. Milly was an ambitious high-flyer, contemplating an affair with her older boss, whereas Egg dropped out of his law-career early on in the first series. Meanwhile, Anna and Miles had a distinctly love/hate relationship which caused conflict at work (where they shared an office and often had to compete for cases) and at home. The latter was worsened by Miles' decision in the first series to invite his girlfriend, the drug addicted, manipulative Delilah (Charlotte Bicknell), to unofficially move into the house. This resulted in something of a schism in the house (including the infamous incident of eating Warren's muesli yogurt). Anna took a distinct dislike to Delilah. A love-hate relationship is a personal relationship between humans or organizations, or figuratively between a human and an inanimate object, like a computer, a field of study, a body of ideas, or a profession, involving simultaneous or alternating emotions of love and enmity. ...

Warren, as an "out" gay man, spent a lot of time dealing with issues around his sexuality (particularly in relation to "coming out" to colleagues and family). In a unique (at the time) plot device, he was seen relating his inner feelings to a therapist (Gillian McCutcheon) who was heard but never seen by the viewer. Coming out of the closet (very often shortened to coming out in winking reference to the public introduction of debutantes) describes the voluntary public announcement of ones (often homosexual or bisexual) sexual orientation, gender identity, or paraphilia. ... Gillian McCutcheon is a British based actress who has appeared in many programmes over the years. ...

During the second season, storylines were expanded to include other connected characters. These included Ferdy (Ramon Tikaram) and Rachel (Natasha Little), whilst previously secondary-characters Joe (Steve John Shepherd) and Kira (Luisa Bradshaw-White) were featured more heavily as they embarked upon a relationship. Ferdy was a largely improvised, complex (and sometimes unwilling) bi-sexual character and was seen as a replacement for Warren when Jason Hughes decided to leave the show (he did return for one quick line in the final scene). Rachel was involved in 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!", in which Rachel is floored by a swinging punch from Milly after Milly learns that Rachel has told Egg about her affair with her boss O'Donnell. Ramon Tikaram (born 1968) is an actor of Indian-Fijian and Malaysian parentage, raised in Germany and the United Kingdom. ... Natasha Little (born in 1970) is a British actress. ... Steve John Shepherd is a British actor. ... Bradshaw-White as Kira in This Life (1996). ... In human sexuality, bisexuality describes a man or woman having a sexual orientation to persons of either or both sexes (a man or woman who sexually likes both sexes; people who are sexually and/or romantically attracted to both males and females). ...

Post production

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 was involved in drafting story-lines and early scripts for a third series, but the plans were aborted, and the decision was taken to end the programme "on a high". Series one and two are available on DVD from BBC Worldwide, as a box set and as two individual series volumes. Mark Ravenhill (born June 7, 1966) is one of Englands leading contemporary playwrights. ...

In 2001, NBC Television broadcast a loosely adapted U.S. remake titled First Years. It attracted scathing reviews and low ratings, and vanished quickly. This article is about the year 2001. ... It has been suggested that NBC Radio City Studios, NBC Studios be merged into this article or section. ...

The young production team behind This Life went on to further success:

• Jane Fallon went on to become Executive Producer on the Channel 4 series Teachers which also starred Andrew Lincoln.
• Joe Ahearne later went on to direct episodes of the first series of the revived Doctor Who, starring Christopher Eccleston, in 2005. Fellow This Life writer Matthew Graham wrote an episode of Doctor Who in 2006.

Channel 4 is a public-service television broadcaster in the United Kingdom (see British television). ... Teachers was a British television comedy-drama produced by Channel 4. ... Andrew Lincoln (14 September 1973) is a British actor. ... Doctor Who is a long-running British science fiction television programme (and 1996 television movie) produced by the BBC about the adventures of a mysterious time-traveller known as The Doctor, who explores time and space with his companions, solving problems and righting wrongs. ... Christopher Eccleston (born on February 16, 1964) is an English stage, television and film actor, best known as the ninth incarnation of the Doctor in Doctor Who and other work in television, and for his roles in several high-profile low-budget films. ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Mathew 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 critical acclaim. ... 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

This Life + 10

In 2006, the BBC reconvened the original cast for a special one-off 90-minute TV movie, looking at what had happened to the lead characters in the intervening ten years. The resulting new episode, entitled This Life + 10, is due to be screened on 2 January 2007, and was a co-production between BBC Wales and the original producers World Productions. This Life + 10 was written by Jenkins, directed by Ahearne and produced by Garnett. January 2 is the second day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2007 (MMVII) is a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar. ... BBC Wales (Welsh: ) is a division of the British Broadcasting Corporation for Wales. ...

Synopsis

This article or section contains information about scheduled or expected future events. It may contain information of a tentative nature and the content may change dramatically as the event approaches and more information becomes available.

The 2007 reunion episode begins with Ferdy's funeral, at which Miles, Egg, Milly, Anna and Warren are in attendance. Following the funeral, the group are filmed by a documentary crew who want to report on the inspirations for Egg's first book (a fictionalised account of life in Benjamin Street). Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ...

The latest information released indicates that Miles has given up the law in favour of owning a chain of hotels called Hobotel, which he is expanding into the Far East at the time of the one-off. He now lives in Whithurst Park, a huge house in Sussex, and lives there with his second wife Me Linh, he and Francesca having divorced after only a few months.

Warren is a life coach, but not much else is yet known about what has happened to him.

Anna is still a barrister, and a high-flyer, and has resolved her excessive drinking and drug habits but is starting to feel the biological clock ticking, to her surprise and dismay. She is considering visiting a sperm bank.

Milly and Egg's relationship survived her affair with O'Donnell, and they now have a three-year-old son called Oscar, with Milly as a full-time mother and Egg as a successful writer. Milly is not entirely happy with the sacrifice of her career for motherhood, and neither is Anna at the idea.

Production notes

Lead Cast

• Miles Stewart (Jack Davenport)
• Jamilla "Milly" Nasim (Amita Dhiri)
• Egg (Edgar Cooke) (Andrew Lincoln)
• Anna Forbes (Daniela Nardini)
• Warren Jones (Jason Hughes)
• Ferdy (Ferdinand Garcia) (Ramon Tikaram)
• Mr O'Donnell (David Mallinson)

Jack Davenport at Pirates of the Caribbean premiere in LA Jack Davenport (born March 1, 1973) is an English actor. ... Amita Dhiri (born 1968 in Brighton, England) is a British actress. ... Andrew Lincoln (14 September 1973) is a British actor. ... Daniela Nardini (1968 – ) is a Scottish actress, best known for her role as Anna Forbes in the BBC tv series This Life. ... Actor Jason Hughes on the set of Midsomer Murders, circa February 2006. ... Ramon Tikaram (born 1968) is an actor of Indian-Fijian and Malaysian parentage, raised in Germany and the United Kingdom. ...

Supporting Cast

• A then largely unknown Ricky Gervais, partner of producer Jane Fallon, was credited as "Music Advisor" for the series.
• Fellow Office star Martin Freeman appeared early in the second series, pictured stealing money from Milly and Egg's bedroom after a party, and accidentally drinking Egg's urine from a can.

Ricky Dene Gervais (pronounced IPA: ), born June 25, 1961, is an Emmy, Golden Globe and three-time BAFTA winning English comic writer and performer from Reading, Berkshire, England. ... The Office is the name of two television comedy shows created by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant. ... Freeman as Arthur Dent, waking up at the beginning of the Hitchhikers Guide. ... This article or section is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ...

Locations

• The opening scenes show the house as being on Benjamin Street, which is in London EC1 near Farringdon. However the building is actually Anchor Terrace, a terraced house on Southwark Bridge Road near the Financial Times office building. The house has since been converted into flats. As the characters are often seen commuting from South London it is unclear why they shot the Benjamin Street sign.
• The law firm's offices were filmed on High Holborn near the junction with Chancery Lane.
• The barrister's chambers external shots were filmed outside Verulam Buildings on Gray's Inn Road, part of Gray's Inn.
• The café that Egg works in is on Victoria Road in North Acton next to the Tube station.

London EC1 is the London postal district covering the area of central London around Clerkenwell. ... Farringdon is an historic area of the City of London, represented today by the wards of Farringdon Within and Farringdon Without. ... Anchor Terrace is a Georgian building on the east side of Southwark Bridge Road, situated very close to the Thames. ... A street of British Victorian/Edwardian terraced homes. ... Southwark Bridge and St Pauls Cathedral Southwark Bridge seen from the South Bank of the Thames. ... The Financial Times (FT) is an international business newspaper printed on distinctive salmon pink broadsheet paper. ... Holborn Bars, built as the headquarters of the Prudential Assurance Company, is one of the most striking buildings on High Holborn. ... Grays Inn Road is a major road in central London, in the London Borough of Camden, and is part of the A5200 in Londons congestion charge zone. ...

See also

• List of This Life episodes

This is a list of episodes of the BBC television drama series This Life. ...

External links

• This Life episode guide
• This Life homepage
• This Life at the Internet Movie Database
• The Custard tv detailed episode guide