Mistresses: Volume 1

Set in a world where friends have become the new family, Mistresses follows the changing lives and loves of four 30-something girlfriends who met at university. Katie, a doctor and the "grown-up," has been having an affair with one of her patients. Her best friend Trudi is grieving the loss of her husband killed in 9/11. Jessica and her anarchic lifestyle supplies lots of gossip and humor, but is there more going on than even her closest friends know about? And then there's happily married Siobhan - or is she? Part drama, part thriller, this series is more than just a fling.

You meet someone, you fall in love, it feels right but you know they're married and you know it's wrong. Set in a world where friends have become the new family, Mistresses follows the lives and loves of a group of 30- something girlfriends who met at university and are still good friends, but whose lives, and love lives, have taken very different turns.
Katie and Trudi are the ‘grown-ups' of the group. Katie, a doctor, who had an affair, with a terminally ill patient, grieves alone after his death. She doesn't even tell her closest friends what she's going through. Whereas Trudi lost her husband in 9/11 and has never really accepted his death.
Their friend Jessica lives an anarchic lifestyle, which supplies a lot of gossip and humour. But is there more going on with her new relationship than even her friends know about? And then there's the happily married Siobhan - or is she? Siobhan and Hari seem to have the perfect marriage, but their sex life and the cosiness of their relationship is starting to lose its charm, for Siobhan,
anyway...
From dizzy highs to extreme lows, from excitement and happiness to torment and loneliness, they're on a journey with no signposts, led by their emotions and struggling to hold it all together.
This is a story about secrets and anger, passion and lust, loss and guilt. Part drama, part thriller, this is a bold take on modern life and love.

Episode 1 - Dr. Katie Roden has been having an affair with John, one of her terminally ill patients, for the last two years. After John's death, his son, Sam, approaches her at the funeral and tells her he's discovered that his father had a lover. She denies all knowledge of an affair but fears her dangerous secret may not stay secret for long.

Siobhan's marriage to Hari isn't a bed of roses - contrary to what her friends think. Baby-making sex on a schedule is losing its appeal, and Siobhan is feeling neglected.

Recently widowed, Trudi bumps into Richard, a divorced dad from her kids' school. He asks her out on a date but she nervously declines.

Much to Jessica's disdain, she is handed the planning of a lesbian wedding as her next project at work and takes an instant dislike to Alex, one of the blushing brides.

Episode 2 - Richard and Trudi finally go out, but they have an awkward date. Hari and Siobhan decide to consult a doctor regarding their inability to conceive. In an effort to convince Sam to go back to college, Katie takes him to see an exhibition of his dad's architectural designs in order to inspire him. Jessica takes her lesbian brides to be, Alex and Lisa, to sample food for the wedding. The atmosphere between Jessica and Alex changes.

Episode 3 - Sam continues to pursue Katie - she is very tempted but rebuffs his advances. Trudi receives a mysterious silent telephone call, which she traces to a nearby hotel. Hari surprises Siobhan with a romantic meal, and their marriage seems to be back on track. Jessica and Alex meet at Jessica's apartment. Siobhan discovers she is pregnant.

Episode 4 - Siobhan spills the beans about her pregnancy to Katie. Trudi decides to go see Sally. Jessica tries a threesome in order to forget about Alex. Katie diagnoses Jessica's condition - she's in love. Siobhan contemplates Dominic as a father. Katie decides to come clean to Sam.

Episode 5 - Siobhan is in denial and thinks she can get away with deceiving Hari about the baby. Sam arrives at Katie's house in the middle of the night. Alex comes to see Jessica and asks to be her friend. Trudi decides to share the 9/11 money with Sally but, as she waits for her in the hotel lobby, she sees something she can't believe.

Episode 6 - Trudi struggles with her shocking discovery. Meanwhile, Richard tells Trudi that he loves her. Hari tells Siobhan that he won't be able to forgive her if she keeps the baby. Alex stands Jessica up on her birthday. Katie is suspended for a year for her involvement in John's death.

Episode 7 - Twelve months have passed and Jessica has moved on from her lesbian lover, but, as ever with Jessica, things are not straightforward. Katie's suspension from practicing medicine has come to an end and she has is now working in an oncology ward. Trudi and Richard's relationship is in full swing, but money is tight and life is chaotic. Trudi decides to take matters into her own hands and start a cake-baking business. Meanwhile, to those on the outside, Siobhan seems to be living the perfect life with house-husband Hari and daughter. However, Siobhan and Hari's relationship is far from perfect, and Siobhan is hiding a very dark secret.

Episode 8 - Katie's working relationship with her boss Jack starts to feel too familiar. When Richard moves in with Trudi, she finds a bank statement with a mystery $3,000 withdrawn. At work, Siobhan discovers that her new client is someone she's been intimate with. Siobhan and Hari decide to go to see a sex therapist. Jessica and Mark find Simon asleep on the sofa at work - his business is in trouble. Jessica and Siobhan's sex lives begin to overlap.

Episode 9 - Katie is still frazzled by the kiss with Jack. Trudi remains perturbed about Richard's financial secrets. Trudi sees an old photo that Richard's daughter, Amy, has of Elaine. Tom lets Siobhan know he wants to see her again. Jessica learns the truth about Mark and his assistant, Carrie, and does something she'll soon regret.

Episode 10 - Katie endures the mistresses' life. Trudi wakes to Richard's lies and confronts him. Siobhan breaks things off with Tom and tries to have him removed as a client. Dominic shows her photos of her with Tom. Jessica is suffering from the worst hangover of her life. Mark tries to be kind but cannot understand why she behaved so badly.

Episode 11 - Katie discovers Dan's been offered a promotion in Australia, and he asks her to go with him. Jack wants to see Katie alone to help her make her decision - as 'just friends'. Richard begs Trudi for a second chance, but she is adamant that the relationship is over. Hari asks Siobhan for a divorce. Siobhan, dealing with life without Hari, asks for her old job back. She and Dominic have to face the fact that Tom's case could be ruined by the photos - as will Siobhan's career. Jessica and Simon arrange a twisted tea party for Henrietta, a self-help guru, who illuminates Jessica's need for a declaration of love from Mark.

Episode 12 - Katie wakes up to the horror of what's she done, and an angry Dan shows up on her doorstep. Trudi is thrown into a new and exciting life with too many men. Tom threatens to make the photos public if Siobhan gives up his case. Jessica is single and pregnant. But she doesn't intend that to last long.

Written by Rachel Pole, Harriet Braun, Catrin Clarke, Richard Warlow
Produced by Lowri Glain
Directed by SJ Clarkson
Executive Produced by Douglas Rae, Matt Arlidge

"Well-made and classily performed, but above all, juicy." Guardian

"Well written and acted, it's hugely watchable and set to get saucier ... Finally a show branded the UK Sex And The City that lives up to its name." Jon Wise, People

"...weirdly compelling in a will-they/won't-they/what-next sort of a way." David Chater, The Times

"...it's really rather good ... Nice they are not, but they are, for the most part, believable - a strength that's partly down to the casting ... You don't need to care for characters; you just need to care what happens to them ... I'll certainly be tuning in next week." Matt Baylis, Daily Express

"...it's very well done and promises to be pretty addictive. Of course, it has the advantage of starring Sarah Parish, who is brilliant, but the rest of the leads are also very good and ensure that it doesn't descend into slushy schmaltz about the transporting power of female friendship ... Mistresses has lifted a few of the good bits from American shows such as Sex and the City - not that it's trying to be SATC - but with a very British spin. There's plenty of shagging and even a few laughs, which is commendable given the subject matter. If the whole series is as good as this episode, then we're in for a treat." Rebecca Seal, Observer

"Mistresses feels like an advertisers' wet dream (‘we'll deliver you the thirtysomething ABC1 females so you can flog them Volkswagens, Slim-Fast and a Scottish Widows policy') - a typically shiny, slightly saucy ITV1 demographic button-pusher of a drama that has somehow pitched up on BBC1 ... Can I care about them? Of course not. Will I watch the remaining five episodes? Almost certainly." Kathryn Flett, Observer

"Keeping this slick and funny enough for the Sex and the City crowd, while also letting it edge into thriller territory is no mean trick, but the Beeb's new drama pulls it off." Financial Times

"This is glossy, stylish chick drama, straight from the pages of a middle market women's mag ... Between the girlie nights in, it's office flirtation, saucy underwear and tangled web weaving all round." Paul Hoggart, The Times

"Grittier than Sex And The City, it shows the impact of all the lies and deceit that are the price of the thrills and excitement of an illicit affair." Julia Gregory, Express on Sunday

"...who'd have expected bed-hopping Jessica to turn out lesbian? Or Katie to fall in love with her dead lover's son? Or Trudi's dead husband's mistress to turn up one night . . .? Clichés be blowed, as they say in Cornwall. Reader, I was gob-smacked." John Lloyd, Financial Times

"...they all have plenty of spark and their relationships are engrossing..." David Chater, The Times

"...it trots along briskly and engagingly enough, while a superior cast gives it far more plausibility than its hysterical plot twists deserve." John Preston, Sunday Telegraph

"...fun ... Roll on next week of this entirely ridiculous series. Things can only get gloriously worse." Lucy Mangan, Guardian

"Mistresses is a believable drama with fine performances ... it's very watchable, in a guilty pleasure kind of way." Sam Wollaston, Guardian

"We love it!" Jane Simon, Daily Mirror

"It's a brave subject for a prime-time BBC One show. While Desperate Housewives may have sexual intrigue and broken marriages on its agenda and Sex and the City never shied away from the intricacies of modern relationships, few television programmes have tackled the subject of adultery in such a blatant way." Emma Cowing, Scotsman

"... a glossy drama about thirtysomething women in contemporary Britain ... This is more enjoyable than it should be ... Sarah Parish and Sharon Small shine..." Gareth McLean, Guardian

"...excellent central performances from four top-class actresses..." Stephen Pile, Daily Telegraph

"...sterling performances from the hardy cast..." Critics Choice, Sunday Times

"...the acting is terrific and really draws you in to these women's lives." Jane Simon, Daily Mirror

"...it's a vehicle for Sarah Parish, who is great and gorgeous in everything she graces, which may in fact be all the excuse one needs to watch." Kathryn Flett, Observer

"Sarah Parish: For her brilliant rendering of grief, anguish and turmoil. The best thing about BBC1's Mistresses." Gareth McLean, Guardian

"Parish is the best thing about it. Physically she has a dramatic actressy glamour, yet what she radiates is very normal: she"s tired, she's sensible, she's coping. I believe in her character. I believe she has a pin number, pinching shoes and studied at medical school for seven years. Parish can do ordinary, and that's extraordinary." Hermione Eyre, Independent On Sunday

"...Brady and Parish's more understated performances are a joy, making Mistresses perfect rainy afternoon fare." Emma Cox, Sun

"...let's hope series two is as good." Anila Baig, Sun

"Please, Miss, we want some more." Sarah Dempster, Guardian