Channel 5 confirms string of new dramas with Coronation Street and Hollyoaks stars
CHANNEL 5 is bringing a string of dramas to the small screen which will see stars from popular soaps like Coronation Street, Hollyoaks and EastEnders take on leading roles.
Corrie alum Will Mellor will front an exciting new series of the anthology show, The Teacher. While former EastEnders star Jo Joyner leads a new six-part mystery drama called The Wives, and Hollyoaks actor Claire Cooper swaps soap drama for an enthralling rags-to-riches story.
Channel 5 had poured a lot of energy into its original dramas, including popular series like The Teacher, All Creatures Great and Small and Dalgliesh, which are returning to the small screen later this year.
Additionally, new dramas The Wives, Hardacres, and Ellis will premiere on Channel 5.
Talking about the expansive slate of upcoming dramas, the broadcasters Head of Drama and Deputy Chief Content Officer, Sebastian Cardwell said: “We’re riding high on drama at Channel 5 and have an upcoming autumn schedule packed full of new series that our audience can get their teeth stuck into.
“With detective mysteries, gripping dramas, psychological thrillers and an incredible line-up of UK talent to bring the stories to life, there’ll be something for everyone to enjoy.”
Let’s take a closer look at the series coming to Channel 5 this autumn.
The Teacher
Channel 5 anthology drama first aired in 2022 and is returning for a thrilling second series.
Featuring an entirely new cast, the series stars Kara Tointon and Emmett J. Scanlan alongside Will Mellor.
Drama ensues when a student’s death is revealed to be murder. This leads to Dani (Kara), a dedicated art teacher, quickly becoming entangled in a web of desire and deceit with her own marriage at the centre of it.
The Wives
New to Channel 5 this autumn is The Wives, a six-part series starring EastEnders actresses Jo Joyner and Tamzin Outhwaite alongside Waterloo Road star Angela Griffin.
This drama teases mystery and intrigue as it follows the unravelling of one family in a summer that changes all their lives.
The Hardacres
Hollyoaks star Claire Cooper takes the lead in another new Channel 5 drama, The Hardacres, which will premiere this autumn.
Claire will star alongside Julie Graham and Liam McMahon in this sweeping rags to riches story that follows the lives, loves and fortunes of the working class Hardacre family as they move from a grimy fish dock to a vast country estate in 1890s Yorkshire.
Ellis
Three-part detective series Ellis is also a new addition to Channel 5’s autumn slate.
It stars Sharon D. Clarke and Andrew Gower, with Sharon portraying the titular DCI Ellis, a tenacious cop who is parachuted into failing investigations.
Top Channel 5 dramas
Channel 5 has become a hub for gripping drama, these are some of the best My5 has to offer.
- All Creatures Great and Small – Based on the best-selling novels by real-life vet Alf Wright, the show revolves around a trio of vets working in the Yorkshire Dales in the late 1930s. Eccentric Siegfried Farnon (Samuel West) hires James Herriot (Nicholas Ralph) for his veterinary practice at Skeldale House alongside himself and his younger brother Tristan (Callum Woodhouse). There James settles into his new life and even finds love with local farmer’s daughter Helen (Rachel Shenton).
- The Ex-Wife – New parents Tasha (Céline Buckens) and Jack (Tom Misson) seem to have the perfect life, but the constant presence of Jack’s overly friendly but suspicious ex-wife Jen (Janet Montgomery) puts pressure on the couple. But as the series progresses it becomes less clear who the bad guy really is and how far everyone will go to get the life they think they deserve.
- Heat – EastEnders alum Danny Dyer leads this four-part action thriller, set in Australia, which sees two families holidaying together during bushfire season. But instead of rest and relaxation, secrets and lies start to unravel — and not everyone will make it out alive…
- Lie With Me – Another soap legend jets off to Australia, this time its EastEnders alum Charlie Brooks who takes as a married woman trying to saving her marriage by moving halfway around the world after her husband had an affair. However it’s far from plain sailing, as a young and attractive live-in nanny comes to work with the Fallmont family, and tensions soon build and eventually, someone ends up dead.
- The Drowning – Jill Halfpenny plays Jodie, a woman whose life is shattered following the disappearance of her beloved four-year-old son, Daniel. However, ten years later, the grieving mother thinks she’s finally found her missing child, and embarks on a journey to discover the truth about him. But has she really just found the son she has been missing for so long?
As a black female cop, Ellis is used to being dismissed and overlooked, but she is a first-class murder detective, with a determination for justice and a deep well of compassion for those who need it.
All Creatures Great and Small
Beloved animal drama All Creatures Great and Small is returning to screens in just a matter of weeks. The show follows the life and work of vet James Herriot (Nicholas Ralph) and his companions in the Yorkshire Dales.
Channel 5 is making an exciting change to the fifth series as star Callum Woodhouse is returning to the drama. Callum, who plays beloved vet Triston Farnon, was absent from the show’s fourth season due to his character serving in the Royal Army Vet Corps, but he will make an unexpected return to the dales.
Samuel West, Anna Madeley, Rachel Shenton and Patricia Hodge are also returning for the upcoming series, alongside newcomer James Anthony Rose.
Dalgliesh
Hit detective drama Dalgliesh first premiered on Channel 5 in 2021 and returned to screens for a second series in 2023.
The drama will now return for a third series, adapting another three novels from P.D. James’ international best-selling murder mysteries.
Bertie Carvel will reprise his role as lead detective Adam Dalgliesh once more.