‘I feel incredibly proud that a show like this exists,’ Paapa Essiedu reveals to TVChoice. ‘Especially if we're talking about the subject matter of baby loss. I don't think I've ever seen something that's been made with as much openness and vulnerability as this. I'm looking forward to seeing how people choose to respond to it.’
Bar some short-term soap storylines, viewers in the UK will likely have never seen miscarriage fictionalised on TV despite the fact that approximately one in eight known pregnancies will end in the heartbreak.
That will change with the introduction of Paapa’s Stephen and his wife Lisa (Siobhán Cullen) who, when we meet them in episode one, are just starting their pregnancy journey having suffered what will sadly be one of multiple miscarriages.
Whilst Lisa and Stephen navigate their grief in this slow-moving but keenly observed drama, we meet Stephen’s friend Dave (Jack Bannon) who is in the early stages of a new relationship with Amanda (Charlotte Riley). And although Dave provides some lightness that undercuts Lisa and Stephen’s devastating situation, it soon becomes clear that there’s more to both him and Amanda. For her part, Amanda is trying to regain a sense of normality following the death of her former fiancé.
Who stars in Babies?
Siobhán Cullen as Lisa
‘Lisa is a very carefree, funny person who's in the early stages of marriage with her partner, Stephen, who she’s madly in love with,’ introduces Siobhán Cullen. ‘When we meet her at the top of the show, she's experienced what feels like her first major challenge in her life. Up until this point, she's, perhaps naively, moved through the world with a sense that everything will be okay and everything will go my way. Now she's struggling with the first grown up obstacle that she's ever had to overcome.’
Irish actress Siobhán Cullen made her acting debut in 2001 with the film The Crooked Mile. Since then you may have spotted her in TV series like The Split (2020) as Carrie Scanlon, The Long Call (2021) as Caroline Reasley, The Dry (2022-2024) as Caroline Sheridan, Obituary (2023-present) as Elvira Clancy, and Bodkin (2024) as Dubheasa ‘Dove’ Maloney.
Siobhán has also been cast in the upcoming action-fantasy film Highlander alongside big names like Henry Cavill, Russell Crowe, Dave Bautista, Marisa Abela, Karen Gillan and Jeremy Irons.
Paapa Essiedu as Stephen
‘Stephen is the connect between the two relationships,’ explains Paapa Essiedu. ‘He's Lisa's husband and very old friends with Dave. And in many ways, at least from the surface, he's just a very normal bloke. There's something beautifully ordinary about the way he's structured his life up until now. He lives in the town that he grew up in. He's married to the person that he loves. He lives in the flat that he feels comfortable in. Everything's going well, apart from the fact that it feels like all the major relationships in his life are in jeopardy and under attack. He's an ordinary guy who's having to face some big questions.’
Originally a stage actor having made his acting debut as a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company, Paapa Essiedu is now a recognisable face thanks to his multiple TV appearances. Notable TV roles of Paapa’s include Ed Washburn in Press (2028), Alexander Dumani in Gangs of London (2020-2022), Kwame in I May Destroy You (2020), George in The Lazarus Project (2022-2023), and Isaac Turner in The Capture (2022-2026).
Paapa has also been cast as Severus Snape in the upcoming, controversial TV adaptation of Harry Potter.
Charlotte Riley as Amanda
‘Amanda is somebody who's experienced great loss in her life,’ says Charlotte Riley. ‘She's somebody who's loved incredibly deeply, and that person has left her very early on in life. She's older than the other characters, and I think she's experienced the tragedy of life already, and she's has been trying to navigate that for a long time.
‘When the series begins, Dave and Amanda are in the first few weeks of their relationship, and that's quite an unusual space for her to be, because a lot of her friends are married and moving on to have children. When she lost her partner, she had to deal with her grief by essentially throwing herself into her work. And now you're seeing a moment in her life where she's dipping her toe back into being witnessed by somebody, and she chooses somebody very specific that she feels safe with so that she can almost practice intimacy again.’
English actress Charlotte Riley – who has been married to actor Tom Hardy (Legend, Venom) since 2014 – made her acting debut in 2007 with the TV series Grownups. Since then you may have spotted Charlotte as Catherine Earnshaw in the TV film adaptation of Wuthering Heights (2009), as Caris in World Without End (2012), as May Fitz Carleton in Peaky Blinders (2014, 2017), as Cat Reid in Trying (2024), and as Sophie in Malice (2025).
Charlotte was recently cast as Queen Marlena Glenn in the upcoming film Masters of the Universe (2026) alongside Nicholas Galitzine, Camila Mendes, Alison Brie, Morena Baccarin, Kristen Wiig, Jared Leto and Idris Elba.
Jack Bannon as Dave
‘Dave is a complicated soul, bless him,’ reveals Jack Bannon. ‘He’s a man searching for meaning. When we meet him, he has just got this new girlfriend, Amanda, and he's very proud of her. He's one of those people, things in life happen to him. He's always trying to keep the ball in the air with humour and with banter, and if that ball touches the ground, the whole thing implodes.
‘At this stage in life, life is throwing deeper things at him, the cracks are beginning to appear and his old tricks aren't quite working. I always felt like he was a man doing an impression of a man living a life, rather than someone actually living life. He exists through everybody else's gaze on him, and has never really stopped to think about what he wants or what he's trying to achieve, and therefore anything he does try and achieve seems to not work and evade him. He's like a man who's drowning.’
To date, Jack Bannon’s biggest role has been playing the titular Alfred Pennyworth in Pennyworth (2019-2022), but you may also have spotted him as Sam Thursday in Endeavour (2013-2018, 2023), Kieran Whitehead in The Loch (2017), Angelo Poliziano in Medici (2018-2019), and Tom Cole in the sadly short-lived Pulse (2025).
Jack is currently filming Tomb Raider alongside Sophie Turner. He’s been cast as Gerry in the highly-anticipated TV adaptation of the computer game.
Who created Babies?
Although writer Stefan Golaszewski is probably better known for his comedy - with BAFTA-winning sitcoms Him & Her and Mum under his belt - the realism of those shows can be found in his latest offering.
‘The show isn't autobiographical,’ Stefan admits. ‘But I have got experience of similar things to what happens in the show, so I had that to draw on. Also an awareness from that of how little it's spoken about, and the positivity that could occur if it was spoken about in a more public way.
‘I wanted to tell this story of what it's like to go through this experience and centre that from a positive love story angle, rather than a misery fest.’
Where was Babies filmed?
The majority of filming took place in London, as well as in Abbots Langley and Kings Langley – locations there include the police house, Toms Lane, and Sweeneys Supermarket - in Hertfordshire in February 2025.
When and where does Babies air?
Babies airs Monday 30 March and Tuesday 31 March on BBC One with all six episodes also available on BBC iPlayer from Monday.
Daisy Hall became a writer for TVChoice after realising that she could make a career out of her incredible ability to extensively name an actor's credits when they randomly pop up in whatever she's watching. Her friends find it infuriating, but hopefully you find it useful!