A devoted nun and a catholic priest fall in love, what could possibly go wrong?
BAFTA-winning writer Jack Thorne is back, and with his first-ever love story no less. Falling tells the story of nun Anna (Keeley Hawes) and Catholic priest David (Paapa Essiedu) as they fall in love. Neither of them expected it and as a result, both struggle to balance their blossoming romance with their roles in both the church and the community.
Who stars in Falling?
Keeley Hawes as Anna
‘She's not expecting to fall in love,’ laughs Keeley Hawes as she describes devoted nun Anna. ‘When we meet her, she's very content. She has spent more of her life in the convent than out of it, so she doesn't know anything else. She has a great relationship with the nuns there and with the abbess – they are her family.
‘She is married to God so she’s already in a relationship, as is David. It's a lifetime commitment with no thoughts of leaving - neither of them is expecting this. That’s why it's so heartbreaking and difficult: they've given themselves to God in every way, so it's a real tussle.’
Keeley Hawes may have made her acting debut in 1989 with an episode of the TV drama Forever Green, but it was her lead role as Zoe Reynolds in Spooks (2002-2004) that shot the actress to fame. Co-incidentally it was on the set of Spooks that Keeley met her now-husband of 22 years actor Matthew Macfadyen.
Since then, you may have spotted the actress in roles such as Rosie Kennedy in The Vicar of Dibley (2006-2007), DI Alex Drake in Ashes to Ashes (2008-2010), Lady Agnes Holland in Upstairs, Downstairs (2010-2012), and DI Lindsay Denton in Line of Duty (2014-2016).
More recently Keeley has become known for her roles as Gemma Webster in The Missing (2016), Louisa Durrell in The Durrells (2016-2019), Julia Montague in Bodyguard (2018), Alice Dillon in Finding Alice (2021), Kira Manning in Orphan Black: Echoes, Cassandra Austen in Miss Austen (2025), and Julie in The Assassin (2025).
Paapa Essiedu as David
‘David has been living at his sister’s house in Bristol for three years, moving there from a different church having been a bit of a highflyer and earmarked to perhaps become a bishop one day,’ says Paapa Essiedu of Catholic Priest David. ‘He’s very popular and charismatic and took his work very seriously but maybe got an inflated sense of his own ability and tried to take on everything.
'One particular incident unfortunately ended up with a young man taking his own life on David's watch, and that profoundly affected him. He turned to alcohol and had to go through a rehabilitation process, trying to put his life back together in terms of his relationship with God and with what he feels is his calling as a man of God.’
After starting out in theatre as part of the Royal Shakespeare Company, Paapa Essiedu has become a regular face on our TV screens thanks to his roles in shows such as Kiri (2018), Press (2018), Gangs of London (2020-2022), I May Destroy You (2020), the BAFTA-nominated The Lazarus Project (2022-2023), The Capture (2022-2026), and the recently released Babies (2026).
Film-wise you may have spotted Paapa in Kenneth Branagh’s Murder on the Orient Express (2017) as Sergeant Campbell, as well as the Melissa McCarthy-led remake of Genie (2023).
Rakie Ayola as Muriel
A kind-hearted member of the community, Muriel offers Anna (Keeley Hawes) a home when she leaves the convent.
‘Muriel’s husband has left her, so she is dealing with stuff,’ details Rakie Ayola. ‘When we meet her, she's pragmatic, getting used to being in that house by herself and holding it together - we don't catch her in a puddle on the floor. The chance to make a new friend in Anna is one she relishes, because there's a point in life where we think we have all the friends we're going to make unless we go and join a knitting circle or something.’
Welsh actress Rakie Ayola has starred in plenty of TV series of the years including Maisie Raine (1998), Holby City (2006), Black Mirror (2011), No Offence (2017), Shetland (2019), Grace (2021), Noughts and Crosses (2021), The Pact (2021-2022), and Kaos (2024). There was of course also a small cameo in the Gavin & Stacey finale in 2024 as The Registrar.
Sophie Stone as Susan
Susan is David’s (Paapa Essiedu) sister - with the pair having grown up in care together.
‘Susan is maternal, resilient, selfless and direct,’ says Sophie Stone. ‘She's someone who had to grow up fast to survive the childhood they had, but isn't someone who looks back. She's hugely protective of her brother and sees his patterns of behaviours before anyone else. She wants for his happiness so much that it becomes a distraction from her own fears.’
Sophie Sone – who has been deaf since birth – was the first deaf student to win a place at RADA and her career has gone from strength to strength since.
To date, Sophie’s roles include Laura in Small World (2014-2016), Cass in Doctor Who (2015), Princess Alice of Battenberg in The Crown (2017), Jo Halley in Shetland (2018), Louise in Two Doors Down (2019, 2022), Julie in This Way Up (2021), and Ashley Wilton in The Chelsea Detective (2022-present) – which also stars her Falling co-star Adrian Scarborough.
Adrian Scarborough as Francis
A priest himself, Francis acts as a friend and ally to David (Paapa Essiedu) as David struggles to navigate his relationship with both God and Anna (Keeley Hawes).
Honestly, there aren’t many TV series that British acting legend Adrian Scarborough hasn’t starred in! He’s does everything from comedy – Let Them Eat Cake (1999), Gavin & Stacey (2007-2010, 2019, 2024), Up the Women (2013-2015), Miranda (2015), and Blunt Talk (2015-2016) – to historical drama – Upstairs Downstairs (2010-2012), and Sanditon (2019-2022). Plus there’s been other iconic roles including Raymond in Killing Eve (2019), Gary in Bloods (2021-2022), and DI Max Arnold in The Chelsea Detective (2022-present).
Film-wise, you may have spotted Adrian in the 2001 film adaptation of Gosford Park, as well as The History Boys (2006), Notes on a Scandal (2006), Elizabeth: The Golden Age (2007), Les Miserables (2012), On Chesil Beach (2017), and 1917 (2019).
Niamh Cusack as Francesca
The Abbess of Anna’s (Keeley Hawes) convent, Francesca and Anna don’t seem to be on good terms when we meet them.
A member of the Cusack acting family – which also consists of her sisters Sinéad and Sorcha, brother Pádraig, nephew Max Irons and son Calam Lynch – Niamh Cusack is an Irish acting legend.
Niamh initially came to prominence as Dr. Kate Rowan in Heartbeat (1992-1995), and has since gone on to star in series such as Always and Everyone (1999-2022), Too Good to Be True (2003), The Tower (2023), Big Mood (2004), and I, Jack Wright (2025).
Film-wise you may recognise Niamh from Testament of Youth (2014), We Live in Time (2024), and the upcoming Midwinter Break (2026).
Jason Watkins as Peter
A traditionalist, Bishop Peter often clashes with David (Paapa Essiedu) over David’s progressive ideas – which Peter deems to radical for the catholic church. A basketball court? Don’t be ridiculous.
BAFTA Award-winning (for the 2014 two-part drama The Lost Honour of Christopher Jefferies) actor Jason Watkins boasts an incredibly diverse CV since starting out as Gerry Fairweather in EastEnders (1987-1988). There’s been Mr Plornish in Little Dorritt (2008), William Herrick in Being Human (2009-2012), DI Gilks in Dirk Gently (2010-2012), Gavin Strong in Trollied (2011-2018), Simon Harwood in W1A (2014-2017), Simon Suke in Safe House (2017), Emlyn Hooson in A Very English Scandal (2018), Roger in Hold the Sunset (2018-2019), Harold Wilson in The Crown (2019), Brian Masters in Des (2020), DS Dodds in McDonald & Dodds (2020-2024), Winston Churchill in SAS: Rogue Heroes (2022), Huw Miller in The Game (2025), and Peter Hammond in Dirty Business (2026).
Who created Falling?
Jack Thorne of Adolescence, This Is England and The Hack fame has finally turned his hand to a romantic drama with Falling.
‘My friend and long-term collaborator [and executive producer on Falling] George Faber sent me an article about a nun falling in love with a priest,’ says Jack of the origin of Falling. ‘We use none of the detail of that in Falling, but we thought there's something very interesting here about faith and love that would allow us to tell a slightly unusual story. We knew we wanted to make it for Channel 4 and thankfully, they agreed!’
Where was Falling filmed?
With David (Paapa Essiedu) based in Bristol, it makes sense that the majority of his scenes were filmed in the West Country - particularly at The Bottle Yard Studios in Bristol.
As for Anna's (Keeley Hawes) life, that was mainly filmed around Cardiff and South Wales.
4Filming detailed, 'Several historic properties and quiet religious-style locations around the city reportedly doubled as the secluded convent where Anna has spent most of her adult life.'
When and where does Falling air?
The first episode of Falling airs on Channel 4 on Tuesday 19 May with all episodes set to become available on channel4.com after airing.
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!