''Girlfriends'' is a British

comedy-drama Comedy drama (also known by the portmanteau dramedy) is a hybrid genre of works that combine elements of comedy and Drama (film and television), drama. In film, as well as scripted television series, serious dramatic subjects (such as death, il ...

television series, first broadcast on ITV on 3 January 2018. It follows the lives of three middle-aged women who have been friends since their teenage years. The series was written, created and directed by

Kay Mellor Kay Mellor (née Daniel; 11 May 1951 – 15 May 2022) was an English actress, scriptwriter, producer and director. She was known for creating television series such as '' Band of Gold'' (ITV, 1995–97), '' Fat Friends'' (ITV, 2000–05), and ...

. The drama was not renewed for a second series.

Cast

Main

Phyllis Logan Phyllis Logan (born 11 January 1956) is a Scottish actress, widely known for her roles as Lady Jane Felsham in ''Lovejoy'' (1986–1993) and Mrs Hughes in ''Downton Abbey'' (2010–2015). She won the BAFTA Award for Most Promising Newcomer for ...

as Linda Hutchinson *

Miranda Richardson Miranda Jane Richardson (born 3 March 1958) is an English actress who has worked in film, television and theatre. After graduating from the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, Richardson began her career in 1979 and made her West End theatre, West ...

as Sue Thackery *

Zoë Wanamaker Zoë Wanamaker (born 13 May 1949) is an American-born British actress who has worked extensively with the Royal Shakespeare Company and the National Theatre. Wanamaker was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 2001 by Qu ...

as Gail Stanley * Philip Cumbus as Andrew Thackery, Sue's son *

Daisy Head Daisy Head (born 17 March 1991) is an English actress. She played Grace in the American drama series '' Guilt'', Amy Stevenson in BBC One's drama '' The Syndicate'', Kate Bottomley in the third season of Hulu series '' Harlots'', Genya Safin i ...

as Ruby Hutchinson, Linda's daughter * Matthew Lewis as Tom Drayton, Gail's son

Recurring

* Emmett J. Scanlan as DI Chris Donoghue *

Rochenda Sandall Rochenda Sandall (born 1988) is a British actress who played Lisa McQueen in the television series ''Line of Duty'', and has featured in other productions including '' Small Axe'' and ''Doctor Who and Amandaland'' Biography Rochenda Sandall ...

as DS Anne Thurston * Kobe Jerome as Ben, Tom and Corinne's son *

Steve Evets Steve Evets (born Steven Murphy; 26 July 1959) is an English actor and musician, who found fame for his leading role in the 2009 film ''Looking for Eric''. Personal life Born in Salford, Lancashire, Evets joined the Merchant Navy after leavin ...

as Micky Hutchinson * Chris Fountain as Ryan Hutchinson, Linda's son * Elena Saurel as Stacey *

Paula Wilcox Paula Wilcox (born 13 December 1949) is an English actress. She played Chrissy Plummer in the ITV sitcom '' Man About The House'' from 1973 to 1976, and also had roles in TV shows such as '' The Lovers'', '' Miss Jones and Son'', '' The Queen� ...

as Carole Hardcastle *

Valerie Lilley Valerie Lilley (born 14 April 1939) is a Northern Irish actress who has played many television roles on dramas such as ''Doctors'' and ''Grange Hill''. Lilley most recently appeared in BBC1 BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast ...

as Edna, Gail's mother *

Adrian Rawlins Adrian John Rawlins (born 27 March 1958) is an English actor best known for playing Arthur Kidd in '' The Woman in Black'' (1989) and James Potter in the ''Harry Potter'' films. In 2019, he starred in '' Chernobyl'' as Nikolai Fomin. Early ...

as Dave, Gail's ex-husband *

Anthony Head Anthony Stewart Head (born 20 February 1954) is an English actor and singer. Primarily a performer in musical theatre, he rose to fame in the UK in the 1980s following his role in the Gold Blend couple television advertisements for Nescafé, ...

as John, Sue's married lover and Andrew's father *

Wendy Craig Wendy Craig (born Anne Gwendolyn Craig; 20 June 1934) is an English actress who is best known for her appearances in the sitcoms '' Not in Front of the Children'' (1967–1970), '' ...And Mother Makes Three'' (1971–1973), '' ...And Mother M ...

as Barbara Thackery, Sue's mother * Dave Hill as Frank, Barbara's boyfriend * Matthew Marsh as Alan Forbes, Micky's insurance agent * Rhea Bailey as Corinne Anderson, Tom's ex-girlfriend and Ben's mother

Episodes

Reception

On the

review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews and ratings of products and services, such as films, books, video games, music, software, hardware, or cars. This system then stores the reviews to be used for supporting a website where user ...

website

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...

, the series holds an approval rating of 86% with an average rating of 7.3/10 based on 14 reviews. The website's critical consensus reads, "''Girlfriends'' offers an honest -- and frequently hilarious -- look at a time of life too often marginalized on TV, with wonderfully well-acted results."

Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...

, which uses a weighted average, assigned the season a score of 87 out of 100 based on 4 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".

References

External links

* {{Kay Mellor 2018 British television series debuts 2018 British television series endings 2010s British drama television series 2010s British television miniseries Television shows about adultery British English-language television shows ITV television dramas Television series about families