MASTERPIECE Studio

WARNING: This episode contains spoilers for Alice & Jack . For lead actor and executive producer Andrea Riseborough, love can look like many things. From confusion and estrangement to laughter and awkwardness, love is always beyond our control. This week, Andrea brings us inside the mind of her character Alice, and to the heart of her tragic relationship with Jack, as this beautifully complex...

WARNING: This episode contains spoilers for episode 5 of Alice & Jack Actor Aisling Bea delights in bringing nuance to her characters and finding the humor in dramatic roles. This week, Aisling joins us to discuss playing Jack’s dynamic and resilient ex-wife Lynn in Alice & Jack , and how her character maintains her poise and dignity despite the chaos of Alice and Jack’s relationship.

For writer Gwyneth Hughes, Mr Bates vs The Post Office is the perfect culmination of her years of experience as a journalist, documentarian, and dramatist. This week, Gwyneth joins us to discuss how she adapted this true story for the screen, and the real-life impact of this drama series as the fallout from the scandal continues to echo in Parliament, the courts, and the halls of power in Britain....

WARNING: This episode contains spoilers for Nolly . Actor Helena Bonham Carter enjoys playing complex, dynamic roles. From Princess Margaret to Bellatrix Lestrange, she never shies away from complicated characters. This week, we talked with Helena about playing the trailblazing Noele Gordon in Russell T Davies’ Nolly , a role for which she earned a BAFTA Television award nomination for Leading Act...

WARNING: This episode contains spoilers for Nolly . Composer Blair Mowat has written music for a long list of film and TV productions, including Class , After The Flood , and recently, Russell T. Davies’ bittersweet love letter to the Queen of the Midlands, Nolly . This week, we talked with Blair about how he approached composing the music for this eloquent and emotional real-life drama, for which...

WARNING: This episode contains spoilers for Episode 1 of Alice & Jack . For Alice & Jack writer and creator Victor Levin, love is a messy business worth fighting for. It often bypasses the rules of reason and logic and throws all kinds of emotional curve balls. But in the end, it’s the best thing we have. In this interview, Victor joins us to share his feelings on the nature of love, and w...

WARNING: This episode contains significant spoilers for Season 4 of Miss Scarlet and The Duke . For four seasons, we’ve watched Eliza Scarlet and William Wellington work together to solve a seemingly endless stream of serpentine mysteries in Victorian era London. But by the fourth episode of Season Four, Eliza and William's relationship is forever changed. Stuart Martin, who has played William Wel...

Dr. Mark Roodhouse, historical consultant for All Creatures Great & Small , and lecturer in History at the University of York, joins us to discuss his role on the show, and the real-life history behind rationing and black markets in World War II-era Britain. 

WARNING: This episode contains spoilers for Episode 7 of All Creatures Great and Small Season 4.  Lead actor Nicholas Ralph returns to the podcast to reflect on Season Four of All Creatures Great and Small , and how his character, James Herriot, learned to embrace the ever-present uncertainties of life while training a new vet, joining the RAF, and becoming a father.

WARNING: This episode contains spoilers for Episode 6 of Miss Scarlet and The Duke Season 4.  Writers Rachael New and Ben Edwards are back to wrap up Season Four of Miss Scarlet and The Duke . At the end of this season, Eliza steps out of the shadows cast by her father, Nash, and the Duke, and finally hangs her own shingle. This week, Rachael and Ben join us to discuss the Season Four finale, and...

WARNING: This episode contains spoilers for Episode 5 of All Creatures Great and Small Season 4.  Actor James Anthony-Rose joins All Creatures Great and Small this season as new veterinarian Richard Carmody. With Tristan away and James leaving for military training, there’s a lot of pressure on Richard to succeed in the veterinary practice. Will he rise to the occasion? James discusses how he appr...

WARNING: This episode contains spoilers for Episode 4 of Miss Scarlet and The Duke Season 4. It’s been a trying season for actor Stuart Martin’s ‘Duke’. He’s been pushed past the point of exhaustion, shot in the arm, in a coma, and now contends with rest and recovery. But as we see a more vulnerable Duke emerge, these events are hardly what occupies his mind. Stuart Martin joins us this week to ex...

WARNING: This episode contains spoilers for Episode 3 of Miss Scarlet and The Duke Season 4.  In episode 3 of Miss Scarlet and The Duke , writers and spouses Rachael New and Ben Edwards try something new: a flashback episode. We travel back in time to the world of young Eliza and William to witness their formative years and the origins of their relationship. Rachael and Ben join us this week to br...

WARNING: This episode contains spoilers for Episode 2 of All Creatures Great and Small Season 4. Actor Neve McIntosh joins All Creatures Great and Small this season as the organized and rigid Miss Harbottle. Bringing order to chaos is her speciality, and that’s what she plans to do at the rather disorderly Skeldale House. But will it be a good fit for the practice? This week, Neve McIntosh shares...

WARNING: This episode contains spoilers for Episode 1 of All Creatures Great and Small Season 4. New beginnings are afoot as Jamie Crichton takes over as lead writer for the fourth season of All Creatures Great and Small . With Tristan away and the war encroaching, things aren’t quite the same in Darrowby. But these changes leave room for other dynamics to blossom. Jamie shares how he stayed true...

WARNING: This episode contains spoilers for Episode 6 of World on Fire Season 2.  This season, actor Eugénie Derouand’s character, Henriette Guilbert, moves into the foreground. As the Nazis tighten their grip on the hospital, Henriette moves her resistance efforts to the French countryside, where she hides and rehabilitates fallen RAF pilots, and helps them return home. This week, Eugénie Derouan...

WARNING: This episode contains spoilers for Episode 5 of World on Fire Season 2.  Actor Mark Bonnar turns up the charm this season with his suave and elegant character, Sir James Danemere. But what lies behind this sly demeanor? This week, Mark Bonnar brings us inside the head of Sir James, a man with a sharp sense of the ridiculous. Stay tuned after the interview for real WWII historical commenta...

WARNING: This episode contains spoilers for Episode 4 of World on Fire Season 2.  Actor Ahad Raza Mir joins Season 2 of World on Fire as the heroic leader of the British Indian Army’s Sapper unit, Rajib Pal. In this interview, he discusses the complexity of his character, and how Rajib can simultaneously follow the rules while throwing caution to the wind.  Stay tuned after the interview for real...

WARNING: This episode contains spoilers for episode 3 of World on Fire Season 2.  For director Meenu Gaur, it’s important to bring a new perspective to the stories and genres that have been around for decades. And that’s what drew her to World on Fire . In this interview, Gaur discusses how she balanced the big, dramatic moments of battle with the small, tender moments of love, longing, and domest...

WARNING: This episode contains spoilers for episode 1 of World on Fire Season 2.  Historical advisor Richard Overy joins us as we kick off Season 2 of World on Fire . A lot happened in that first year of WWII, and because this show closely follows the real life history of the war, we want to take a moment to get oriented. If you’re confused about the North African campaign, never ending bombings i...

WARNING: This episode contains spoilers for Unforgotten Season 5.  For actor Sanjeev Bhaskar and writer and creator Chris Lang, Season 5 of Unforgotten was full of new challenges and uncomfortable moments. But by the end of this season, we’re left with a glimmer of hope. As Sanjeev and Chris discuss the final episode of this season, we’re reminded that even in the most difficult of situations, the...

WARNING: This episode contains spoilers for episode four of Season Five of Unforgotten . Unforgotten creator and writer Chris Lang knew it would take time for both audiences and characters to grieve the loss of the beloved Cassie Stuart, played by Nicola Walker, and welcome in Jessica James, played by Sinéad Keenan. In this episode, Lang reveals some of the decisions he made when crafting this tra...

WARNING: This episode contains spoilers for  World on Fire  Season 1. It’s been more than three years since MASTERPIECE aired Season 1 of World on Fire in 2020 — so don’t worry if you don’t remember exactly what happened in the first season. But rest assured: we’ve got you covered. With Season 2 of World on Fire just around the corner, let’s go back to the beginning and make sure we’re all caught...

As an Unforgotten fan herself, actor Sinéad Keenan was well aware of the boots she was filling by stepping into the role of the new DCI. And as if that wasn’t enough of a hurdle for her character DCI Jessica James, less than an hour before her first day at work, Jess’s husband Steve drops some shattering news. Sinéad joins the podcast this week to reflect on some of the challenges her character fa...

At the end of Season 4 of Unforgotten DCI Cassie Stuart, played by Nicola Walker, tragically died in a car accident, sending shockwaves out to the other characters, actors, and viewers alike. But Sunny Khan is hit especially hard, given his close working relationship with Cassie. Sanjeev Bhaskar joins us to discuss how Sunny deals with this change, and what struggles and triumphs might lie ahead f...