Updated 7 September: It’s not been long since the BBC gave us our first look at their hotly-anticipated Doctor Foster spin-off series, and we’ve already been treated to our first glimpse of the star-studded cast in action.

Although the trailer for Life doesn’t give much away, it certainly gives fans of the show a taste of what to expect in the six-part series when it airs sometime this Autumn.

You can watch the new trailer below:

If you want to learn more about the new series, including who’s starring and what storylines you can expect, keep reading to find out everything we know so far.

As reported on 14 August: Ever since the second season of Doctor Foster finished three years ago, fans have had to get their tense, high drama entertainment fix elsewhere. 

Starring the brilliant Suranne Jones in the titular role as Gemma Foster, the series followed the story of a woman whose husband, Simon, has an affair with a woman called Kate. Gemma unravels lies that lead to much bigger and darker revelations, making for gripping television that became a hit with critics and fans alike. 

The show’s writer, Mike Bartlett, has previously talked about a third season, and now it’s been confirmed – except there’s a big twist.

Life is the Doctor Foster spin-off series that revisits Anna (Victoria Hamilton) and her ex-husband Neil (Adam James).

Quick recap: Anna and Neil were Gemma’s neighbours and friends, who knew about Simon and Kate’s affair. After Gemma found out, she slept with Neil so that she could blackmail him in order to uncover the state of her husband’s finances. In the second season, Anna learns that Neil is still enjoying one night stands with women, and finally leaves him. 

In the new series, we will see that Anna now identifies as “Belle” the Pilates instructor as she continues to build her new life. But her new start is rocked by the arrival of troublesome teenage niece Maya (Erin Kellyman) and then Neil. Clearly there is much relationship drama to play out in Belle’s life.

And that’s not all…

The series will be set in a large house divided into four flats in Manchester.

While Belle occupies one of the four flats, the show’s other characters occupy the rest:

Henry (Peter Davison) lives with his wife Gail (Alison Steadman), who is about to turn 70 and who has a chance encounter that turns her life on its head.

David (Adrian Lester) and his wife Kelly (Rachael Stirling) are “happily married” in another flat, but he is tempted by Saira (Saira Choudhry) when he meets her on holiday.

Hannah (Melissa Johns) lives in the final flat with her “safe and stable” partner Liam (Joshua James). However, her cosy life and excitement over a baby is ruined when Andy (Calvin Demba) shows up. The last time she saw him was nine months ago, when they had a passionate one-night stand.

Producers say that as each of the stories unfolds and intertwines in surprising ways in Life, “they tell a larger story about what happens when we step out of our personal space and take a closer look into other people’s lives. Life explores love, loss, birth, death, the ordinary, the extraordinary and everything in between.”

Although we’re sad we probably won’t be seeing Jones reprise her GP role, we cannot wait to watch this six-part series. It’s expected to air in the autumn, but we’ll update with a date when it’s released.

In the meantime, you can catch up with seasons one and two of Doctor Foster on iPlayer or Netflix. 

Images: BBC