Back to Life Series 1 and 2 (2019 – 2021)

Posted on by Kent Film Office

 

Daisy Haggard as Miri Matteson is sat on a bench on a pebbled beach with Adeel Akhtar as Billy. She has long hair blowing in the wind and is holding her phone and a sandwich. She is wearing a green anorak and black leggings. Adeel has black hair and a beard and wears a brown jacket and blue jeans.

Miri Matteson (Daisy Haggard), Billy (Adeel Akhtar) in Back to Life Series 2 (2021) in Hythe © SHOWTIME

Writer: Daisy Haggard and Laura Solon

Director: Christopher Sweeney

Starring: Daisy Haggard, Geraldine James, Jamie Michie, and Christine Bottomley

Production Company: BBC Studios

Kent locations used: Dungeness, Abbot’s Cliff in Dover, Folkstone & Hythe, Lydd-on-Sea

BBC3 comedy drama Back to Life follows Miranda ‘Miri’ Matteson (Daisy Haggard Breeders Series 2 (2021), Hilda) who has just been released from prison, having spent a decade behind bars. In Series One she is desperate to go straight and move on with her life.

In Series Two Miri starts a relationship with her neighbour Billy (Adeel Akhtar (Victoria and Abdul (2017)), but all is not plain sailing as a body is washed up on the beach and she becomes the prime suspect.

The series was directed by Christopher Sweeney (Parental Advisory: Disciplinary Measures, Women are from Mars), is written by Daisy Haggard and Laura Solon, and stars Daisy Haggard (Black Mirror, Outnumbered), Geraldine James (Alice in Wonderland, Sherlock Holmes), Jamie Michie (Game of Thrones, The Outlaw King) and Christine Bottomley (Hard Sun, The End of the F***ing World).

Production filmed in locations across Dungeness, including Dungeness Estate, the Britannia Pub Inn and Lydd on Sea’s Lade Car Park. Dungeness has played host to several recent TV productions including Brave New World (2020), The Third Day (2020) and Fantasy Homes by the Sea – Series 7 (2018).

Filming took place along the seafront at Folkestone’s Harbour Arm and Marine Parade Beach as well as in the nearby small seaside town of Hythe, which is the main setting for Miri’s hometowm. Production shot on the High Street, West Parade Promenade and  Fisherman’s beach. The Folkestone & Hythe district of Kent has 26 miles of beaches and is a popular location for filming, recently appearing in Flesh and Blood (2020) and Queens of Mystery (2019).

Abbot’s Cliff in Dover features in both series.

Series One aired on BBC 3 on Monday 15th April 2019 and is currently available on iplayer.

Series Two airs weekly on BBC One from Tuesday 31 August at 10.35pm and will be available on BBC iPlayer from the same date.

For more information about Kent’s Filming History please visit our Movie Map.