PLAY FOR TODAY: CHANNEL 5 REVIVES DRAMA ANTHOLOGY STRAND, TITLES AND CASTING ANNOUNCED

Following the previously announced pilot, 5 has announced the first four commissions and casting that will form its new Play for Today slate. LA Productions and Vertigo Films have been handed 2x60’ orders respectively which are set to air on 5 later this year.

Inspired by the iconic Play for Today format, each production will champion new voices and focus on bringing low-income talent into the spotlight behind the scenes in writing, directing and production roles. 

Special Measures

From new screenwriter and playwright Lee Thompson kicks off the double order from LA Productions, is a state of the nation drama looking at the growing pressures facing schools in the UK. Jack McLoughlin (Kate & Jake, The Death of the House Party) will be making his directorial debut.

Jessica Plummer (The Girl Before, Missing You) will lead the drama; set in the heart of Liverpool. Manor Lane High is a school on the edge - underfunded and overwhelmed, the school’s staff are stretched thin. Just before the school day begins, Drew, the exhausted head of English, abruptly resigns for good.

Left reeling, Amy, the deputy head of English, must step in and steady the ship. But she barely has time to gather her thoughts— Chris, the frantic deputy head, breaks the news: Ofsted inspectors are arriving in 15 minutes for a surprise inspection. Caught between burnout and bureaucracy, can this fractured school survive the day?

Never Too Late

From Vertigo Films is an irreverent take on ageing, following a rebellious woman forced to start over in a retirement village. Set in a deceptively peaceful retirement village, this darkly comic drama follows sharp-tonged, fiercely independent Cynthia as she’s reluctantly moved in by her daughter.

Cynthia clashes with eccentric residents, oppressive rules, and the surprise reappearance of her old rockstar fling from the 1970s. What begins as a mission to get kicked out becomes something more complicated, as she’s forced to confront long-buried secrets, strained family ties, and the unexpected possibility of starting over. It’s a story about second chances, unlikely friendships, and how the messy, defiant reality that life – and love – don’t end with retirement.

Anita Dobson (Doctor Who, The Long Call, Inside No 9, EastEnders, Father Brown) will lead the cast as Cynthia, Nigel Havers (The Gentleman, Chariots of Fire, A Cruel Love: The Ruth Ellis Story) will star as Frank, Tracy-Ann Oberman (It’s a Sin, EastEnders, Friday Night Dinner) as Cynthia’s daughter Amanda, Nina Wadia (Count Abdulla, EastEnders) as Heather, Michael Fenton Stevens (Death in Paradise, The Sixth Commandment) as Peter and Natasha Williams (It’s a Sin, EastEnders) as Mary.

Directed by Sarah Harrak, Iris Prize recipient 2023 for short film F*KED. Her latest Short film Solers United, was premiered at BFI FLARE in March 2025. Simon Warne and Lydia Marchant will pen the script. Allan Niblo and Nathalie Peter-Contesse are Executive Producers for both Vertigo projects alongside Michelle Antoniades as Producer for both dramas; Screen International Star of Tomorrow, Edinburgh Festival Talent Lab alumni and winner of the Breakthrough Producer award at the British Independent Film Awards in 2021.

Big Winners

A story about Edith and Arthur Thistle – for fifty-three years, they have managed to get by—never rich, never extravagant, but always together. That all changes in an instant when they win fourteen million pounds in the lottery. Arthur dreams of spending big, finally tasting the high life. But before the celebrations can begin, Edith drops a bombshell: she wants a divorce. Big Winners is about opportunity, who gets to seize the day and who gets left behind. A thrilling, funny, deeply emotional exploration of lives lived, and lives missed.

Sue Johnston (Truelove, The Responder, The Royle Family) and Paul Copley (Downton Abbey, Last Tango in Halifax, The Archers) will lead the cast as Edith and Arthur. Alexa Davies (Cobra, Funny Woman and Raised by Wolves). and Mia Tormey will star as Jade and Kaylee.

Writer Martha Watson Allpress (Patricia Gets Ready) is on board making her TV writing debut. Emma Turner will also make her debut as director.

Intruder

A real-time, single-location psychological thriller with the tension of a ticking bomb. Lenny Bray was once a national treasure - now he’s just a man in a mansion, hiding from headlines and haunted by whispers. But when a young man shows up at his door late one night—barefoot, bleeding, and carrying a story Lenny hoped was buried—everything unravels.

Across one harrowing night, Lenny and his wife Maggie must confront a stranger’s explosive accusations—and their own complicity in a past steeped in power, silence, and manipulation. Darkly comic and emotionally raw, this is a story about guilt, truth, and what happens when survivors come knocking.

Alan Davies (McDonald & Dodds, Flack, Jonathan Creek) and Nikki Amuka-Bird (I, Jack Wright, Knock at the Cabin) will star as husband and wife Lenny and Maggie with newcomer Logan Mersh as Ben.

Commenting on the Play for Today initiative Commissioning Editor, 5, Paul Testar said: “Play for Today is synonymous with high quality standalone television dramas and we’re incredibly excited to be reviving it with a new slate of single films on 5.  What makes this particularly important for us as a public service broadcaster is the opportunity to support emerging talent behind the scenes – from writers and directors to production teams – especially those from lower-income backgrounds who haven’t always had clear pathways into the industry. It’s a chance to tell great stories while helping to shape the future of British drama.”

Production has begun across all titles with the first drama set to air on 5 at the end of the 2025.