Doctor Foster To Return For Third & Final Series

34 minutes ago

Here’s everything we know so far

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It’s one last hurrah for Doctor Foster, the BBC’s hit psychological drama that debuted more than a decade ago. In fact, series 2 kicked off in 2017, two years after the first, meaning by the time we see series 3 – announced by the BBC this morning – another decade will have passed.

That’s right: Doctor Foster is set to return to our screens, probably in 2027, for a third and final series. Here’s everything we know so far.

Doctor Foster Series 3: Plot, Cast, Release Date & More

This just in: the BBC is finally working on a third series of Doctor Foster after giving it the greenlight back in 2018, with filming set to commence this spring. Suranne Jones, Bertie Cavel and Tom Taylor are all set to return to their roles as husband and wife Gemma and Simon Foster and their son Tom Foster respectively, but it seems Jodie Comer will not be returning to her role as Kate from the information we have so far.

The series first aired back in 2015, with the initial storyline loosely inspired by the notorious ancient Greek myth of Medea, in which a scorned wife kills her children and poisons her husband’s new bride, damning Jason to a life of grief. In Doctor Foster, Gemma is analogous to Medea and Simon to Jason – but thankfully the mother doesn’t end up killing her 12-year-old son, Tom, who stands in for all three of Medea’s sons Mermerus, Pherus and Medus.

Gemma (SURANNE JONES), Tom (TOM TAYLOR), Ros (THUSITHA JAYASUNDERA) & James Mohan (PRASANNA PUWANARAJAH) in Doctor Foster. (BBC/Drama Republic)

Instead, the series traced the splintering of Doctor Gemma Foster’s orderly life as a GP in the small town of Parminster as a stray blonde hair on her husband’s scarf raised the alarm that he was being unfaithful. And she was right: Simon was having an affair with Kate Parks (Jodie Comer), a 23-year-old student and daughter of one of Gemma’s patients. Rather than begin a murder spree, Gemma gathers evidence and (after a tumultuous journey) confronts Simon and Kate at a dinner party, exposing their misdeeds, before driving off with Tom.

The second series opened two years later, with Simon and Kate returning to Parminster having been ousted by Gemma, who still lives and works in town with her now-teenage son Tom. Old wounds are not healed, and Simon reveals early on that he intends to force Gemma out of Parminster and reclaim their son. The pair continue to clash over the course of the series, with Simon driven to madness this time. After one clash too many for Tom to take, the teenager runs away from his parents in the finale, leaving his parents (and the 10 million Brits watching) uncertain of his fate.

Here’s where that leaves us.

Simon (BERTIE CARVEL) in Doctor Foster. (BBC/Drama Republic)

What Will Happen In Series 3?

Series creator and writer Mike Bartlett says he ‘always hoped that we’d get to tell the final part of Gemma’s story, which is about a woman seeking justice in an unfair world’.

Opening a decade after the events of Doctor Foster series 2, series 3 will open with Gemma still working as a GP in Parminster, still living in the same house, but on the brink of a new life. She has met someone new, and is about to get married. But as the wedding day draws closer, ‘shadows from the past begin to re-emerge threatening both her happiness and her reputation,’ the BBC teases.

With Bertie Carvel slated to return as Simon, we have to assume Gemma’s (now-ex) husband is back in Parminster – but the state of the couple’s relationship is still to be determined. And with Tom Taylor also set to return as their son Tom, we have to assume a return in adult form is on the cards. Indeed, explaining the decade-gap between series 2 and 3, Jones says: ‘When I got the call to ask if I wanted to return as Gemma Foster, I knew the time was right. We needed space from the first two series, and we needed Tom – Gemma and Simon’s runaway son – to return as an adult with questions.’

Gemma (SURANNE JONES) & Simon (BERTIE CARVEL) in Doctor Foster. (BBC/Drama Republic)

In fact, it seems Jones – who won a BAFTA for her performance in series 1 – knew there would be a gap like this since series 2 concluded in 2017. Back then, appearing on This Morning, in response to speculation about a third series, the star simply shrugged and said, ‘I don’t know. It’s a timing issue.’ And when pushed about audiences questioning Tom’s location, she quipped: ‘He’s alright, he’ll be travelling somewhere, he’ll be fine for a couple of years! Would you really want him to come back to these damaged parents?’

Now an adult, it seems Tom will in fact return. But what kept him away for so long?

‘For me, this time around it’s about accountability and questioning “can we ever truly sever ties with our past and the damage or traumas that haunt us, so we can fully move forward?”,’ Jones adds. ‘Gemma and Simon have so much to unpick!’

Bartlett adds that ‘it’s been a joy […] to tell the final chapter of this story and revisit Parminster – where it turns out there’s still secrets, betrayals, vengeance and perhaps one last dinner party…’