If you’re one of the many millions of people who remember Sarah Lancashire’s incredible performance as no-nonsense police sergeant Catherine Cawood in Happy Valley, the idea of another series that comes anywhere close to its brilliance might be hard to fathom. But, the 46-year-old actress, who sadly handed in her police badge in 2023, does in fact have another 10/10 drama, The Accident, which features what is, in our opinion, her best performance since.
The series, which is available to stream on Channel 4 tonight (or now, if you like), is set in a small Welsh town where a construction project turns catastrophic when a huge explosion on site leaves several children dead. With Sarah playing wife of local politician, Iwan (Mark Lewis Jones), she’s left to deal with the guilt - and the devastating impact of the tragedy on people’s lives.
Keen to see Sarah’s performance? Here’s everything worth knowing about The Accident before you watch it, including the full plot, cast and how to tune in.
What is The Accident about?
Written by Adolescence’s Jack Thorne, the four-part series takes us to the fictional community of Glyngolau in Wales where a major construction project is underway. The goal is for the project to revive the somewhat neglected town, but when an explosion on site claims the lives of several teenagers who have broken onto the building site to make mischief, everything comes crashing down.
Among those connected to the tragedy are Polly Bevan (Sarah Lancashire), the wife of the local politician who championed the project and the person to whom the devastated community turns following the disaster. Her husband, Iwan (Mark Lewis Jones), loves his home town and wants nothing more than to restore the town to its former glory, but the costs are far greater than he ever imagined.
We also meet Iwan and Polly’s rebellious teenage daughter Leona (Jade Croot) who does everything she can to aggravate her father – and was the ringleader of the teenagers who break onto the site. When she emerges as the only survivor of the accident, and suffers life-changing injuries as a result, the family finds itself tested to its limits.
While the search for the truth behind the events unfolds, the community looks to each other for strength. Polly relies on her oldest friends, Angela (Joanna Scanlan) and Greta (Eiry Thomas), and also Debbie (Genevieve Barr), whose husband, Alan, died in the accident. But relationships – and loyalties - are thrown into doubt when it’s revealed that Alan, Debbie’s husband, might have been responsible for what happened.
Giving her take on the series, Sarah told Channel 4: “It is [the community’s] struggle to come together, to unify, to find answers, to find a way to give [them] a voice and to hopefully find a way to give others a voice too. But throughout all this, interestingly it’s almost a love story that’s playing out within this torn, tattered landscape.”
Who’s in the cast of The Accident?
The cast of The Accident includes:
- Sarah Lancashire (Last Tango in Halifax) as Polly
- Mark Lewis Jones (Keeping Faith) as Iwan
- Jade Croot (The Death of Robin Hood) as Leona
- Joanna Scanlan (Riot Women) as Angela
- Nabhaan Rizwan (Film Club) as Tim
- Adrian Scarborough (The Chelsea Detective) as Philip Walters
- Eiry Thomas (The Bench) as Greta
- Genevieve Barr (The Silence) as Debbie
- Sidse Babett Knudsen (Sons) as Harriet
Is there a trailer for The Accident?
Yes, you can watch the trailer for The Accident below.
Is The Accident any good?
Yes – as you’d expect from writer Jack Thorne, it’s both a heartbreaking and harrowing series, which plays out the effects of grief in incredible detail. While it does have its fair share of uncomfortable scenes, Sarah Lancashire’s performance is well worth tuning in for alone.
How can I watch The Accident?
The Accident is available to stream now on Channel 4.
What other Sarah Lancashire dramas can I watch now?
For another moving drama, we’d suggest Five Daughters. The series tells the stories of the five victims of the Ipswich murders in 2006, focusing on the final days of the victims’ lives, the impact their deaths had on their families and the police investigation to track down the murderer. You can watch Five Daughters on Apple TV. For something a bit lighter, we’d recommend The Paradise. The drama takes place against the backdrop of 19th-century department store The Paradise and Sarah plays the store’s Head of Ladieswear. The Paradise is available to watch now on U.
