"One of ITV’s best ever dramas”: Leaving is the “beyond brilliant” Helen McCrory drama to watch tonight

When a series rises up the Netflix charts at breakneck speed, you know there’s something special about it - and Leaving is a case in point. The beyond brilliant relationship drama, which first aired on ITV more than a decade ago, stars the late Helen McCrory as a 40-something woman who finds the passion her marriage is lacking in the company of a man 20 years younger – and, if you ask us, it’s one of ITV’s best ever dramas.

The drama first aired in 2012 to rave reviews and also features a standout performance from our rumoured new James Bond, Callum Turner (it was his breakout role), as depressed university graduate Aaron who finds himself working alongside Helen. As you might have guessed, it’s Aaron who takes on the position of Helen’s lover as well as colleague – and watching the chaotic, passionate and increasingly destructive relationship play out is as compelling as you’d hope.

With all three episodes of Leaving now available to stream on Netflix tonight (or now, if you like), here’s everything you need to know about the series, including the plot, cast and how to watch it.

What is Leaving about?

The three-part series, which first aired on ITV in 2012, introduces us to 45-year-old wife and mother-of-two Julie Ranmore (Helen McCrory). Julie is in a passionless marriage to Michael (Sean Gallagher) and despite her woes at home, she’s getting on with it whilst throwing herself into her job as a hotel events manager. Her life is, however, about to change.

Aaron (played by a very young Callum Turner) is unemployed, still living with his parents and not exactly happy about the fact that his ex-girlfriend is about to marry his brother. But when the 21-year-old lands a job working at the same hotel as Julie, a bond starts to form – and, needless to say, it’s not entirely (or at all!) innocent.

What begins as a flirtation soon turns into a full-blown affair, and the pair soon have to deal with the spiralling consequences of their actions. When the drama first aired, the late Helen McCrory told What’s On TV of her role: “I liked how it didn’t just look at the problem of age difference because we’re used to that now, it’s not shocking any more.

“This is a really fresh story about a romantic and aspirational woman who falls in love with a younger man yet has all the complications of being married with two children.”

She explained that the dynamic between Julie and Aaron wasn’t what you might expect from an age-gap affair. “It’s not love at first sight the moment they meet each other, but they’re both quite solitary people, introverts who feel distanced from their surroundings,” she said. “Neither of them is used to being listened to either, so they are kind of drawn to each other.”

Who’s in the cast of Leaving?

The cast of Leaving includes:

• Helen McCrory (Peaky Blinders) as Julie
• Callum Turner (The Capture) as Aaron
• Sean Gallagher (Our Girl) as Michael
• Deborah Findlay (pictured above in The Split) as Vanessa
• Sandra Huggett (Blitz) as Angela
• Charity Wakefield (The Great) as Phoebe
• Nick Dunning (Quirke) as Jim
• Callum Austin (Black Mirror) as Dean
• Celyn Jones (Six Minutes to Midnight) as Hugh

Is Leaving any good?

Yes – when the series first aired more than a decade ago, it received broadly positive reviews with particular praise for how surprisingly believable the relationship between Julie and Aaron is. It never feels forced, overly dramatic or cliched, which we could certainly say for many age-gap dramas that have come since! Since being re-released on Netflix at the weekend, the series has stormed the Netflix charts proving that the story remains relevant – and extremely watchable – all these years later. Five years after Helen McCrory sadly lost her life to cancer in 2021, its renewed popularity is also a testament to her incredible acting talents.

How can I watch Leaving?

All three episode of Leaving are available to watch now on Netflix.

What other Helen McCrory dramas can I watch now?

For another ITV masterpiece, we’d recommend Fearless. Helen stars as human rights lawyer Emma, who’s renowned for taking on miscarriages of justice. And her latest case? A man who's been jailed for killing a schoolgirl who Emma is convinced is innocent. You can watch Fearless on ITVX. We’d also suggest giving MotherFatherSon a go. Helen plays the estranged wife of a millionaire media mogul (played by Richard Gere) and when their son has a life-altering stroke, it changes everything. MotherFatherSon is available to watch on BBC iPlayer.