Actors Romola Garai and Dominic Cooper star in ITV drama Adultery as two unhappily married spouses who plunge into a passionate extramarital affair.
The television drama, scripted by screenwriter Danny Brocklehurst, centres on the messy fallout when a woman begins a secret liaison with her general practitioner following a roadside collision. Reviewing the production, television critic Christopher Stevens praised the series for combining chaotic romance with tense domestic drama.
In the opening episodes, Garai portrays Beth, whose path crosses with Cooper's dashing doctor Tom after she accidentally knocks him off his bicycle. Rather than ending their encounter on the tarmac, Beth turns up at his medical practice under the flimsy excuse of returning his cycling helmet.
A Surgery Encounter And Reckless Romance
During that initial surgery visit, Beth stops short of kissing the physician, but Stevens noted that she directs a smouldering gaze that leaves Tom in no doubt about her romantic intentions. The tension boils over on her second appointment when, finding Tom alone in his consulting room once again, she wastes no time in passionately kissing him.
Stevens joked that Beth's brazen approach offered a novel solution to the dreaded 8am telephone lottery that British patients endure when trying to secure a doctor's appointment. The critic pointed out that after their consulting room embrace, the pair begin pursuing intimacy at every conceivable opportunity, from the front seat of a car and a friend's spare bed to the deserted soft play area of a city farm.
Garai is an acclaimed British actress known for leading roles in Atonement, Emma, and The Hour, while Cooper rose to fame in Mamma Mia! and Preacher.
Troubled Marriages And Violent Tempers
The illicit relationship develops against the backdrop of two deeply troubled home lives. Beth is trapped in an unhappy marriage to Neil, played by Matthew McNulty, who is depicted as a scruffily bearded boor with an alarming tendency toward aggression and physical confrontation.
Neil, who works as a builder, has already shattered Beth's ambitions of running her own business as a fitness trainer because he expects her to stay at home and prepare his evening tea. His idea of romantic conversation consists of banging loudly on Beth's car window when she arrives home from work to shout that he is "off to snooker".
To compound matters, Neil is awaiting trial for a violent assault, an ordeal he worsened by marching into his victim's shop to bully him into dropping the charges. Stevens observed that Beth would be far better off without her husband, suggesting the only mystery was why she had not left him long ago. McNulty, who plays Neil, has previously starred in dramas including The Syndicate and The Terror.
Tom's domestic situation presents a sharper moral dilemma. He remains married to his university sweetheart Hannah, portrayed by Shelley Conn, who is suffering protracted mental illness following an unexplained family trauma. Stevens noted that Hannah might fall apart completely if she uncovers Tom's infidelity, particularly as she tracks his phone obsessively via an application. Conn is known to television viewers from roles in Bridgerton and Mistresses.
Teenage Complications And Unresolved Grief
Screenwriter Brocklehurst, who previously created the hit series Ten Pound Poms and made his name writing on major British television dramas, introduces further narrative knots to keep the plot from sliding into routine cliché. Both couples share teenage children, Jess and Ollie, who are deeply in love with one another despite the immediate pressure of their upcoming GCSE examinations.
The examinations represent a crucial milestone for British secondary pupils, heightening household tension as their parents teeter on the brink of scandal. At the same time, the drama explores grief, revealing that Beth is struggling after the death of her best friend and finds herself on the verge of tears without fully understanding why.
Beth's reckless habits also extend to the road. Stevens observed that she previously struck Tom hard enough to bounce him off her windscreen, and later closes her eyes at the wheel while singing along to the stereo. The critic warned that if she continues driving blindly, she will soon need far more than an appointment with her GP.
