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Everything you need to know about The Split season three

Photo credit: Tereza Cervenova - BBC
Photo credit: Tereza Cervenova - BBC

This article contains spoilers for The Split season three


BBC One's hit legal drama The Split is back for its third and final season, with creator Abi Morgan making her directorial debut with the final instalment – and we're already obsessed after the entire series landed on BBC iPlayer on 4 April, with the first episode also airing on BBC One at 9pm.

The first teaser trailer had hinted at plenty of drama between Nicola Walker's Hannah and husband Stephen Mangan's Nathan, who has moved on by starting a new relationship with a child psychologist named Kate, played by Lara Pulver. And the premiere definitely did not disappoint...

Whether you are waiting to watch the series live, week by week, or find yourself wanting to binge the entire season three of The Split in one weekend (yes, we're tempted), here's everything you need to know, including the latest updates and spoilers from the cast and crew.

The Split season 3: Latest updates and spoilers

Following the release of episode one on 4 April, it was revealed that we can expect a surprise celebrity cameo in The Split season 3, from none other than TV presenter Dermot O'Leary. Director Dee Koppang, who is married to Dermot, revealed to Radio Times: "My husband pops up in a very, very funny blink-and-you'll-miss-it cameo playing himself in it as well, which is good. Playing a breakfast TV presenter.

"It was just a very organic thing. It really is blink-and-you'll-miss-it – it's a tiny, tiny moment.

"There's a lovely moment in the script where it says one of the characters is being interviewed by a TV presenter and I was like, 'Well, I might be able to help with that'. So yeah, he came down to set for the day, which was very fun."

And, discussing the shocking twist at the end of episode one, which saw Rudi Dharmalingam's character, James Cutler, get hit by a bus and pass away shortly afterwards, writer Abi Morgan told the Daily Express: "I mean, it was so hard actually because Rudi's such a wonderful actor. In fact, I really loved the chemistry between the two of them," Morgan told the Daily Express of her decision to kill him off.

Photo credit: Tereza Cervenova - BBC
Photo credit: Tereza Cervenova - BBC

"You know I've had some really quite major life changes over the last three or four years and they've been the sweetener to life, and they've made me really realise that life is short and not a rehearsal."

She added: "To kill a much-loved character, it's always hard but I felt in a way, the arc of his journey, one of the last things he says is, 'I don't want to miss life, Rose.'

"I thought if that's what the audience is left with, then what an amazing gift to have left everybody. So I guess that was the point."

Prior to season three dropping, The Split star Annabel Scholey – who plays Defoe sister Nina – described the series as "more chaotic" and "emotional" than previous seasons. "Series three has been amazing... It's more chaotic than season one and two, everybody has more drama, it's very emotional," Annabel told Digital Spy.

"I'd like to say Nina's on more of an even keel but she's definitely not, she does tend to leap from disaster to disaster, which is great fun for me to play."

Meanwhile, Abi Morgan previously said of her directorial debut: "So much of a writer’s life is solitary that it has been a complete joy to direct and to finally get to work with the brilliant cast and crew and be part of the magic that happens between first read through and final edit that I normally don’t get to see.

"Terrifying as I have worked with some truly great directors in my time, but it was a pleasure to join The Split directorial team helmed by Dee Koppang O'Leary. Having tried it I hope it won't be my last time."

Here's everything to know about The Split season 3...

Photo credit: Tereza Cervenova
Photo credit: Tereza Cervenova

The Split season 3: The plot

The drama is set in the fast-paced, complex world of London's high-end divorce circuit and follows the lives of the three Defoe sisters, Hannah (Nicola Walker), Nina (Annabel Scholey) and Rose (Fiona Button) – and their formidable mother Ruth (Deborah Findlay).

The new series returns 10 months after Nathan and Hannah have ended their marriage, and with the extent of Hannah's betrayal finally being exposed, the two professional divorce lawyers are negotiating their own divorce. However, when the stakes become clear, Hannah realises how much she could lose.

The BBC says: "Adding fuel to the fire, the catalyst to the breakdown of Hannah and Nathan’s marriage, Christie (Barry Atsma), will also return to the final series, which sees Hannah and Nathan's formerly rock-solid marriage unravel as they try to come to an amicable separation agreement.

Photo credit: BBC
Photo credit: BBC

"As Hannah and Nathan begin to divide up their twenty years together, Hannah faces what she is about to lose and a shocking revelation dramatically changes the stakes. As the battlelines are redrawn, we wonder if their dream of achieving the 'good divorce' is even possible. Will they find a path through the wreckage, or is The Split simply too deep to repair?"

Creator Abi Morgan has previously teased "heartbreak" for Hannah and more clashing between the siblings, adding: "It's great to be back writing for the Defoe Family, and to dive once more into to the complications of their lives and those of their clients. In the final series of this bittersweet trilogy, Hannah faces the heartbreak of her own divorce, and the fight to save her family and her marriage.

"Siblings clash, past mistakes are exposed and hearts are broken as Noble Hale and Defoe notches up more billable hours in the divorce capital of the world."

Photo credit: BBC
Photo credit: BBC

The Split season 3: The cast

The three fallible but loveable Defoe sisters are back – Hannah (Nicola Walker), Nina (Annabel Scholey) and Rose (Fiona Button), along with their mother Ruth (Deborah Findlay).

Stephen Mangan is also back as Hannah's soon-to-be ex-husband Nathan, and Barry Atsma will be back as 'the other man' (aka Christie).

Sherlock's Lara Pulver is a new addition to the cast, playing Kate, who is described by the BBC as "a leading child psychologist whose arrival adds a whole new layer of complexity to Morgan's multi-layered examination of divorce and modern marriage".

Photo credit: Tereza Cervenova - BBC
Photo credit: Tereza Cervenova - BBC

The Split season 3: Release date

Episode one of The Split season 3 aired on Monday, 4 April at 9pm on BBC One, with a new episode now set to drop each week at the same time.

All of the episodes are also available to stream on iPlayer now if you don't want to wait to watch the drama unfold.

The Split season 3: The trailer

The BBC released a teaser trailer at the end of March, in which Hannah's husband Nathan was shown to have moved on from their marriage by dating a new woman named Kate, played by Lara Pulver.

In the clip from episode one, Hannah warned Kate to "tread carefully" and reminded her that she and Nathan are still married.

Will there be a The Split season 4?

Deep breaths because the BBC has revealed that the trilogy will be concluded with "the most dramatic and heart-breaking series to date" as we watch our favourite TV divorce lawyer confronted by her very own divorce. We can't say we're not gutted.

The Split season 3 is available to watch on BBC iPlayer now, with new episodes airing on Mondays at 9pm on BBC One. Seasons one and two of The Split are available to stream now.


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