Claire Foy and Matthew Macfadyen lead the cast of You Are Here, adapted from David Nicholls' best-selling novel

The BBC and Starz have announced You Are Here, an honest, witty and tender love story based on author David Nicholls’ critically acclaimed, best-selling novel of the same name. Nicholls (One Day, Starter for Ten, Us) has also written the eight-part adaptation, which will be directed by Lenny Abrahamson (Room, Normal People) and produced by Element Pictures, a Fremantle company (Normal People, The Cage, Poor Things). Set along the Coast to Coast walking trail from the Lake District to Robin Hood’s Bay in North Yorkshire, You Are Here will be filmed in the Lake District and around Manchester.

Multi-award-winning actors Matthew Macfadyen (Succession, Legacy of Spies, Death by Lightning) and Claire Foy (All of Us Strangers, The Magic Faraway Tree, The Crown) will lead the cast as Michael and Marnie respectively. When a mutual friend throws them together, Marnie and Michael unexpectedly find themselves setting off on an epic walk. Against the odds, they end up on the brink of a relationship that neither was looking for, but which might be exactly the one they both need.

You Are Here is about finding a connection when you least expect it and overcoming the obstacles of midlife. Treading the tricky path from loneliness to love, Marnie and Michael go coast-to-coast across the stunning (and sometimes soaking) English countryside, navigating an undeniable attraction that is as exhilarating as it is terrifying.

David Nicholls says: “I’m so delighted to be working on You Are Here with Element, the BBC, Starz and Lenny, whose work I’ve admired for many years. And Matthew and Claire are both just dream casting, wonderful in comedy and drama, so detailed and thoughtful and sympathetic. The intention with the novel was to write a close-up study of a relationship, but set against this magnificent landscape, and that’s our ambition here too; to make something both intimate and epic, funny and dramatic, a romantic comedy with real emotion. We can’t wait to bring Marnie and Michael’s journey to the screen.”

Lenny Abrahamson says: “As a huge admirer of David’s writing, I’m delighted to be collaborating with him to bring You Are Here to the screen. The novel is such a beautiful love story – funny, profound and ultimately deeply hopeful. I’m also extremely excited to have Claire and Matthew, two actors I hugely admire, playing Michael and Marnie.”

Ed Guiney, executive producer, Element Pictures, says: “We are so delighted to be collaborating with David Nicholls and Lenny Abrahamson - two of the most talented creators working today - on the television adaptation of David’s gorgeous book, backed by the brilliant teams at BBC Drama and Starz. We’re also very excited to be working with our absolute dream cast in Matthew and Claire. You Are Here feels to us like a drama the world needs right now - life affirming, positive, funny and full of charm.”

Lindsay Salt, BBC Director of Drama, says: “Like countless others, I loved this book, packed full of charm, humour, heartache and joy. The combination of David’s wonderful scripts, Lenny back directing on the BBC, Element Pictures producing, and Claire and Mathew leading our cast is a real gift. I can’t wait for Marnie and Michael to spring off the page and onto the screen. BBC viewers are in for a treat.”

Kathryn Busby, President of Original Programming, STARZ, says: “‘You Are Here’ is disarming, sly and deeply romantic. It captures something true and aching about the way we love now. Together with our partners at the BBC, we are thrilled to be working with the dream team of David, Lenny, Claire, Matthew and Element Pictures to bring this beautiful love story to life. It’s a perfect fit for our STARZ audience.”

You Are Here (8 x 30’) is an Element Pictures, a Fremantle company, production for the BBC and Starz. It is written by David Nicholls and directed by Lenny Abrahamson. Both also serve as executive producers alongside Claire Foy and Matthew Macfadyen, Ed Guiney, Andrew Lowe and Emma Norton for Element Pictures, and Jonny Richards and Anna Ferguson for the BBC. The series is produced by Clare Shepherd. Global sales will be handled by Fremantle with De Maio Entertainment spearheading the partnership with Starz.

HC2 / MF3

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