Adultery ITV Review: Romola Garai and Dominic Cooper Lead Midlife Drama

ITV’s new six-part relationship drama Adultery follows a married fitness instructor and a married GP whose affair leads them from hospital waiting rooms to car interiors and a Lake District cottage, drawing a three-out-of-five star rating from the Radio Times ahead of its broadcast.

Plot Mechanics and the Midlife Formula

The series, written by Danny Brocklehurst and starring Romola Garai as Beth and Dominic Cooper as Tom, opens with a premise drawn from American sexologist Jack Morin: that attraction plus an obstacle equals excitement. Beth is a fortysomething mother of two mourning the loss of her best friend, while Tom is a GP whose wife Hannah, played by Shelley Conn, struggles with mental health. Their paths collide when Beth knocks Tom off his bicycle, injuring his wrist.

The Independent noted that the series follows a well-trodden television path alongside shows like The Affair and Doctor Foster. The Radio Times observed that Brocklehurst brings the extramarital flirtation to a boil as the couple hooks up repeatedly in cars and against kitchen dressers, though the publication added that deceit proves more difficult in a contemporary setting of tracking apps and cloud storage.

Critics Disagree on Production Quality and Dramatic Weight

Outlets split sharply on the dramatic weight of the production. One review described the series as a clattering bag of cliches featuring unconvincing actions, noting moments such as a character remarking “I’ve been inside that body” at a chapel of rest or characters swimming in the Lake District in full costume and trunks. Despite praising the central performances of Garai and Conn, that review concluded that the drama remains hardly worth the effort.

Conversely, The Independent praised the chemistry between the leads, stating that Cooper hits Aidan Turner-levels of smouldering intensity and that the drama holds the tension of the uncomfortable truth that cheating does not automatically make someone a monster. The Radio Times highlighted that Brocklehurst refrains from passing moral judgement, focusing instead on how class, inherited beliefs, and insecurity constrain the characters.

Broadcast Schedule and Remaining Questions

The drama continues on ITV1 and STV at 9pm on Monday, October 26, according to the Radio Times. Viewers watching the remaining episodes face open questions regarding how and when the affair will be discovered by their respective families, and whether the emotional fallout for characters like Hannah will resolve before the conclusion of the six-part run.

Disclaimer: The views and cultural analyses presented in this article are for informational and entertainment purposes only. Information regarding legal disputes or financial data is based on available public records.

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