Aimee Lou Wood Stuns in a Tender, Time-Twisting Romance With Suranne Jones That’s Being Called “The Most Beautiful BBC Series Since Normal People”!

resh from the success of The White Lotus, Aimee Lou Wood is stepping into a brand-new role – as both the star and writer of the BBC’s heartwarming new series Film Club. The six-part romance drama, created by Aimee and her long-time friend Ralph Davis, who plays Dominic, offers a nostalgic twist on the modern rom-com, following Evie and her group of friends who meet every week to watch old movies and escape their everyday lives. The six-part show also stars Suranne Jones, Nabhaan Rizwan, Adam Long and Adolescence star Owen Cooper.

A show made in lockdown© BBC/Gaumont/Ben Blackall

Aimee plays Suranne’s on-screen daughter, Evie

A show made in lockdown

Speaking to press ahead of the show’s release, Aimee revealed that the idea for Film Club first took shape during lockdown. “We saw how much people needed film and TV during that time because the only way they could experience something bigger than their own flat was through the screen and through film.”

Media Image© BBC/Gaumont/Ben Blackall

She continued: “We also missed the rom-coms of yesteryear. Everything on TV was becoming quite cool… We wanted nerds to fall in love, basically – to see neurotic, messy people falling in love instead of really cool, silent people.”

Working with Suranne Jones© BBC/Gaumont/Ben Blackall

Suz is a fiercely loving single mum

Working with Suranne Jones

The series also stars the brilliant Suranne Jones as Suz, a fiercely loving single mother (who, I’ll admit, reminds me of my own mum in some hilarious parts). From the very beginning, Aimee knew she wanted Suranne for the role. “That was the one voice we were 100% sure about. She was in our heads from the start – we were like, ‘Suz has to be Suranne Jones.’

Evie (AIMEE LOU WOOD), Suz (SURANNE JONES), Izzie (LIV HILL)© BBC/Gaumont/Ben Blackall

Suranne gained two daughters on set in Aimee and Liv

Working with Suranne, Aimee says, was “an absolute dream.” “Every line we wrote, we were laughing, imagining Suranne saying it. We always thought she might not do it – hopes high, expectations low – and then she said yes.”

For Suranne, the feeling was mutual. “I read an early draft and just thought, this is so beautiful. I wanted to be a part of it,” she said. “I even wrote Aimee a card to say thank you for bringing me Suz – and for giving me my two daughters in her and Liv [Hill] that I haven’t actually had to push out myself. It’s been an absolute joy.”

Depicting a second adolescence© BBC/Gaumont/Ben Blackall

Depicting a second adolescence

Aimee explained that creating Suz was about portraying “mums trying their best and everyone growing up together, [even when] they’re expected to have all the answers.”

Capturing that emotional honesty, she says, was key to Film Club‘s charm. “We wanted to explore that second adolescence you go through in your twenties, when everyone’s at different stages and comparing and despairing. Sometimes a huge triumph is just getting to the corner shop – it doesn’t have to be fancy.”

Media Image© BBC/Gaumont/Ben Blackall

Adolescence star Owen Cooper plays Callum

Filmed in Manchester, the production marked a full-circle moment for Aimee. Turning up to set for the first time and seeing “100 people” working on something she’d written during lockdown “was very moving,” she admitted.

So, could Film Club return for another season? Aimee smiles. “It could go either way – I guess only time will tell.”