Claire Foy and Matthew Macfadyen - Leads of David Nicholl's adaptation You Are Here

The BBC has announced that Claire Foy and Matthew Macfadyen will lead the cast of You Are Here, a brand-new eight-part drama adapted from David Nicholls’ raw and captivating love story.

Nicholls, best known for One Day and Us, has written the television adaptation, with Room and Normal People director Lenny Abrahamson at the helm.

Credit: BBC, Claire Foy and Matthew Macfadyen - You Are Here Adaptation

Set along England’s iconic Coast to Coast walking trail, stretching from the Lake District to Robin Hood’s Bay in North Yorkshire, the series will be filmed across the Lake District and Manchester.

Foy and Macfadyen will star as couple Marnie and Michael. When a mutual friend brings the pair together, they unexpectedly find themselves embarking on an epic walking adventure. What begins as an unlikely friendship soon develops into something more, as the two find themselves on the brink of a relationship neither was looking for - but which could be exactly what they both need.

You Are Here explores the possibility of finding love when you least expect it, whilst tackling the loneliness, uncertainty and obstacles that can come with middle age. As Marnie and Michael make their way across the often spectacular - and sometimes very wet - English countryside, they must navigate an undeniable attraction that is both exciting and terrifying.

Nicholls said he was “so delighted” to be working with Element Pictures, the BBC, Starz and Abrahamson, adding that Foy and Macfadyen were his “dream casting”.

“The intention with the novel was to write a close-up study of a relationship, but set against this magnificent landscape,” he said. “That’s our ambition here too; to make something both intimate and epic, funny and dramatic, a romantic comedy with real emotion.”

The series is being produced by Element Pictures, the production company behind Normal People, for the BBC and Starz. With Nicholls adapting his own novel, Abrahamson directing and two of the UK’s most acclaimed actors taing the lead roles, You Are Here already has plenty going for it - and could be the BBC’s next big romantic drama to watch.

You Are Here (8 x 30’) is an Element Pictures production for the BBC and Starz. The series is written by David Nicholls and directed by Lenny Abrahamson, with Clare Shepherd serving as producer. Executive producers include Nicholls, Abrahamson, Foy and Macfadyen, alongside Ed Guiney, Andrew Lowe and Emma Norton for Element Pictures, and Jonny Richards and Anna Ferguson for the BBC.