Mr Loverman (TV series)

Mr Loverman is a British television series based on the novel of the same name by Bernardine Evaristo and stars Lennie James in the lead role. James won Best Leading Actor at the Royal Television Society Programme Awards in March 2025.

Mr Loverman
Based on	Mr Loverman by Bernardine Evaristo
Screenplay by	Nathaniel Price
Directed by	Hong Khaou
Starring	Lennie James
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Original language	English
No. of series	1
No. of episodes	8
Production
Executive producer	Lennie James
Production company	Fable Pictures
Original release
Network	BBC One
Release	14 October 2024 (2024-10-14) – present

Synopsis

Antiguan-born Londoner Barrington Jedidiah Walker (James) has his marriage collapse after a decades-long affair with his male best friend is revealed.^[1]

Cast and characters

• Lennie James as Barrington Jedidiah 'Barry' Walker
• Ariyon Bakare as Morris De La Roux
• Sharon D Clarke as Carmel Walker
• Tamara Lawrance as Maxine Walker
• Sharlene Whyte as Donna Walker
• Suzette Llewellyn as Odette De La Roux
• Lochlann Ó Mearáin as Reuben Dempsey
• Tahj Miles as Daniel Walker
• Keenan Munn-Francis as Young Barry
• Gabin Kongolo as Young Morris

Production

In June 2023, it was announced that Lennie James was to star and executive produce the eight-part series Mr Loverman for BBC One, based on the novel of the same name by Bernardine Evaristo. It is adapted by Nathaniel Price and the director is Hong Khaou.^[2][3]

Filming

Filming got underway in October 2023.^[4][5]

Filming locations included the island of Antigua (Antigua and Barbuda) in the Caribbean, as well as Queen's Park, London.^[6]

Reception

The series had its world premiere at the 2024 Tribeca Film Festival on 14 June 2024, and was broadcast in the UK on 14 October 2024.^[7]

The series was praised by critics: The Guardian's Lucy Mangan described it as "magnificent", calling James and Clarke's performances "exquisite."^[8] Writing for The Independent, Nick Hilton praised the show's "almost theatrical quality", observing that James "is as good as he’s ever been" while also praising Bakare's performance, concluding that the programme represented "a slim but moving testament to the enduring power of self-acceptance."^[9]

Gabriel Tate of The Daily Telegraph called the show "fantastic", awarding its final episode five stars out of five,^[10] while Abby Robinson for the Radio Times was more lukewarm, giving the programme three stars out of five but acknowledging that it was "both refreshing and vital" work.^[11]

Accolades

For his role in the series, Lennie James won Best Leading Actor at the Royal Television Society Programme Awards in March 2025.^[12][13] That month, he was also nominated for Leading Actor at the 2025 British Academy Television Awards, Sharon D Clarke was nominated for Leading Actress and Ariyon Bakare was nominated for Supporting Actor.^[14] In May 2025, James and Bakare won their respective BAFTAs.^[15][16]