Katherine Parkinson and Youssef Kerkour to lead “Significant Other’

Nicola Shindler’s Quay Street Productions (part of ITV Studios) today announce Katherine Parkinson and Youssef Kerkour as the leads in new ITVX comedic-drama Significant Other, which explores the unromantic-romance of two people whose drastic, but fateful, first meeting turns their lives around. The series starts filming in Manchester next month and will air on ITVX in 2023.

Adapted from yes Studios’ award-winning Israeli series of the same name, Significant Other was created by Dana Modan, Assi Cohen and Ram Nehari, and it has been adapted and written by Dana Fainaru (Vikings: Valhalla, The Last Czars, Death in Paradise), and Hamish Wright (Mr Selfridge, Casualty, The Secret Life of Us), who also serve as executive producers alongside Nicola Shindler (It’s a Sin, Stay Close, Years and Years, Ridley Road, Happy Valley). David Sant (Spitting Image, Hitmen, Jack and the Beanstalk: After Ever After, Benidorm) is directing and Debbie Pisani (Flack, Back to Life, Peep Show) is series producing the new 6 x 30-minute comedic-drama, which marks the second production for Shindler’s Quay Street Productions.

Significant Other is a beautifully unconventional love story told through a comedic lens, that explores the depths of love, disappointment, and the surprises that life still has to offer.

BAFTA-winning actress Katherine Parkinson (The IT Crowd, Hitmen, Defending the Guilty) and BAFTA-nominated actor Youssef Kerkour (Stay Close, House of Gucci, Home), play Anna and Sam, two lonely neighbours in their mid-40’s, who embark on a hesitant, obstacle-filled relationship after drastic life events bring them together. These are not your conventional soulmates; Anna, who has given up on love, is defensive and closed off, and Sam, a newly separated father-of-two, is reactive and emotionally vulnerable. But as this strange love story unfolds with wryly observed wit and warmth, could these deeply flawed individuals – both at a time in their lives when change is difficult and rarely expected – influence each other for the better?


Katherine Parkinson said:

“Significant Other is a beautifully unconventional love story, and I’m so thrilled to be bringing it to life with Nicola Shindler and her team. It deals with loneliness and the messiness of love and I hope the scripts will resonate as much with an audience as they did with me. I can’t wait to get started!”

Youssef Kerkour said:

“I’m overjoyed and very grateful to be teaming up with Nicola Shindler once again and to have the privilege of working with Katherine Parkinson whom I’ve been a fan of for so many years. The real value of a career is the outstanding people one gets to work with and the love and joy which that work brings to an audience... (and vice versa). Significant Other is a beautiful story with a wickedly funny centre, and I can’t wait to share it with everyone.”

Writers Dana Fainaru and Hamish Wright said:

“This story of two battle-scarred, isolated characters who find a connection in the most unusual and hilarious way has spoken to us from the very start. We feel so lucky that Nicola Shindler believed in us and the idea and put us together with the most amazing team. It’s going to be a joy to see how director David Sant and the incredible cast bring the scripts to life.”

Nicola Shindler said:

“From the moment Dana and Hamish started talking to me about the idea of Significant Other I loved the idea of a romance built from such dark foundations, both very funny and very real. I’m incredibly happy to have such a brilliant cast in Katherine and Youssef as our pairing to bring these very flawed, very lovable characters to life, along with our skilful director David Sant to create our world, and our partners in ITVX.”

Significant Other was commissioned by Nana Hughes as part of ITVX’s comedy slate and will be made available in 2023. Executive producers are Nicola Shindler and writers Dana Fainaru and Hamish Wright. Significant Other is based on the hit Israeli comedy of the same name, produced by July August Productions and yes TV. yes Studios is the format distributor.

Formed in January 2021, Quay Street Productions marks a new chapter in the career of BAFTA-award winning producer Nicola Shindler, whose credits include Years and Years, Finding Alice, Happy Valley, Harlan Coben’s The Stranger, and the recent hit dramas, It’s A Sin, Ridley Road, No Return and Harlan Coben’s Stay Close. Sitting within ITV Studios, the label focuses on producing premium drama

for the UK and international market, working with the best, new and critically acclaimed writers in the industry to create modern, innovative, and entertaining programming. Quay Street Productions continues to build on Shindler’s already impressive body of work as one of the UK’s leading and most decorated drama executive producers, with its slate focussing on both limited and returning series, putting writers’ voices at the centre to tell boundary-pushing, entertaining and thought-provoking stories. In addition to Significant Other, Quay Street Productions is currently in production on Russell T Davies’ drama Nolly, starring Helena Bonham Carter.

Significant Other is in association with, and distributed internationally by, ITV Studios.