Teresa Palmer (The Last Anniversary, A Discovery of Witches, The Clearing, The Fall Guy), Jim Sturgess (One Day, The Stolen Girl, Across the Universe, Cloud Atlas), Florence Hunt (Bridgerton, Cursed) and newcomer Rory Walton-Smith star in Mix Tape (4×60’), a romantic drama for BBC iPlayer and BBC Two which follows the decade-spanning love story of Alison and Daniel, from their teenage romance in 1989 Sheffield, to their modern-day reconnection from opposite sides of the world.
Accompanied by a banging eighties soundtrack, Mix Tape charts Alison (Palmer) and Daniel (Sturgess) and their younger selves (played by Hunt and Walton-Smith) as the pair reconnect through a song from their shared past and explore their burning curiosity to understand if this is the love, and the life, they were meant to have.
Directed by Lucy Gaffy and adapted by screenwriter Jo Spain from the critically acclaimed novel by Jane Sanderson, the series transports audiences to the heady and intoxicating feeling of first love in an all-encompassing romance set to a nostalgic playlist. Featuring standout acts from the late eighties Northern music scene in the UK, Mix Tape is a story of enduring love, the road not taken, and the music that keeps us connected to who we once were – and who we still might become.
Mix Tape unfolds across two timelines and two distinct settings – Sheffield (today and in the late 80s) and contemporary Sydney – thoughtfully exploring the moral dilemma at the heart of the story and asking: If you could have a second chance with the one who got away, would you take it? Even if you were “happily” married with a family?
The ensemble cast features a host of Irish talent, including Mark O’Halloran (Mary & George, The Virtues), Helen Behan (Malpractice, The Virtues), Conor Sánchez (Hope Street, Ellis), Jonathan Harden (Time, Blue Lights), and Siobhan O’Kelly (The Tourist, The Hardacres), along with British actor Alexis Rodney (The Gentleman, Guardians of the Galaxy) and Finnish actress Sara Soulié (Conflict, The Man Who Died).
The Australian cast includes international star Ben Lawson (Bombshell, Designated Survivor), Julia Savage (The Clearing, Blaze), Jacqueline McKenzie (Force of Nature: The Dry 2, Savage River) and Chika Ikogwe (Heartbreak High, Land of the Bad).
Filmed on location in Dublin and Sydney, Mix Tape was the winner of the prestigious SXSW 2025 TV Spotlight Audience Award.
Mix Tape is a limited series produced as an official co-production by Subotica (Ireland) and Aquarius Films (Australia), with financial support from Fís Éireann/Screen Ireland, alongside the Foxtel Group, Screen Australia, the Finnish Impact Film Fund, The Post Lounge and Screen NSW’s Made in NSW Fund. It was acquired by the BBC from Boat Rocker.
Mix Tape will be available in full on BBC iPlayer from 6am on Tuesday 15 July and airs on BBC Two from 21:00 that night.
