Abi Morgan has hinted at a few "make-ups and break-ups" in the upcoming The Split: Barcelona episodes.
The beloved BBC legal show returns to screens this month with a two-part special, which sees the Defoe family soaking up some sun in Barcelona for a very important wedding.
In an exclusive interview with Digital Spy, show creator and writer Morgan revealed what to expect from the new episodes, and her personal motivation for bringing the show back.
Related: The Split's Nicola Walker reveals "there’s still love" between Hannah and Nathan
"I think I wanted to do my own version of Mamma Mia," she joked of the upcoming special episodes. "I love this idea of taking this family that I’ve spent the last 8 or 9 years writing about and displacing them in a very different world."
Morgan explained that the wedding element provided a great foundation for writing the two episodes, giving a "hot house moment" to the characters over the course of a weekend.
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"I kind of love the shape and the pressure that put on," she adds. "But also what a joy to take them away to Barcelona and see this group of characters that are so fun to write for have some make-ups and break-ups that we’ve seen in London sort of trip into another country. It was irresistible really."
Related: The Split: Barcelona trailer teases new romance for Hannah
Morgan said that Barcelona provided the perfect backdrop for the episodes, with both cast and crew becoming very taken with the vineyard location.
"We went to look at some properties and it was as we drove up to the vineyard that we use in the show, we kind of fell in love with this castle in the middle of, at the time, twigs," she told Digital Spy.
"But we were reassured in January that it would blossom into amazing vines which they did actually when we began to shoot it in April and May. We fell in love with Barcelona, but we were looking at Spain as a whole really."
In addition to a new location, The Split: Barcelona also teases a new love interest for Hannah Defoe (Nicola Walker).
The official trailer introduces fans to "mysterious lawyer" Archie Moore, played by Percy Jackson's Toby Stephens, who just happens to be at the same wedding as Hannah and her family. Will romance blossom?
The Split: Barcelona is set to premiere on BBC One on December 29 and 30 at 9pm, and iPlayer on December 29.
Emily is an experienced freelance entertainment writer and editor, reporting on all things TV, film, soaps and showbiz. An NCTJ-qualified journalist, with a First Class Honours degree in Journalism from the University of Sussex, Emily is a former Deputy News Editor and Evening News Editor at Digital Spy. She has previously worked at Hello magazine, BBC South News and GoodtoKnow.
A small and big-screen obsessive – with subscriptions to every TV and film service under the sun – Emily knows her movie stars from soap stars, and is always clued up on the latest reality show dumping, just-dropped trailer or off-screen spat. She's interviewed a number of celebrities over the years, with highlights including The Masked Singer host Joel Dommett and GMB's Kate Garraway (who "loved" her trousers).
Emily counts Sharon Horgan and Julia Davis as her TV heroes, and is a loyal Wes Anderson fan. LinkedIn
