The BBC has announced the cast of its "heartbreaking" new drama Waiting For The Out.
The upcoming six-part series, which is based on Andy West’s acclaimed memoir The Life Inside, will star The Responder's Josh Finan as a philosopher named Dan who begins teaching a class of men in prison.
The synopsis continues: "Each week, Dan leads discussions about dominance, freedom, luck and other topics that have troubled philosophers for thousands of years – topics that gain a new meaning when seen through the prisoners’ eyes – both igniting passions and creating tension.
"Through his work, Dan begins to dig deeper into his own past – growing up with a violent father who ended up in prison, as did his brother Lee and uncle Frank.
"Dan took a different path, but his time working in a prison begins to make him worry, obsessively, that he belongs behind bars just like his father. As Dan’s personal crisis deepens, his actions begin to threaten both his own future and his family’s."
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Shameless star Gerard Kearns has been cast as Dan's father, while The Bay's Stephen Wight and House of the Dragon's Phil Daniels will play his brother Lee and uncle Frank, respectively.
Rounding out the ensemble are Samantha Spiro, Ronkẹ Adékoluẹjo, Neal Barry, Alex Ferns, Francis Lovehall, Steven Meo, Ric Renton, Tom Moutchi, Nima Taleghani, Sule Rimi, Charlie Rix, and Jude Mack.
Waiting For The Out is produced by award-winning production company Sister, which is behind a number of acclaimed shows including The Split, Black Doves, This Is Going to Hurt, and Chernobyl.
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Dennis Kelly, who has written the script and is also on board as an executive producer, said: "It’s not at all unusual for the men in Andy West’s family to end up in prison – but Andy is the only one that chose to be there.
"His book is funny, insightful, beautiful, genuinely heartbreaking and nothing like what you’d expect it to be – we’ve tried to take that into the series. God alone knows if we’ve succeeded, but we’ve tried…"
Waiting For The Out will air on BBC One and stream on BBC iPlayer.
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Social Executive, Entertainment Portfolio After completing her joint honours degree in Journalism and English Literature at Cardiff University, Iona joined Digital Spy as a Content Production Intern in 2022, where she wrote across both news and features, specialising in TV and movies. Following her internship, Iona continued contributing to the site as a freelance reporter, becoming social executive for the Hearst UK entertainment portfolio in summer 2025. Iona now leads the DS social channels, covering red carpets with stars such as Paul Mescal, Austin Butler, and more.
