Warning: The following article contains major spoilers for Doctor Foster's second series finale.
Don't give up hope for more Doctor Foster because writer Mike Bartlett has hinted that a third series is definitely possible.
The BBC One thriller came to a shocking end on Tuesday (October 3) with a finale that teased several potentially grim fates for Gemma (Suranne Jones) and Simon (Bertie Carvel), before hitting them where it hurts the most: the loss of their son Tom (Tom Taylor).
After weeks of seeing his parents involved in sexual entrapment, threats and betrayal, teenager Tom simply walked out on his parents to live his own life away from being a pawn in their sick revenge game.
Showrunner Mike Bartlett said earlier this week that he's under "no pressure" to make more of Doctor Foster, yet he's not ruling out the possibility either.
"You can see the ending," Bartlett told the Radio Times. "Tom's gone. So there's a question mark. In a way that is a question mark at the end.
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"And I think it works as an end to this series and all the things that have been going on. Clearly there's potential there. But obviously there would have to be lots of conversations.
"We need to talk – Suranne and I and lots of other people need to have lots of conversations and we'll see."
Bartlett also let slip that he originally planned a very different fate for Gemma and Simon while scripting the National TV Award-winning drama's second series swansong.
"The ending of the show unfolded as I was writing it," he remembered. "In the plan, he's in the car at the end. They go back to her house and get a new kitchen and try to build a life.
"It was only when I went to write it that she goes back to the car and he's not there. But that happened very organically from what he has been through I think.
"I was so involved in Gemma and Simon's story, that's all I was thinking about when writing it. It sounds mad, this. But she comes out of the hotel and he's not there.
"That's the moment you look for as a writer, when the characters start telling you what they are doing rather than you telling them."
If Bartlett is itching for ideas on how to continue Doctor Foster, we've come up with a possible method for the BBC One show to carry on in a new and very different way. Read all about it by clicking here.
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Justin is a freelance entertainment journalist and writer. He first joined Digital Spy as a freelance entertainment reporter in 2010 and also worked as a sub-editor for the brand, serving as Night News Editor from 2016 to 2024. Over more than a decade, Justin has covered numerous major entertainment events from the US and has interviewed a wide-ranging group of public figures, from comedian Steve Coogan to icons from the Star Trek universe, cast members from the Marvel Cinematic Universe and reality stars from numerous Real Housewives cities and the Below Deck franchise. Justin has also been on the ground to cover major pop culture events like the Star Wars Celebration and the D23 Expo. He's written for titles across the Hearst network, plus the likes of CBR and Us Weekly.
