Nearly a Decade Later, 'Doctor Foster' to Return for a Third and Final Season
Get ready for the final chapter of Gemma Foster's story, as the BBC finally returns to 'Doctor Foster' one last time.
Sometimes it seems you can go home again. Nearly a decade since it was last on our screens, the award-winning BBC drama Doctor Foster is set to return for a third and final season. Rumors have been swirling that a return was possible since late last year, but this is the first official confirmation, which will come as a welcome relief for fans who’ve been hoping to see Suranne Jones (Hostage) tackle the role that helped make her famous once more.
The series was a smash hit for the BBC when its first season premiered back in 2015. It followed the story of Gemma Foster (Jones), a successful doctor whose world begins to unravel when she suspects her husband of having an affair.
(Yes, I’m being incredibly vague on purpose.)
Alongside Jones, Bertie Carvel (A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms) is set to return as Gemma’s husband, Simon, as well as Tom Taylor (The Bay), as the pair’s son, Tom, now all grown up, with plenty of questions of his own.
Here’s the third season synopsis.
Ten years ago, on discovering her husband Simon was having an affair, Gemma Foster enacted a masterful revenge. But the fallout was devastating when her 15-year-old son Tom disappeared. Now, in series three, Gemma is still a GP, still in the same house, but on the brink of a fresh start: she has met someone new and is getting married. But as the wedding day draws closer, and friends and family gather, shadows from the past begin to re-emerge threatening both her happiness and her reputation. As Gemma fights to protect those she loves and expose whoever’s intent on hurting her, will she be able to put the past to bed, dispense justice, and claim the future she deserves, before it is too late?
“When I got the call to ask if I wanted to return as Gemma Foster, I knew the time was right,” Jones said in a statement. “We needed space from the first two series, and we needed Tom — Gemma and Simon’s runaway son — to return as an adult with questions. For me, this time around, it’s about accountability and questioning — ‘can we ever truly sever ties with our past and the damage or traumas that haunt us, so we can fully move forward?’ Gemma and Simon have so much to unpick! It’s been an exciting time working with the brilliant Mike Bartlett again, and the team at Drama Republic, on the scripts, and now I can’t wait to start filming.”
“I always hoped that we’d get to tell the final part of Gemma’s story, which is about a woman seeking justice in an unfair world. That feels as relevant now as when Gemma first found a blonde hair on the scarf,” series creator and writer Mike Bartlett said. “It’s been a joy to team up once again with the hugely talented Drama Republic, the now very grown-up and brilliant Tom Taylor, the inimitable Bertie Carvel and of course, the incomparable Suranne Jones, to tell the final chapter of this story and revisit Parminster - where it turns out there’s still secrets, betrayals, vengeance and perhaps one last dinner party…”
The five-part season will be written by Bartlett and directed by John Hardwick (One Day), with Nige Watson (Killing Eve) as producer. Executive producers include Roanna Benn and Jude Liknaitzky for Drama Republic, alongside both Bartlett and Jones.
Doctor Foster Season 3 will film in and around Hertfordshire later this spring. Seasons 1 and 2 are currently streaming on BritBox; it is not yet confirmed if Season 3 will join them or stream elsewhere.
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