Four Lives release date: plot, cast and trailer for Sheridan Smith drama

Stephen Merchant plays Port in the series while Sheridan Smith takes the role of Sarah Sak, Walgate's mother.

Pope has teamed up with Neil McKay for this hard-hitting series, set to air in the new year.

Read on for all you need to know about Four Lives.

Four Lives release date

Confirmed: Four Lives will start at 9pm on BBC One on 3rd January 2022.

The three part series will run for consecutive nights.

Production started on Four Lives - previously called The Barking Murders - back in 2019, but was delayed due to legal reasons.

Four Lives plot

Four Lives centres around the families of killer Stephen Port's victims and looks at their fight to find out what happened to their loved ones.

Anthony Walgate, Gabriel Kovari, Daniel Whitworth and Jack Taylor were killed by Port between June 2014 and September 2015.

Speaking about the drama when it was commissioned, writer Neil McKay said: “Four young men with their entire future ahead of them lost their lives in a brutal and tragic way. This is a story not only of the consequences of that loss but also of the extraordinary courage and resilience shown by those who loved them as they sought truth and justice. It is a privilege to be able to tell it.”

Executive Producer, Jeff Pope, added: "I think this is an opportunity to say something about how we don’t always have to accept what we are told by those in authority, and how determination, sheer bloody-mindedness and – above all else – love, will always triumph.”

Four Lives cast

Stephen Merchant stars as killer Stephen Port in the true story. He's joined by Sheridan Smith in the lead role of Sarah Sak.

Sak is the mother of Port's first victim, Walgate, and was on holiday when she discovered the devastating news about her son.

At first, she was told Walgate's death was because of a drugs overdose, but became increasingly suspicious when more young men were found dead in similar circumstances.

The drama follows Sak's battle to discover the truth about her son.

Speaking about her role in Four Lives, Smith said: “I love playing real life characters – especially an inspirational woman like Sarah Sak – but with it comes responsibility. Along with the other families, Sarah went through so much heartache and it would have been easy for her to just accept what she was being told by the police, but something inside made her keep fighting for her son.”

Jamie Winstone plays Donna Taylor, one of Jack Taylor's sisters. Samuel Barnett, Leanne Best, Michael Jibson, Ben Cartwright, Daniel Ryan, Leo Flanagan, Jakub Svec and Tim Preston also star.

Four Lives trailer

Watch the Four Lives trailer below:

Four Lives will premiere on Monday 3rd January at 9pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer. Check out more of our Drama coverage or visit our TV Guide to see what’s on tonight.