The Inheritance on Channel 5 has a stellar British cast that includes ex-Coronation Street star Rob James-Collier, EastEnders legend Larry Lamb, Lewis star Kevin Whately plus Gaynor Faye and Jemima Rooper.
In The Inheritance, three siblings embark on a dangerous journey to discover whether their late father was murdered. Larry Lamb plays their dad Dennis Watson who dies unexpectedly, and afterwards, the grieving siblings learn they haven’t been left the inheritance they'd all been banking on. The revelation sees the family fall apart at the seams, exposing long-buried secrets, jealousies, and lies and poses the question whether blood really is thicker than water?
It's one of the biggest dramas of the 2023 autumn line-up.
Here’s everything you need to know about The Inheritance on Channel 5…
The Inheritance release date
The Inheritance starts on Channel 5 on Monday September 4 at 9pm. The four-part drama runs weekly on Mondays at the same time each week, finishing on Monday September 25. Episodes will also become available on streaming service My5. We'll update on any international or US air dates plus if, like previous Channel 5 dramas, this series lands on Netflix or another streaming service.
The Inheritance trailer
Yes you can watch the trailer for The Inheritance below which shows Larry Lamb's Dennis Watson leaving a message from beyond the grave to his three grown-up children.
It sees them being told that their dad had changed his will and they're no longer the beneficiaries. Yep, everything has been left to his new wife!
The Inheritance plot
The Inheritance follows siblings Daniel (Robert James-Collier), Sian (Gaynor Faye) and Chloe (Jemima Rooper) who are part of a seemingly close and loving family. The trio are left reeling after the sudden death of their father, Dennis (Larry Lamb) and are later devastated to discover they have not been left their expected inheritance in his will. This leads them to question whether he really did die in an accident, as they were told, or if he was murdered. Their investigation takes them down a dangerous path and sees secrets unravel, relationships ripped apart and lives lost. Soon the siblings start to suspect this mysterious woman played a part in their father’s death. Yet they’re also keeping dark secrets from each other!
Robert James-Collier on playing Daniel Watson
In The Inheritance, Rob James-Collier plays Daniel Watson. He made his name as Liam Connor in Corre and has since gone on to star in Downton Abbey, Spike Island, Moving On and Ackley Bridge. He also stars in Fate: The Winx Saga.
Robert: James-Collier says: "I have some sympathy with Daniel, but if I’m being honest he’s quite selfish. He used his dad all his life and kept taking from the pot, only thinking of himself and his ego! His immediate concern is that he needs the inheritance because his restaurant is going to go bust, so it’s clear his father’s been financing that a bit. The others think there’s a bit of favouritism towards Daniel, which causes tension, but when his dad dies Daniel’s instinct overtakes his emotions and we don’t get to see his grief until later. It’s not just the grief of losing someone, as secrets are revealed he has to contend with the fact that the person he’s grieving for is a completely different man to the one he thought he knew.
"When I found out I was playing a chef they asked me if I was okay cooking on camera, and I said I was. Then on the day I realised I wasn’t! It's really hard to chop an onion super-fast when there’s a massive camera on you. Thankfully, we were filming at a proper restaurant and a couple of the chefs stood in for me for the close-up work.
"Most of us will experience a disagreement or a falling out over a will at some point and you can uncover an ugly side of people when money is on the table. That’s exactly what happens to this normal, middle-class family, but there are loads of twists and turns in the story - it will make your head spin!"
Gaynor Faye on playing Sian
Gaynor Faye plays Daniel’s sister Sian. She played Judy Mallett in Coronation Street from 1995 to 1999 and also starred in Fat Friends, The Chase, Playing the Field and The Syndicate. Gaynor also played Megan Macey in the soap Emmerdale. Her mother was the late screen writer Kay Mellor.
Gaynor says: "Sian is quite strong-willed and will call people out when they’re talking nonsense, which I love in a character. Her choice in men is pretty poor however and she falls for the wrong type all the time. She was in a long-term relationship that went awry and she doesn’t want him anywhere near her or her son.
"Sian’s mum was a massive figure in her life and after she passed away I think Sian became the matriarch of the family. Her siblings turn to her because she’s the most maternal sister and the one that holds the family together, but there are so many secrets in this family, it’s like there’s a cliff-hanger every five minutes!
"Sian feels very let down and deceived by her father, but later she realises that other people have known about his secrets too, without telling her - and that makes it even worse!’
"The whole series was filmed in Kilkenny, Ireland, which was amazing and I only came home once in the whole shoot. I wanted to discover the beautiful Emerald Isle, so I spent my weekends writing and travelling around, it was magical.
"I would love to play more villains and my character in Emmerdale, Megan Macey, was a ruthless businesswoman and quite a hard-nosed cow originally, which was great fun. Judy Mallet, my character in Coronation Street, was a bit different. It’s funny because Rob was also in Corrie (as Liam Connor) a few years after me, so we spent a lot of time swapping stories on set!’"
Jemima Rooper on playing Chloe
Jemima Rooper plays the third sibling, Chloe. She’s also had roles in The Famous Five, The Railway Children, As If, Hex, Silent Witness and The Split. She starred in Flowers In The Attic: The Origin, playing Olivia Winfield Foxworth, as well as Grantchester and The People We Hate At The Wedding.
Jemima says: "At first I was a little puzzled by Chloe and she’s a bit of a mystery for the audience. Of all the siblings, she seems to be the most stable and is in a normal relationship with Pete (Adil Ray), with whom she has two kids. Later on the secrets come out and people’s masks start to slip as they find things out about themselves or about each other. At some point, everyone’s a potential suspect.
"The director wanted to use home video scenes to help us understand the family’s dynamic before their father died, which was a great idea. Those scenes are mostly improvised and we actually filmed them on a phone, all passing the phone around, although Rob did a lot of the best camerawork! It was lovely to work with Larry Lamb for those scenes, his time on set was very short but very sweet.
"I only met Rob and Gaynor a few days before we started filming and instead of rehearsing, the director told us to go out and have lunch, so we shared a few glasses of wine and went from there - that just fast-forwarded all of our relationships.
"I love the way it’s a family drama, with a whodunnit aspect and I think viewers will relate to the trouble wills can cause, because human beings are messy and it’s complicated because you can’t address the things that come out after a death with the person themselves. Maybe the series will make everyone take another look at their wills!"
Larry Lamb as Dennis Watson
EastEnders and Gavin and Stacey star Larry Lamb is playing the siblings’ father Dennis who they believe could have been murdered.
Who else is starring in The Inheritance?
Other cast in The Inheritance includes Downton Abbey actress Samantha Bond who plays mysterious Susan while Kevin Whately (Morse) is Michael. Ackley Bridge star Adil Ray is playing Chloe’s partner Pete, while Rory Fleck Byrne (This Is Going To Hurt), Kevin Harvey (Sandman) and Pauline McLynn (Shameless, Rosie Malloy Gives Up Everything) will also star.
The Inheritance episode guide
Here's our brief episode guide for The Inheritance. Turn away if you don't want to see the few spoilers..
Episode 1
Three siblings — Daniel, Sian and Cloe Watson — are left reeling after the unexpected death of their father Dennis, and when it turns out they are not left anything in the will, they embark on a dangerous journey to figure out whether this death was a tragic accident or if it was murder.
Episode 2
As the case into Dennis Watson's death becomes an official police investigation, the Watson siblings try to track down their father’s previous will, hoping desperately to prove his original intentions and that his death was no accident.
Episode 3
The three Watson siblings are shocked when the family home is broken into. Chloe is more confused than ever about Susan’s involvement in the whole case, while Daniel is increasingly desperate to pay back his loan with Glen becoming ever more threatening and demanding. With Sian now dating the estate agent Nathan, jealous Glen turns particularly nasty…
Episode 4
Sian is shocked when she discovers a dead body in the family home. In her desperation, Sian tries to reach her boyfriend, Nathan, and is concerned her old flame Glen might have carried out one of his threats when it seems her new man has disappeared. Meanwhile, Chloe meets DS Morris, who’s found a similar past case, involving a mysterious man called James. Yet before the siblings get a chance to investigate if the two cases could be linked, the truth is finally revealed in a spectacular endgame.
