The acclaimed David Nicholls novel is being adapted for Netflix.
It’s no easy feat adapting any talked-about novel for the screen, but doing so for One Day – which has a loyal legion of book fans and an existing Anne Hathaway-starring film – is even more difficult.
And it’s a challenge that the stars of the new Netflix adaptation series were very much aware of.
Starring as Emma Morley and Dexter Mayhew, Ambika Mod (This Is Going To Hurt) and Leo Woodall (The White Lotus) take the lead in this new 14-part drama, and chatted exclusively to RadioTimes.com about the series.
Speaking about the Netflix production, Mod said: “Even before we started filming, it definitely felt like a much bigger challenge – just the scope and the breadth and the length of the series, and how much stuff we would have to do, and ageing up characters over 20 years, and the stuff they go through, definitely felt like a much bigger challenge than what I’ve done before.
“So that was exciting and terrifying in equal measure.”
Woodall added: “We both knew it was a mountain to climb. But it’s such a beautiful story, and we both auditioned four or five times, so by the time we’d started filming, we were so immersed in it already. So it was a lovely new challenge.”
Of course, many fans will likely recognise Mod for her scene-stealing formative TV role in BBC One’s This Is Going to Hurt, in which she starred alongside Ben Whishaw as Shruti, a struggling junior doctor.
The part garnered praise for its portrayal of navigating mental health within the NHS, and One Day is the next major project that fans of Mod will see her in.
Similarly, Woodall rose to prominence after his role in The White Lotus season 2 as Jack, a confident young tourist on holiday with his supposed uncle Quentin (Tom Hollander).
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The new series consists of a total of 14 episodes to fit in the wide-spanning 20-year time period, and follows the pair as they navigate life, coming back to each other on the fateful day they met each year.
According to the synopsis: “One Day tells the story of Emma Morley and Dexter Mayhew who, on 15th July 1988, the night of their graduation, speak for the very first time.
“The next morning, they go their separate ways, but where will they be on this one ordinary day the next year, and the year after that, and every year that follows?
“Each episode finds Dex and Em, one year older, on this one particular date, as they grow and change, move together and apart, experience joy and heartbreak.”
One Day will stream on Netflix from Thursday 8th February. Sign up for Netflix from £6.99 a month. Netflix is also available on Sky Glass and Virgin Media Stream.
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