Waiting For The Out: cast, plot and everything we know

Waiting For The Out is a BBC One drama series starring The Responder’s Josh Finan who plays Dan, a man whose past sees him spiral into crisis.

Based on the memoir The Life Inside by Andy West, it follows Dan as he teaches a philosophy class inside a jail. However, his work leads him to delve into his own past, in which most of his family members have been imprisoned, and plants the seed of doubt whether he deserves to be a free man. 

“Having the chance to work with writing of this quality, inspired by such a rich real-life story, alongside such talented creatives is a genuine gift,” says Josh Finan. “A real pinch me moment. Every stage of the process so far has been both a joy and a welcome creative challenge. I’m itching to get filming and can’t wait for people to get the chance to watch this hugely sensitive, empathic, hilarious and at times deeply emotional story.” 

Here’s what we know about the BBC One series Waiting For The Out…

Waiting For The Out – release date

Waiting For The Out is a six-part series launching on BBC One and BBC iPlayer later in 2025 or early 2026.

When a date is announced, we’ll update this page. 

Waiting For The Out plot 

In Waiting for the Out, Dan teaches philosophy to a class of men in prison, enabling them to discuss topics such as dominance, freedom and luck. However, this makes him dig deeper into his own past with a violent father who ended up in jail alongside Dan’s brother and his uncle. Dan chose a life away from crime but working in a prison makes him develop an unhealthy belief that he too deserves to be behind bars and this conviction begins to threaten everything he holds dear. 

Waiting For The Out cast — Josh Finan as Dan

Josh Finan plays troubled philosopher Dan in Waiting For The Out. Josh previously was Irish Republican politician Gerry Adams in the series Say Nothing and played Marco in The Responder. He’s also been in Baby Reindeer, The Gentlemen, The Current War and Black Mirror.

Who else is starring?

Waiting For The Out also stars Gerard Kearns (The Day of the Jackal) as Dan’s father while Bergerac’s Stephen Wight is his brother, Lee, and Phil Daniels (EastEnders, House of the Dragon) is his uncle, Frank.

Samantha Spiro (Sex Education), Ronkẹ Adékoluẹjo (Rain Dogs), Neal Barry (Rain Dogs), Alex Ferns (Andor), Francis Lovehall (A Thousand Blows), Steven Meo (House of the Dragon), Ric Renton (One Off), Tom Moutchi (Gladiator II), Nima Taleghani (Heartstopper), Sule Rimi (The Day of the Jackal), Charlie Rix (Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power) and Jude Mack (Such Brave Girls) also star. 

Is there a trailer?

No, not at the moment. If the BBC releases one, we’ll paste it up on here. 

Behind the scenes, filming news and more on Waiting For The Out

Waiting For The Out is produced by award-winning SISTER (The Split, Black Doves, This Is Going to Hurt, Chernobyl), and filming in and around Liverpool started in May 2025.

The series is written by Dennis Kelly, with Levi David Addai (Damilola, Our Loved Boy) and Ric Renton (One Off) joining the writing team. It's directed by Jeanette Nordahl (The Responder) and Ben Palmer (Douglas is Cancelled), with Louise Sutton (Black Mirror) serving as producer. The executive producers are Dennis Kelly, Jane Featherstone (Black Doves, This is Going to Hurt), Chris Fry (Black Doves, Giri/Haji), Katie Carpenter (Kaos, Landscapers) and Andy West for SISTER, and Tanya Qureshi for the BBC. The project is backed by BBC Studios, who will handle global sales.

Author Andy West, who is an executive producer on Waiting For The Out says: “I’m so thankful to the writers, directors, producers and everyone involved in adapting The Life Inside. They have brought extraordinary creative and moral imagination to the stories in the book. We all hope to make a series that goes beyond the cliches about prisons and the families inside them and that touches people either side of the wall.”

Executive producers for SISTER, Chris Fry and Katie Carpenter add: “Andy West’s brilliant memoir offers a compelling, thought-provoking exploration of masculinity, guilt, and freedom. We feel so lucky to be working with Dennis Kelly on the adaptation; from the first draft we knew he had something urgent and profoundly moving on our hands. The quality of his writing has rightly attracted a remarkable cast, led by the brilliant Josh Finan, and directors Jeanette Nordahl and Ben Palmer. Waiting For The Out is a story that asks big questions but resists easy answers. We hope it will resonate deeply with audiences. We’re delighted to partner with the BBC on a project that quietly challenges the way we think about our justice system and the lives lived both on the inside and the out.”

Lindsay Salt, Director of BBC Drama, adds: “Waiting For The Out offers an inspiring and nuanced new take on male identity, forgiveness and self-discovery from one of the UK’s greatest writers. It’s a joy to have Dennis back on the BBC and to be working with the SISTER team to bring his thoughtful, funny and moving scripts to life.”