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Hannah and Nathan in The Split: Barcelona© BBC

Nicola Walker and Stephen Mangan reunite in The Split: Barcelona – details

The hit drama will pick up two years after the events of season three

Megan Bull
TV Writer
October 14, 2024
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Nicola Walker and Stephen Mangan have reunited in The Split: Barcelona. Set to premiere in the coming months, Abi Morgan's two-part special will arrive on BBC iPlayer and BBC One. 

Set two years after the third and final series, The Split will catch up with family lawyer Hannah Defoe (Nicola Walker) and her ex-husband Nathan Stern (Stephen Mangan). 

Nicola Walker and Stephen Mangan reprise their roles © BBC
Nicola Walker and Stephen Mangan reprise their roles

Reuniting fans with the original cast; Annabel Scholey, Fiona Button, Deborah Findlay, Ian McElhinney, Kobna Holdbrook-Smith, Elizabeth Roberts and Alex Guersman will also appear. 

Meanwhile, Toby Stephens – known for Jane Eyre (2006), Black Sails (2014-17) and Percy Jackson and the Olympians (2024) – has signed on as family lawyer, Archie Moore. 

Toby Stephens and Nicola Walker in The Split: Barcelona© BBC
Toby Stephens has joined the cast as family lawyer Archie Moore

Ahead of the show's return, the BBC has given fans a glimpse of Hannah and co as they travel abroad for a destination wedding. Among the snaps, Hannah can be seen hugging her sisters, Rose and Nina, as well as joining Nathan for a speech. 

"Two years on, formidable family lawyer Hannah Defoe (Nicola Walker) and her family are back and have gathered for a beautiful wedding at a magnificent vineyard, nestled in Catalonia's wine region," teases the synopsis. 

"Set across one sun-soaked weekend, The Split will encompass break-ups, reunions and like all good weddings, plenty of romance. As the sun rises over the glorious Spanish countryside, Hannah is compelled to banish the ghosts of her past and open herself up to the possibility of love again. Can she find the courage to take the leap into a new future?"

Annabel Scholey and Fiona Button with Nicola Walker in The Split: Barcelona© BBC
Annabel Scholey and Fiona Button are back as Hannah's sisters, Rose and Nina

Abi Morgan, who pens the series, has opened up about the upcoming episodes. "In a world of brutal break ups and tantalising make-ups, the Defoe family are invited to a destination wedding of their own, promising all that audiences have grown to love about The Split," she said.

"Problematic prenups, scandalous wedding crashers, and low-flying marriage proposals, as rom-com meets gone wrong, in a chaotic and riotous weekend that guarantees to crack open the heart, before the last of the guests have gone home."

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Filming for the spin-off commenced earlier this year, wrapping in May. During production, Annabel Scholey and Fiona Button each posted from the set.

The show's return has been a long time coming, with fans begging for a follow-up after the series three finale. Speaking exclusively to HELLO! In 2023, Annabel Scholey revealed that there had been talks about continuing the story. 

The Split: Barcelona will take place in Spain© BBC
The Split: Barcelona will take place in Spain

"I don't know whether there will be another series but there are talks about it which is just amazing because every time we do that job, it's like going on holiday with a family," she said at the time. 

"It's one of those special groups of people. It would be nice – I love Nina, I love playing Nina and all her craziness." 

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