True romance

Domhnall Gleeson and Andrea Riseborough play star-crossed lovers in a moving drama

What happens when you encounter the love of your life but fate keeps tearing you apart? That’s the premise of C4’s romantic drama Alice & Jack, which centres on a couple who seem destined to be together but can never quite make it work.

In the six-part series, Andrea Riseborough plays brittle businesswoman Alice, who develops an immediate spark with caring biomedical researcher Jack, played by Domhnall Gleeson, as they meet up in a bar for their first date. Jack is baffled and upset, however, when Alice, who is secretly dealing with past trauma, subsequently tells him they shouldn’t stay in touch.

The drama then follows their shifting fortunes over more than 15 years, as Jack tries to move on with down-to-earth Lynn (Aisling Bea), only to find that his bond with Alice proves unbreakable and they are repeatedly drawn back to each other – with tumultuous consequences.

Here, Riseborough, 42, and Gleeson, 40, give us the lowdown…

What appealed to you about this drama?