Piers Wenger, Director of BBC Drama, says: “As the pandemic continues to dominate our lives and shape our experiences, I am more aware than ever that drama can bring a little joy, a little relief and a little escapism to people’s lives. The need to listen to and to tell stories has been with us for millennia, which is why we are delighted to be offering audiences more drama on the BBC next year than ever before.”

The year kicks off with gripping edge-of-your-seat thriller The Tourist, created by Jack and Harry Williams and starring Jamie Dornan, alongside Ruth Fowler’s Rules Of The Game - a series about sexual politics in the workplace, starring Maxine Peake and Rakhee Thakrar.

Neil McKay’s factual drama Four Lives will go behind the headlines to tell the story of the four young men who were murdered by Stephen Port, from the point of view of their family and friends, and Jack Thorne’s Then Barbara Met Alan tells the remarkable true story of the people behind an irrepressible campaign of direct action that lead to the significant gains in the battle for disabled civil rights in Britain.

Two brand new dramas will take a look at two of the UK’s national institutions through the eyes of their workers on the frontline. The Responder stars Martin Freeman and is written by ex-police officer Tony Schumacher, while This Is Going To Hurt stars Ben Whishaw and is adapted from Adam Kay’s award-winning novel chronicling his experiences as a doctor in the NHS.

The highly-anticipated and wildly funny adaptation of Dolly Alderton’s Everything I Know About Love will star Emma Appleton and Bel Powley. Further new and original drama from brand new writers includes Chloe from Alice Seabright, who also directs, and Shola Amoo’s adaption of My Name Is Leon.

James Graham returns to his roots for Sherwood - a compelling, contemporary crime drama starring David Morrissey, inspired in part by real events and set in the Nottinghamshire mining village where Graham grew up. While Steven Knight brings his major new drama series SAS: Rogue Heroes to screens – an incredible story of how the world’s most renowned and ruthless Special Forces unit, the SAS, came to exist.

Bash Doran’s adapts Kate Atkinson’s celebrated novel Life After Life, Steven Moffat’s brand new thriller Inside Man will star David Tennant and Lydia West alongside Stanley Tucci, and Nick Leather’s Scottish three-part drama with a twist, Control Room, will also air in 2022.

Sally Wainwright’s Happy Valley returns for a third and final series with Sarah Lancashire returning to star as Sergeant Catherine Cawood. And original police drama Blue Lights, set in contemporary Belfast and inspired by the experiences of serving police officers in Northern Ireland, comes from the writers of The Salisbury Poisonings - Adam Patterson and Declan Lawn.

Peaky Blinders will blast back onto screens with its sixth and final series, Killing Eve returns with its fourth and final series, and both The Split and His Dark Materials return for a third instalment.

Fans will also see the return of Sally Wainwright’s Gentleman Jack, starring Suranne Jones as the remarkable Anne Lister; the second series of Mickey Down and Konrad Kay’s exhilarating banking drama Industry, and the follow up to Noughts And Crosses (pictured above) led by writer Lydia Adetunji.

Ralph and Katie, a spin-off to hit drama The A Word, stars well-loved characters Ralph (Leon Harrop) and Katie (Sarah Gordy) - written by Peter Bowker alongside new and emerging disabled writers.

Family favourites Call The Midwife and Death In Paradise return, alongside Doctor Who, where the Thirteenth Doctor, Jodie Whittaker, will leave in a trio of specials.

Additionally, the award-winning Waterloo Road returns from Greater Manchester, shining a timely spotlight on education in the UK.

Finally, the highly anticipated adaptation of Sally Rooney’s award-winning debut novel Conversations With Friends will air on BBC Three’s broadcast channel launching in early 2022, as well as groundbreaking new drama, Mood, created by and starring Nicôle Lecky; Ryan J. Brown’s Wrecked, a mystery thriller mixing jet-black comedy with a slice of slasher set aboard a mega cruise ship; and original horror series Red Rose, from the Clarkson twins.

Exact transmission dates and further 2022 drama titles will be announced in due course.

A selection of images are available via www.bbcpictures.co.uk - search for BBC Drama 2022.