The Split-Up is a spinoff from The Split – which ran for three series and a 2-part finale before it got divorced – this time with Ritu Arya (Doctors, Polite Society) in the lead as Aria Kishan, who’ll be taking over the family law firm shortly from her Dad, Dhruv (Sanjeev Bhaskar, still stealing a living).
But that doesn’t stop him from fussing over her forthcoming marriage to Neal Sharma (Danny Ashok – Compulsion), and trying to take over while Aria has work on the brain too much.
For the couple, she’s been with him since she was 18, but her Dad’s just brought on a new lawyer to the firm… her one-time fling, Luke Christos (Dimitri Leonidas – The One), so despite it being nine years since Ritu was in Doctors, she’s basically now firming in soap-opera-stype territory again.
And I was confused at first when she describes Neal as her “soon-to-be-fiancee“. Surely, he’s her fiancee now, so is her “soon-to-be-husband”?… ah, they’re having a “chunni”, which confirms the situation. A chunni is a traditional long scarf or shawl worn by women across South Asia.
Along the way, there’s various talk about divorces, including one between married ‘influencers’ Alex (Lenny Henry) and Tash Edwards (Jane Horrocks) and how it could affect their brand if they split, but it’s all bit… meh. Yet, I thought the same of the original The Split, so no change there. And since that ran and ran and ran, no doubt this will as well.
One thing I couldn’t understand, though, is that when they’re all sat around a big table, discussing divorces, why can’t the damn camera sit still? It’s like they’re filming during the start of an earthquake!
The Split-Up begins tomorrow night on BBC1 at 9pm, and can be pre-ordered on DVD, ahead of its release on October 26th.
You can check out more forthcoming titles at the New DVD Blu-ray 3D and 4K releases UK list.
From day one, all episodes will be on the BBC iPlayer.
Series Directors: Shamim Sarif, Khurrum M Sultan
Producer: Natasha Romaniuk
Writer: Ursula Rani Sarma
Idea Originator: Ursula Rani Sarma, Abi Morgan
Cast:
Aria Kishan: Ritu Arya
Dhruv Kishan: Sanjeev Bhaskar
Alex Edwards: Lenny Henry
Tash Edwards: Jane Horrocks
Maya Kishan: Aysha Kala
Kav Kishan: Arian Nik
Neal Sharma: Danny Ashok
Luke Christos: Dimitri Leonidas
Zoya Bassu: Shalini Peiris
Michael Lanigan: Tom Forbes
Ashok Singh: Mawaan Rizwan
Harshika Sharma: Sindhu Vee
Linda Taylor: Debbie Rush
Charvi Lanigan: Isobel Khan
Danny Lanigan: Jacob Krishna
Becca Holt: Bex Smith
Ginny: Victoria Ekanoye
Pandit Jagesh: Ravi Aujla
Reviewer of movies, videogames and music since 1994. Aortic valve operation survivor from the same year. Running DVDfever.co.uk since 2000. Nobel Peace Prize winner 2021.