Waiting for the Out
Waiting for the Out is a British six-part television series based on Andy West's memoir The Life Inside: A Memoir Of Prison, Family and Learning to be Free, from writer Dennis Kelly. It premiered on 3 January 2026 on BBC One.
Cast and characters
- Josh Finan as Dan Stewer
- Stephen Wight as Lee Gifford
- Gerard Kearns as Dan's Dad
- Ronkẹ Adékoluẹjo as Officer Stephens
- Neal Barry as Officer Guthrie
- Josef Altin as Greg Turner
- Steven Meo as Daniel 'Macca' McKenzie
- Ric Renton as Wallace Robson
- Tom Moutchi as Tom 'Junior' Kouame Jr
- Nima Taleghani as Malik Zahir
- Charlie Rix as Zac Colton
- Alex Ferns as Keith McKellar
- Sule Rimi as Samson Blake
- Jude Mack as Jessica Atherton
- Samantha Spiro as Dan's Mum
- Phil Daniels as Frank
- Francis Lovehall as Dris
- Sian Reese-Williams as Laura
Production
The series is produced by Sister. It is adapted from Andy West's memoir The Life Inside: A Memoir Of Prison, Family and Learning to be Free, adapted by writers Dennis Kelly, Levi David Addai and Ric Renton. The series is directed by Jeanette Nordahl and Ben Palmer, with Ken Horn and Louise Sutton serving as producers. The executive producers are Kelly, Jane Featherstone, Chris Fry, Katie Carpenter and West, with Tanya Qureshi for the BBC. For the series, Kelly visited a number of prisons in order to see West at work, and to try and discover a different way to depict prison on screen. Kelly said:The cast is led by Josh Finan alongside Francis Lovehall, Gerard Kearns, Samantha Spiro, Phil Daniels, Stephen Wight, Ronkẹ Adékoluẹjo, Neal Barry, Alex Ferns, Steven Meo, Ric Renton, Tom Moutchi, Nima Taleghani, Sule Rimi, Charlie Rix, and Jude Mack.
Principal photography took place in Liverpool in May 2025.