Waiting Room, The

Two complete strangers, ANNA (Anne-Marie Duff) and STEPHEN (Ralf Little), are brought together by an elderly man ROGER (Frank Finlay) who waits for his wife on a station platform. While they sit together in the deserted waiting room, Roger quietly reminisces about the special things he and his wife did when they were younger. As Stephen and Anna listen they are drawn together and make a connection, forgetting their individual lives for an isolated moment in time.

Anna single-handedly brings up daughter Charlie since separating from her father TOBY (Adrian Bower). She lives next door to JEM (Zoe Telford) and GEORGE (Rupert Graves), who are married with a small boy. Jem and Anna are close friends and share all their secrets – with the one exception that Anna has been sucked into a damaging affair with George.

Stephen lives with FIONA (Christine Bottomley) and while Fiona is suddenly keen to start a family, Stephen is unsure whether he can commit – despite pressure from Fiona and even her parents (Allan Corduner and Lizzy McInnerny). He finds solace through his work at the local old people’s home, in particular from his friendship with resident HELEN (Phyllida Law).

As Stephen and Anna’s individual lives move onwards in what becomes a pivotal weekend for both of them, they find themselves thinking more and more of the stranger they met in the waiting room – and what would happen should they meet again.