‘Just extraordinary’: inside Babies, the beautiful drama about the terror and cruelty of miscarriage

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Stefan Golaszewski, the creator of beloved sitcoms Him & Her and Mum, didn’t just draw from his own experience to write about baby loss – he also composed and performed the theme tuneWill Stefan Golaszewski ever tire of watching people unload the dishwasher? “Gosh, you never know – it’s possible,” concedes the creator of beloved BBC sitcoms Him & Her and Mum. For now, however, Golaszewski’s brand of intense social realism remains as meticulous as ever. In his latest series, the quotidian acts that make up a lifetime – replacing the hand soap, leaning on the kitchen counter while folding a slice of ham into your mouth and, of course, unloading said dishwasher – are given just as much screen time as some of the most soul-wrenching experiences imaginable.Babies (he’s sticking with the does-what-it-says-on-the-tin titles) stars Siobhán Cullen and Paapa Essiedu as mid-30s married couple Lisa and Stephen. We meet them en route to a family function, yet when they arrive Lisa can only face Stephen’s relatives for a few seconds before fleeing the pub. Actually, it’s just one relative: his cousin’s new baby. We soon discover the pair have recently suffered their first miscarriage. Unable to share their grief and disappointment with friends and family, they are forced to rely solely on each other – not ideal considering Stephen’s attempts to comfort Lisa include an offer of a Solero and a trip to feed the ducks. The terror and cruelty of baby loss is all here, but Babies’ portrayal of our collective failure to address it is just as unsettling. Continue reading...