Synopsis:- A sharp, pacy series from acclaimed writer Mike Bartlett that rips aside the front pages of rival newspapers to reveal the lives, loves and lies of a dynamic group of characters. Under relentless pressure from the 24-hour news cycle, these passionate professionals go to extraordinary lengths to uncover stories and get them into print. They hold the power to account and turn ordinary people’s lives into headlines, but can they face up to the truth about themselves? With its outstanding cast and timely storylines, Press gets to the core of an industry that has never been more in the global spotlight.
Starring:- Charlotte Riley, Ben Chaplin, Priyanga Burford and Shane Zaza.
Episode Highlights
Episode 1 – Tuesday, 17 June 2025
(Death Knock)
At the Herald, a left-leaning broadsheet struggling to adapt to the age of digital news, deputy news editor Holly Evans pursues a lead over the death of a young woman following a hit-and-run by a police car. When she learns that a nearby shop has already given its CCTV footage of the accident to the Post, a thriving populist tabloid sharing a building in the same square as the Herald, Holly approaches editor Duncan Allen and asks for the tapes.
Episode 2 – Wednesday, 18 June 2025
(Pure)
Holly helps Leona investigate a lead at a hospital. Ed struggles with his conscience after a night working on the Post’s showbiz desk.
Episode 3 – Monday, 23 June 2025
(Don’t Take My Heart, Don’t Break My Heart)
Responding to an emergency call, Holly rushes into The Herald in the early hours of the morning. When the call turns out to be a false alarm, Holly takes the opportunity to talk to Amina about the lead she is following – a former protegee of business tycoon Joshua West has come forward claiming that over a number of years West has been using his position of authority to pressure young women into sleeping with him. Knowing that levelling any charge against a man with West’s power will be almost impossible, Amina gives Holly the nod to investigate.
Episode 4 – Tuesday, 24 June 2025
(Magic)
Amina feels defeated in the immediate wake of the Joshua West scandal. Holly, angered by her editor’s floundering leadership, ignores Amina’s request to write a front-page apology on behalf of The Herald and presses on privately with her investigation into the high-profile entrepreneur’s sexual past. On the other side of the square, amidst a flurry of phone calls from women reporting their own experiences of West’s abuse of power, Duncan is shocked to learn that The Post has been banned from the daily press conference at Downing Street. Unwilling to apologize for his deliberately provocative placement of the prime minister’s photograph next to a headline about ‘Sex Pest’ West,
Duncan risks damaging his relationship with the PM further in a move which could have more widereaching political consequences.
Episode 5 – Wednesday, 25 June 2025
(Two Worlds)
Ed’s pride in his soaring professional achievements – his latest story, a profile of teen ‘monster’ Danny Lyons, is on The Post’s front page – is marred by the arrival of a surprise new colleague at paper, who attempts to discredit him and his attempts to impress intern Jools. Duncan, whose personal life is floundering, buries himself in his work and tasks the new arrival with getting the scoop on the government’s secret Resonance Programme. Later, when the newsroom learns of a dramatic development in the Lyons case, Duncan and Ed must quickly find a new approach to keep their story on track.
Episode 6 – Monday, 30 June 2025
(Resonance)
Duncan attempts to spend quality time with his son Fred but finds it difficult in the face of Sarah’s open hostility, and she informs Duncan that she and her boyfriend Max intend for him never to see Fred again. Holly struggles to separate her personal grievances from her professional ambitions. She adds to Duncan’s troubles by threatening to publicly expose his relationship with Kristina, the sex worker with whom he has a longstanding arrangement. In anticipation of the splash, Duncan is forced to explain to Fred that he has been paying for sex, while Kristina has questions of her own for Holly.
Catch Press Mondays to Wednesdays at 21:00, only on S3.
For media enquiries
Caroline Phalakatshela
Publicity Specialist – Video Entertainment 072 382 2032/ phalakatshelamc@sabc.co.z
