Coupling is 13 years old – where are they now? (2024)

By the year 2000, Friends was the biggest TV show on the planet. We Brits needed our own version, and while Cold Feet and This Life were similar, the closest we got was in the shape of BBC Two's Coupling.

Written by future Doctor Who and Sherlock chief Steven Moffat and inspired by his relationship with producer Sue Vertue (STEVE and SUE, geddit?), the sitcom ran for four series, following the adventures and sex lives of six thirtysomethings.

While its humour was pretty different and more adult than Friends, it's easy to understand the comparisons. Uptight dork Steve was Ross, suave Patrick was Joey, awkward Jeff was Chandler, Steve's on-off partner Susan was Rachel, obsessive Sally was Monica, and free spirit Jane was Phoebe.

But what have the cast been up to since?

1. Jack Davenport (Steve)

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Before essentially playing Steven Moffat himself, Jack was already known to UK audiences thanks to playing Miles in This Life and for appearing in The Talented Mr Ripley.

Just before Coupling came to an end, Jack landed the role of James Norrington in the huge blockbuster Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, a role he returned to twice more. He has also had Hollywood roles in Kingsman: The Secret Service and A United Kingdom.

In TV, he has made the leap to the States, landing major roles in FlashForward, The Good Wife, Smash, and most recently he appeared in The Mindy Project. He has also continued to feature in British shows, including Breathless and the upcoming Next of Kin on ITV.

The year in which Coupling began, he married his partner Michelle Gomez, who would later go on to find fame in Green Wing and for playing Missy in Doctor Who. Their son Harry was born in 2010.

2. Sarah Alexander (Susan)

Sarah had appeared in many UK comedies and dramas before Coupling, ranging from Red Dwarf to Smack the Pony and The Armstrong and Miller Show.

The year the show finished, she was one of the original cast members of quirky Channel 4 sitcom Green Wing, and later had roles in Teachers and The Worst Week of My Life. In 2007, she was one of Michelle Pfeiffer's evil sisters in Stardust.

Since 2013, she has been Alan Davies's partner-in-fighting-crime in Jonathan Creek, and she has also led the cast of sitcom Marley's Ghosts with John Hannah. She is married to actor and comedian Peter Serafinowicz, and they have two children together.

3. Richard Coyle (Jeff)

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After playing borderline weirdo Jeff for three series, Ricard decided to leave the show before series four. Explaining his decision, he later said: "I was very keen that that character didn't stick with me. It's the kind of character that does. I'm an actor and I want to be an actor when I'm 60. It's a lifelong process, why cut it off by boxing yourself into a little pigeonhole early on?"

He soon took on the title role in the BBC's supernatural series Strange, and later appeared in various TV movies including 2004's Gunpowder Treason & Plot, 2006's The Best Man, and 2007's The History of Mr Polly.

In 2012, he featured in American TV series Covert Affairs, and two years later starred opposite John Malkovich in the NBC series Crossbones. Last year, he appeared in three episodes of The Fall, and led the cast of Amazon's The Collection.

4. Gina Bellman (Jane)

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Gina had already had a fascinating career before landing the role of the seductive and somewhat bonkers Jane in Coupling. She had starred in Dennis Potter's BBC drama Blackeyes in 1989, and in 1996 she starred opposite Dolph Lundgren in the largely-forgotten action movie Silent Trigger.

She continued to feature in various TV shows since Coupling ended, including Jekyll, and in 2008 she joined the cast of American action-adventure series Leverage as Sophie Devereaux, a role she kept for nearly 80 episodes. This year, she has featured in NBC's Land of Oz series Emerald City.

5. Ben Miles (Patrick)

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Already familiar to UK viewers thanks to Peak Practice, Cold Feet and The Forsyte Saga, Ben has continued to have a busy career on stage and screen since Coupling concluded.

In film, he has popped up in a host of different projects, including V for Vendetta, Speed Racer and Ninja Assassin. In 2008, he had a regular role in Lark Rise to Candleford, and he later had roles in Zen, The Promise, Dracula and The Hollow Crown. More recently, he featured in the 'Hated in the Nation' episode of Black Mirror, and played Group Captain Peter Townsend in Netflix's The Crown.

In the world of theatre, he has starred in many acclaimed plays, including the Old Vic's Richard II alongside his father-in-law Gary Raymond, the Tony Award-winning The Norman Requests, a revival of Betrayal opposite Kristin Scott-Thomas, and the RSC's Wolf Hall in both the West End and Broadway.

6. Kate Isitt (Sally)

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Coupling remains Kate's most famous role, in which she played Susan's best friend Sally, who had an on-off relationship with Patrick. Before this, she appeared in ITV sitcom Is It Legal? and had a small role in the 1997 adaptation of The Saint.

After Coupling, she has appeared in a handful of TV roles, including 2006's Strictly Confidential alongside Suranne Jones. She made a comeback in 2015, appearing in three episodes of Last Tango in Halifax as Rupert Graves's wife. She will soon appear in a short film titled If It Were Done as Lady Macbeth.

She is married to Calendar Girls and Made in Dagenham director Nigel Cole , and they have two children together.

7. Richard Mylan (Oliver)

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The second Richard joined the cast in series 4 as new guy Oliver, essentially a like-for-like replacement for Jeff. It is this role that he is perhaps best known for, but he has continued to feature in various projects since then.

He has had regular roles in Bad Girls, Where the Heart Is, Grownups and Doctors. From 2013, he appeared in 13 episodes of Waterloo Road as Simon Lowsley. He most recently starred opposite Katee Sackhoff in the horror movie Don't Knock Twice.

Richard has also taught at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama in Cardiff. His son Jaco was born in 2005, and has a form of autism known as Pervasive Developmental Disorder (PDD). Earlier this year, Richard presented a documentary on the BBC titled Richard and Jaco: Life with Autism.

8. Steven Moffat and Sue Vertue

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Before Coupling, Moffat's first TV work was the teen drama Press Gang. His first sitcom, Joking Apart, was inspired by the breakdown of his first marriage. He also wrote the sitcom Chalk inspired by his experience as an English teacher.

Moffat met Vertue at the Edinburgh International Television Festival in 1996. Vertue worked for production company Tiger Aspect, and they soon started a relationship. After joining Hartswood Films, run by Sue's mother Beryl Vertue, Sue asked him to write a sitcom and he decided to base it around their own relationship.

While the two main characters were modelled after themselves, the four other characters were based on their best friends and previous ex-relationships.

After Coupling, Moffat wrote six episodes of the revived Doctor Who – including the fan favourite 'Blink' – and in 2009, he replaced Russell T Davies as showrunner, lead writer and executive producer. In 2010, he co-created Sherlock with Mark Gatiss. He will step down from Doctor Who after the upcoming series 10 finale. He also co-wrote the 2011 movie The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn.

Vertue has produced many TV comedies throughout her career, including Mr Bean, The Vicar of Dibley and Gimme Gimme Gimme. She has also served as a producer on Sherlock since 2010.

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Coupling is 13 years old – where are they now? (2024)
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