“A toxic workplace relationship”: The Guest is the BBC’s “showstopper” Eve Myles thriller you'll want more of

From The Replacement to Severance, we love a good workplace thriller and the BBC has given us a brilliant new one to add to our list. Described as a "showstopper of a series", The Guest is the BBC's new Eve Myles series with a toxic workplace relationship at the centre of it – and, judging by the first look pictures that have just been released, it's a show you'll almost definitely want more of.

The story sees an intense friendship between business owner, Fran (Eve Myles), and her employee, Ria (Gabrielle Creevy), turn increasingly manipulative – and ultimately, dangerous. Nick Andrews, BBC Cymru Wales' Head of Commissioning, has called it “a twisty-turny edge of your seat thriller which you’ll be watching from behind your sofa”, so we may need to prepare ourselves for what's ahead.

Ahead of The Guest's arrival on BBC One, here’s everything you need to know about the addictive new drama…

What is The Guest about?

The four-part series is centred around the "toxic" and "beguiling" relationship between a successful business owner, Fran (Eve Myles), and her employee, Ria (Gabrielle Creevy). Ria has never had the time - or opportunity - to think about what she actually wants from the world. So, when she starts cleaning for confident, self-assured Fran, she’s somewhat intoxicated by her.

According to the official synopsis, "Fran encourages Ria to take control of her life and, when Ria flourishes, an intense friendship is forged. However, when Fran’s advice leads to a shocking event, the lives of these two very different women become intertwined by shared secrets and dangerous plots.

"What follows is a compelling and manipulative game of cat-and-mouse. But just who is playing who?"

Writer Matthew Barry has said that as well as being an exciting thriller, "at its core this is an examination of class, social mobility and the growing disparity between those at the top and bottom of our society."

Lindsay Salt, Director of BBC Drama, says: "The Guest is a hugely entertaining, deftly plotted thriller that will have viewers gripped. After the fantastic, five-star response to the tender and life-affirming Men Up, we’re delighted to join forces again with Matthew Barry and Quay Street Productions on another Welsh-set drama, alongside this fantastic cast."

Eve Myles has already proven her mettle when it comes to thrillers, having played solicitor Faith Howells in the BBC’s Keeping Faith and, more recently, DCI Jeanette Kilburn in the Paramount+ series The Crow Girl. And if those performances are anything to go by, we’re in for quite a treat with The Guest.

Who’s in the cast of The Guest?

• Eve Myles (Keeping Faith, The Crow Girl)
• Gabrielle Creevy (Three Women, In My Skin)
• Sion Daniel Young (Lost Boys & Fairies, Slow Horses)
• Emun Elliott (The Gold, Guilt)
• Bethan Mary-James (Death Valley, Sisters)
• Julian Lewis Jones (Dope Girls, House of the Dragon)
• Joseph Ollman (Queenie, The Tattooist of Auschwitz)
• Clive Russell (Game of Thrones, The Witcher)
• Catherine Ayers (Missing You, The Way)

How can I watch The Guest?

The BBC hasn’t yet shared an exact release date for The Guest just yet, but we do know that it will air on BBC One and BBC iPlayer at some point this autumn. That means we shouldn't have long to wait. In the meantime, you can watch another brilliant performance from Eve Myles in the Paramount+ series The Crow Girl here.