# Last Tango in Halifax (2012)

> Two widowed septuagenarians rekindle a romance from over sixty years ago after their grandchildren set them up online.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/43034

## Facts

- Seasons: 5
- Episodes: 24
- Episode runtime: 60 min
- Status: Ended
- Genres: comedy, drama, romance
- Created by: Sally Wainwright
- Network: BBC One, PBS
- Cast: Anne Reid, Derek Jacobi, Sarah Lancashire, Nicola Walker, Tony Gardner, Josh Bolt, Dean Andrews, Nina Sosanya
- TMDB rating: 8.4/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2216156/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: measured
- Intensity: mild
- Complexity: accessible
- Violence: none
- Tone: warm, witty, bittersweet, tender, heartfelt

## What critics say

Acclaimed by audiences for its warm, witty writing and the lead performances of Anne Reid and Derek Jacobi, with its late-life romance treated as seriously as younger love stories.

## Synopsis

Last Tango in Halifax (2012-2020) is a British comedy drama series created by Sally Wainwright for BBC One. Celia (Anne Reid) and Alan (Derek Jacobi), both widowed in their seventies, rediscover a passionate romance that began more than sixty years earlier after their grandsons put their details on Facebook. Their desire to reconnect runs straight into the objections of their grown children and grandchildren, who scheme, meddle and bristle as the two families are pulled together. Caroline (Sarah Lancashire) and Gillian (Nicola Walker) bring their own prickly histories into the picture, and the everyday friction of a blended family fuels much of the drama. The series unfolds across five seasons of six-episode blocks and a few shorter runs, following one continuing story rather than standalone cases. Set in contemporary northern England, around Halifax and the surrounding Yorkshire towns, it blends wry humour with tender, sometimes painful emotion about grief, memory and second chances. Its warm, character-driven tone and humane writing will appeal to fans of Happy Valley, The Durrells and Grace and Frankie, and to anyone who loves gentle romance with real emotional weight.

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