D for Dexter

The award-winning story of Skye and Dexter and their ordinary/extraordinary life

Skye lives in Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, with her little brother Dexter and Spider the cat. Their mum, Jak, isn't around much - she's on and off the booze, so it's up to Skye to look out for Dexter, play with him, and make sure he's clothed and fed. He likes it best when she plays her guitar, an electric guitar she found under a heap of clothes in her mum's bedroom. The bailiffs didn't take it even when they came back for the telly.

When we first meet them, Skye is eleven years old, and Dexter two-and-a-half. Through seven series, we follow their highs, lows and struggles to survive through Skye's eyes, as she battles to keep her dysfunctional family together.

From coping with Jak's alcoholism and Dexter's special needs, to being taken into care by social services, getting excluded from school, trying to home educate Dexter during the Covid crisis, falling in love and coming to terms with her sexuality, she has far more on her plate than any young person should have to deal with.

And as Skye turns 18 and prepares to face the challenges of adulthood, we bid farewell to her in a special one-off finale.

Dark, delightful, funny, heartbreaking and heart-warming, this authentic, truthful drama won Best Drama Series/Serial at the BBC Audio Drama Awards 2016. It was developed through close collaboration with BBC Children in Need and projects they fund (including Home-Start UK, Hull Children's University, Voice of Young People in Care, Can Cook, Footsteps 2000, Young Carers' Transition Project and SAYiT) and was inspired by long-term research and ongoing voluntary work with children and families in Gainsborough.


Written by Amanda Whittington (series 1-7) and Sarah Daniels (Finale)
Guitar: Pip Moore and Tom Constantine
Music by Black Sabbath, the Smashing Pumpkins, Beyoncé, The Breeders and David Bowie performed by Tom Constantine
Poem by Octavia Bettis
Directed by Mary Ward-Lowery

Cast
Skye - Sydney Wade
Dexter - Elsa Rodgers/Alfie Johnson-McCann
Jak - Una McNulty
Evan - Samuel Holland
Alice - Jane Thornton
Mags - Sarah Parks
Lin - Martha Godber
Joe - Bill Rodgers
Uncle Dean - Peter Caulfield
Amber - Liz Godber
Ant - John Elkington
Boy - Harry Steel
Dog Man - John Elkington
Shelagh - Sarah Parks
Kim/Clare - Jane Godber
Shanice - Zoe Johnson
Leanne - Etta Fusi
Mia - Julie Riley
Mr Doshi - Tayla Kovacevic-Ebong
Nasty Girl - Octavia Bettis
Pearce - Beau Anten
Alex - Don Gilet
Alisha - Megan Huntley
Alice - Lauren Bowler
Scarlett - Scarlett Courtney
Ryan - Adam Courting
Aiden Hardy - Will Kirk
Ed - Mark Addy

(p) 2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd
© 2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd