How to Have a Perfect Marriage

Summary

Julia Ford and Greg Wise star in this BBC Radio 4 drama about a husband who comes out as gay after 19 years of marriage

Jack and Karen are an ordinary, happily-married couple. They've been together for years and are convinced every problem can be worked through. Until Karen finds an odd text on Jack's phone, and her confrontation leads to a shock revelation: Jack is gay, and he wants a male lover.

Seeking stability for themselves and security for their teenage children, they settle on a 'closed loop' arrangement, whereby they stay together and Jack has a boyfriend. So begins a new type of marriage, where small deceptions and unspoken fantasies are replaced with radical honesty. But can they make this work for everyone? When Jack decides he wants to move on, and live his life openly as a gay man, it's time for more negotiations with Karen and the girls. How will Naomi and Ella deal with the seismic changes to their family?

Scripted by award-winning writer Nicholas McInerny, this autobiographical look at modern relationships stars Greg Wise as Jack and Julia Ford as Karen, with Katriona Perrett as Naomi and Ellie Bindman and Izzy Watts as Ella. Among the supporting cast are John Sessions, Con O'Neill, Toby Sawyer, Daniel Crowder and Andrew Hayden-Smith.

Production credits
Written by Nicholas McInerny
Produced and directed by Melanie Harris
Sound designers: Eloise Whitmore and Alisdair McGregor
Executive Producers: Polly Thomas and Jo Meek
A Sparklab production for BBC Radio 4

Cast
Karen - Julia Ford
Jack - Greg Wise
Naomi - Katriona Perrett
Ella - Ellie Bindman/Izzy Watts
Cecily - Liza Sadovy
Miranda - Liza Sadovy/Mary Doherty/Dona Croll
Ben - Con O'Neill/John Sessions
Malcolm - Toby Sawyer
Tom - Toby Sawyer/Daniel Crowder
Max - Andrew Hayden-Smith

First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 12-16 August 2013 (Series 1), 10-14 August 2015 (Series 2), 27 June-1 July 2016 (Series 3), 26-30 June 2017 (Series 4)

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