# The Rumour (TV series)
**The Rumour** is a British five-part psychological thriller television series broadcast on Channel 5 from 10 to 18 September 2025, adapted from Lesley Kara's Sunday Times bestselling 2019 novel of the same name.[1](https://www.paramount-mediahub.co.uk/press-releases/channel-5-commissions-brand-new-thriller--%E2%80%98the-rumour%E2%80%99-from-cuba-pictures-and-clapperboard-) • [2](https://tvdocket.com/uk/shows/the-rumour/) [Rachel Shenton](https://www.edgepedia.org/rachel-shenton) stars as Joanna, a young mother who moves to the fictional town of Flinstead with her son Alfie and spreads a rumor that a convicted child killer, Sally McGowan, is living there under a new identity.[3](https://www.cubapictures.co.uk/production/the-rumour/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Format | Five-part thriller (5 × 60 minutes commissioned), Channel 5, UK[1](https://www.paramount-mediahub.co.uk/press-releases/channel-5-commissions-brand-new-thriller--%E2%80%98the-rumour%E2%80%99-from-cuba-pictures-and-clapperboard-) |
| Original run | 10–18 September 2025; first three episodes on consecutive nights, the last two the following week[2](https://tvdocket.com/uk/shows/the-rumour/) • [4](https://www.tvguide.co.uk/articles/the-rumour-channel-5-plot-start-date-episodes-new-thriller-rachel-shenton-joanne-whalley/) |
| Source | Lesley Kara's debut novel *The Rumour* (2019), the highest selling print crime fiction debut of 2019[1](https://www.paramount-mediahub.co.uk/press-releases/channel-5-commissions-brand-new-thriller--%E2%80%98the-rumour%E2%80%99-from-cuba-pictures-and-clapperboard-) • [5](https://theothermeunfolded.com/reviews/book-reviews/english-book-reviews/book-review-the-rumour-lesley-kara/) |
| Lead cast | Rachel Shenton (Joanna), Joanne Whalley (Bea), Emily Atack (Debbie), Samuel Anderson (Michael)[1](https://www.paramount-mediahub.co.uk/press-releases/channel-5-commissions-brand-new-thriller--%E2%80%98the-rumour%E2%80%99-from-cuba-pictures-and-clapperboard-) • [6](https://tv.apple.com/gb/show/the-rumour/umc.cmc.6gtmgmqwuie1an55srh2xlne1) |
| Production | Cuba Pictures and Clapperboard in association with Fremantle; directed by Richard Clark, written by Giula Sandler[1](https://www.paramount-mediahub.co.uk/press-releases/channel-5-commissions-brand-new-thriller--%E2%80%98the-rumour%E2%80%99-from-cuba-pictures-and-clapperboard-) |
| Reception | IMDb rating 5.3/10 from about 677 user ratings[7](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt9278304/ratings/) |
| Status | Ended; TVmaze lists no season 2 as announced[2](https://tvdocket.com/uk/shows/the-rumour/) |
## Premise
Joanna, seeking a fresh start after leaving London, moves with her young son Alfie to the quiet town of Flinstead to be closer to her mother, Bea.[3](https://www.cubapictures.co.uk/production/the-rumour/) On her first day in a new job she finds a post on an online forum claiming that Sally McGowan, a woman convicted of murder as a child, is living in the town under a new identity.[8](https://www.whattowatch.com/drama/crime-dramas/exclusive-rachel-shenton-reveals-all-on-her-chilling-new-thriller-the-rumour) In the novel's premise, McGowan was ten years old when she stabbed Robbie Harris to death forty-eight years earlier, and no photos of her exist since her release as a young woman.[4](https://www.tvguide.co.uk/articles/the-rumour-channel-5-plot-start-date-episodes-new-thriller-rachel-shenton-joanne-whalley/)
Joanna shares the rumor with the mothers at her son's school to win them over, and the gossip spirals into paranoia and suspicion.[1](https://www.paramount-mediahub.co.uk/press-releases/channel-5-commissions-brand-new-thriller--%E2%80%98the-rumour%E2%80%99-from-cuba-pictures-and-clapperboard-) When suspicion falls on her neighbor Sonia, tensions rise and Joanna's involvement grows out of control as she pursues the truth.[3](https://www.cubapictures.co.uk/production/the-rumour/) Across the five episodes, a [Halloween](https://www.edgepedia.org/halloween) discovery, a missing child, and revelations about Joanna's own past in London drive the story toward a confrontation in which she must protect Alfie.[6](https://tv.apple.com/gb/show/the-rumour/umc.cmc.6gtmgmqwuie1an55srh2xlne1) • [9](https://www.flicks.com.au/tv/the-rumour-limited-series/)
## Production
Channel 5 commissioned the series in December 2024 as a co-production from Cuba Pictures and [Clapperboard](https://www.edgepedia.org/clapperboard) in association with [Fremantle](https://www.edgepedia.org/fremantle), which distributes it internationally.[1](https://www.paramount-mediahub.co.uk/press-releases/channel-5-commissions-brand-new-thriller--%E2%80%98the-rumour%E2%80%99-from-cuba-pictures-and-clapperboard-) Cuba Pictures had optioned Kara's debut novel several years earlier, with trade reporting at the time describing the story as loosely based on a real-life British case.[10](https://www.imdb.com/news/ni62265920/) Richard Clark directed, Giula Sandler wrote and executive produced, and Dominic Barlow produced; the executive producers included Dixie Linder, Nick Marston, Rachel Gesua, and Suzi McIntosh alongside Channel 5's Paul Testar and Paramount UK's Sebastian Cardwell.[1](https://www.paramount-mediahub.co.uk/press-releases/channel-5-commissions-brand-new-thriller--%E2%80%98the-rumour%E2%80%99-from-cuba-pictures-and-clapperboard-)
Although Flinstead is a fictional town invented by Kara, much of the series was filmed in Budapest, Hungary, which doubles for the setting; Shenton described filming there while pregnant with her son.[8](https://www.whattowatch.com/drama/crime-dramas/exclusive-rachel-shenton-reveals-all-on-her-chilling-new-thriller-the-rumour) • [11](https://www.tvguide.co.uk/articles/the-rumour-channel-5-filming-locations-european-city-used-setting-flinstead/)
## Cast
Rachel Shenton, known for *All Creatures Great and Small* and an Academy Award for a live action short, plays Joanna.[1](https://www.paramount-mediahub.co.uk/press-releases/channel-5-commissions-brand-new-thriller--%E2%80%98the-rumour%E2%80%99-from-cuba-pictures-and-clapperboard-) • [12](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2025/sep/10/tv-tonight-the-rumour-rachel-shenton-channel-5) [Joanne Whalley](https://www.edgepedia.org/joanne-whalley) plays her mother Bea, Emily Atack plays school-gate mother Debbie Barton, and [Samuel Anderson](https://www.edgepedia.org/samuel-anderson-actor) plays Michael.[6](https://tv.apple.com/gb/show/the-rumour/umc.cmc.6gtmgmqwuie1an55srh2xlne1) The ensemble also includes [Ellie Haddington](https://www.edgepedia.org/ellie-haddington) as Liz, Lucy Speed as Rachel, Liza Sadovy as Kay, Carryl Thomas as Fatima, Tamzin Griffin as Sonia, and Alex Waldmann as Stephen.[6](https://tv.apple.com/gb/show/the-rumour/umc.cmc.6gtmgmqwuie1an55srh2xlne1)
## Broadcast and reception
Episode 1 aired on Channel 5 at 9 pm on Wednesday 10 September 2025, with episodes 2 and 3 on the following two nights and episodes 4 and 5 on 17 and 18 September.[3](https://www.cubapictures.co.uk/production/the-rumour/) • [4](https://www.tvguide.co.uk/articles/the-rumour-channel-5-plot-start-date-episodes-new-thriller-rachel-shenton-joanne-whalley/) Unlike some Channel 5 dramas, the series was not released as a boxset for binge viewing at launch.[4](https://www.tvguide.co.uk/articles/the-rumour-channel-5-plot-start-date-episodes-new-thriller-rachel-shenton-joanne-whalley/)
Critical response was mixed. *The Guardian*'s TV picks called it a "silly but moreish thriller" in which school-gate gossip spirals out of control.[12](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2025/sep/10/tv-tonight-the-rumour-rachel-shenton-channel-5) Christopher Stevens of the *Daily Mail* gave it 4 out of 5 and praised [Emily Atack](https://www.edgepedia.org/emily-atack)'s performance as Debbie as "rude, smug, false and, underneath the facade, deeply unhappy".[13](https://www.broadcastnow.co.uk/tv-critics/the-rumour-the-donald-trump-show/5208821.article) A review carried by *Broadcast* criticized "the endless tropes and weak plot".[13](https://www.broadcastnow.co.uk/tv-critics/the-rumour-the-donald-trump-show/5208821.article) On IMDb the series holds a 5.3/10 rating from about 677 users, with per-episode user scores declining from 7.2 for the premiere to 6.6 for the finale.[7](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt9278304/ratings/)
After the run ended, TVmaze listed the series as ended, and no season 2 had been announced as of late 2026.[2](https://tvdocket.com/uk/shows/the-rumour/) In the UK the series became available on [Sky Go](https://www.edgepedia.org/sky-go) and free with ads on 5, and could be bought on the Apple TV Store, Amazon Video, and Sky Store; in Australia it streams on BritBox.[14](https://www.justwatch.com/uk/tv-series/the-rumour) • [9](https://www.flicks.com.au/tv/the-rumour-limited-series/)
## References
1. [Channel 5 Commissions Brand New Thriller 'The Rumour' from Cuba Pictures and Clapperboard, Paramount press release (4 December 2024)](https://www.paramount-mediahub.co.uk/press-releases/channel-5-commissions-brand-new-thriller--%E2%80%98the-rumour%E2%80%99-from-cuba-pictures-and-clapperboard-)
2. [The Rumour: 5 Episodes. Is There a Season 2? TV Docket](https://tvdocket.com/uk/shows/the-rumour/)
3. [The Rumour, Cuba Pictures production page](https://www.cubapictures.co.uk/production/the-rumour/)
4. [The Rumour on Channel 5: Plot, start date & episodes of thriller, TVGuide.co.uk](https://www.tvguide.co.uk/articles/the-rumour-channel-5-plot-start-date-episodes-new-thriller-rachel-shenton-joanne-whalley/)
5. [Book Review | The Rumour | Lesley Kara, The Other Me Unfolded](https://theothermeunfolded.com/reviews/book-reviews/english-book-reviews/book-review-the-rumour-lesley-kara/)
6. [The Rumour, Apple TV (GB)](https://tv.apple.com/gb/show/the-rumour/umc.cmc.6gtmgmqwuie1an55srh2xlne1)
7. [The Rumour (TV Series 2025– ) Ratings, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt9278304/ratings/)
8. [Exclusive: Rachel Shenton reveals all on her chilling new thriller, The Rumour, What to Watch](https://www.whattowatch.com/drama/crime-dramas/exclusive-rachel-shenton-reveals-all-on-her-chilling-new-thriller-the-rumour)
9. [The Rumour: Limited Series, Flicks (Australia)](https://www.flicks.com.au/tv/the-rumour-limited-series/)
10. ['McMafia' Producer Cuba Pictures Developing TV Adaptation Of Lesley Kara's 'The Rumour', IMDb News](https://www.imdb.com/news/ni62265920/)
11. [The Rumour on Channel 5: Filming locations used as Flinstead, TVGuide.co.uk](https://www.tvguide.co.uk/articles/the-rumour-channel-5-filming-locations-european-city-used-setting-flinstead/)
12. [TV tonight: Rachel Shenton stars in this silly but moreish thriller, The Guardian (10 September 2025)](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2025/sep/10/tv-tonight-the-rumour-rachel-shenton-channel-5)
13. [The Rumour; The Donald Trump Show, Broadcast TV Critics (11 September 2025)](https://www.broadcastnow.co.uk/tv-critics/the-rumour-the-donald-trump-show/5208821.article)
14. [The Rumour - watch tv series streaming online, JustWatch](https://www.justwatch.com/uk/tv-series/the-rumour)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Series and fictional screen worlds › Scripted television and comedy series › Adapted and franchise screen series › Literary and classic serial adaptations › Thriller and crime adaptations › Premiered 2024 to 2026*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 11, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license