We’re used to seeing Sarah Lancashire in hard-hitting and intense roles like in Happy Valley or Black Doves. But the BBC has a completely different offering of hers if you want to see the brilliant actor in a different light.
Directed by Danny Boyle, 2019 rom-com Yesterday stars former EastEnders actor Himesh Patel as singer-songwriter Jack Malik, who wakes up in a world in which The Beatles never existed after he’s involved in a bus accident during a freak worldwide power outage.
Jack struggles with the moral dilemma of becoming famous from performing Beatles songs as his own. But he’s not the only one who remembers the Fab Four as he meets Liz (Lancashire) and Leo (Justin Edwards) who, rather than expose him, thank Jack for bringing The Beatles back into their lives.
If you want to see how it all pans out, Yesterday is now available to watch on BBC iPlayer following its airing last night on BBC One. It’s available to watch on the streaming service for the next 29 days.
Universal
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As well as Patel, Lancashire and Edwards, Yesterday also stars Lily James and Joel Fry, with cameos from the likes of James Corden and Ed Sheeran.
Digital Spy gave Yesterday four stars, with our review describing it as “crowdpleasing” and “heartwarming”, adding: “You’ll leave with a full heart, tears in your eyes and singing Beatles songs all the way home.”
The movie is also a hit with viewers with one IMDb user calling it “delightful” and another praising it as “refreshingly original and entertaining”.
Jonathan Prime//Universal
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Director Danny Boyle previously revealed that Sheeran wasn’t the first choice for the movie, with the filmmaker originally wanting to cast Coldplay’s Chris Martin.
“We had a very fun moment with Ed where we said, ‘You’d be so good for this, you’re our first choice. We can’t think of anyone [else],’ and he goes, ‘Hang on, you’ve already asked Chris Martin.’,” he recalled.
“He’s very funny. He doesn’t mind having fun poked at him, which obviously the film does. But he comes with that as well. So he remorselessly teased us about being second choice to Chris Martin.”
Yesterday is now available to stream on BBC iPlayer.
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Social Executive, Entertainment Portfolio After completing her joint honours degree in Journalism and English Literature at Cardiff University, Iona joined Digital Spy as a Content Production Intern in 2022, where she wrote across both news and features, specialising in TV and movies. Following her internship, Iona continued contributing to the site as a freelance reporter, becoming social executive for the Hearst UK entertainment portfolio in summer 2025. Iona now leads the DS social channels, covering red carpets with stars such as Paul Mescal, Austin Butler, and more.
Movies Editor, Digital Spy Ian has more than 10 years of movies journalism experience as a writer and editor. Starting out as an intern at trade bible Screen International, he was promoted to report and analyse UK box-office results, as well as carving his own niche with horror movies, attending genre festivals around the world. After moving to Digital Spy, initially as a TV writer, he was nominated for New Digital Talent of the Year at the PPA Digital Awards. He became Movies Editor in 2019, in which role he has interviewed 100s of stars, including Chris Hemsworth, Florence Pugh, Keanu Reeves, Idris Elba and Olivia Colman, become a human encyclopedia for Marvel and appeared as an expert guest on BBC News and on-stage at MCM Comic-Con. Where he can, he continues to push his horror agenda – whether his editor likes it or not.