The Power of Parker

The Power of Parker is a British television sitcom created and written by Sian Gibson and Paul Coleman. It stars Conleth Hill as businessman Martin Parker in Stockport in 1990, trying to juggle his debts, his wife, and his mistress. Gibson also stars, along with Rosie Cavaliero. The first series was released on BBC One on 28 July 2023. The second series aired weekly on BBC One from 30 May 2025, with all six episodes released the same day on BBC iPlayer.

Synopsis

In Stockport, 1990, Martin Parker has a complicated life with personal issues and business debts but things could get worse if his mistress Kath and wife Diane team up to bring him down.

Cast

Conleth Hill as Martin Parker
Sian Gibson as Kath Pennington
Sheila Reid as Gladys
Rosie Cavaliero as Diane Parker
Steve Pemberton as Sandy
George Costigan as Dougie Pennington
Rhiannon Clements as Bev
Austin Haynes as Ryan Slater
Production

The series is written by Paul Coleman and Sian Gibson. Coleman came up with the idea and asked Gibson to write with him. It is set in Stockport, near Manchester, in 1990. Gibson was in Manchester as a student in the 1990s. Cavaliero also studied in Manchester. Lead actor Hill was also in Manchester in 1990, filming the TV show Medics. Gibson has described the series as a “suburban Fatal Attraction.
The show was commissioned in 2022 under the title Undoing Martin Parker and was filmed in Stockport in early 2023.

Broadcast

The first series aired on 28 July 2023 on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.
The second series first aired on 30 May 2025 on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.

Episodes

Series 1 (2023)

Series 2 (2025)

Reception

in The Guardian wrote: "this comedy-drama wishes it was a Victoria Wood show". Rachel Cooke in the New Statesman described it as “comic perfection”, but that with its 1990 setting and jokes about “Anneka Rice and Juliet Bravo”, it may be “only half comprehensible to anyone under 45”. The Newspaper i described how the show’s “costume designers have had a ball with some truly horribly 1990s fashions.”