It is July 15, 1988, graduation night for Emma Morley and Dexter Mayhew. Although uni’s coming to an end, the two students speak for the very first time that day and go their separate ways the following morning. Where will they be on this one ordinary day the next year, and the year after that, and every year that follows? Each episode finds Dex and Em one year older on this one particular date as they grow and change, move together and apart, and experience joy and heartbreak.
The series is based on David Nicholls’ worldwide bestselling novel of the same name. Nicholls — who’s an executive producer on One Day — and series’ lead writer and creator, Nicole Taylor, agreed with Manners that the show should feel intimate to the viewer. “You’re never just observing two people,” says Manners. “You’re literally there feeling it, like you’re in that bedroom with them.”