Peaky Blinders icon and James Bond favourite in youth star in classic drama currently hitting the Netflix top 10

Netflix users have rediscovered Leaving, the three-part ITV drama from 2012 that pairs the late, great Helen McCrory with Callum Turner – an actor firmly in the frame to be the next James Bond.

The intimate relationship drama has resurfaced on the streamer and found a fresh audience more than a decade after it first aired, drawing new attention to two performances at very different points in their careers.

Written by Tony Marchant, Leaving follows Julie (McCrory), a woman whose long marriage has grown stale and loveless.

She meets Aaron (Turner), a young and directionless ex-student, while working at a hotel, and the two begin an affair that forces Julie to make enormous decisions about her future.

The 14-year-old drama currently holds the No. 4 spot on Netflix UK, placing only behind brand new releases Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story, The Gentlemen and Wonka: The Golden Ticket.

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McCrory, who died in 2021, was one of British television's most admired actors.

Alongside her run as Polly Gray in Peaky Blinders, she played Narcissa Malfoy in the Harry Potter films and starred in dramas including Penny Dreadful and MotherFatherSon.

For Turner, who was 21 during filming, the drama was an early showcase.

In the years since he has appeared in Emma, Fantastic Beasts, The Boys in the Boat and the Apple TV war series Masters of the Air. More recent work includes Eternity and One Night Only.

His profile has been lifted further by persistent speculation over his contention for the James Bond role.

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He has spent long stretches near the top of the bookmakers' lists to succeed Daniel Craig as 007, though the rankings have been shaken up recently.

As of late September 2026, Slow Horses star Jack Lowden had moved ahead of him in many predictions, but there's still no clear or reliable guess of who will don the tuxedo.

What is beyond dispute is that Turner's growing fame has helped send viewers back to earlier work like Leaving, where he was able to share the screen with one of the era's finest actors, who remains sorely missed.

Leaving is available to watch on Netflix. You can sign up to Netflix from £7.99 a month. Netflix is also available on Sky TV and Virgin Media.

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Check out more of our Drama coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews listen to The Radio Times Podcast.

Authors

David Craig is the Senior Drama Writer for Radio Times, covering the latest and greatest scripted drama and comedy across television and streaming. Previously, he worked at Starburst Magazine, presented The Winter King Podcast for ITVX and studied Journalism at the University of Sheffield.