‘Happy Christmas, Ange’: why we have always loved a dramatic TV divorce

There were 105,002 divorces in England and Wales last year, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). Right now, it feels like there are almost as many on TV.

The new HBO legal thriller War, which launched on Sky Atlantic on Friday night, chronicles what it calls “the highest-profile divorce case in UK history”. This enjoyably juicy eight-parter is joined in the weekend schedules by the BBC ​drama The Split Up – a Manchester-based spin-off from Abi Morgan’s The Split – following a British Asian family law firm specialising in elite divorces.

In broadcasting terms, untying the knot is definitely having a moment. With about four in 10 real-life marriages ending in divorce, it’s no wonder viewers can’t look away.

War traces the cataclysmic break-up between a narcissistic Hollywood star, Carla Duval (played by Sienna Miller), and her philandering tech billionaire husband Morgan Henderson (Dominic West). Their split sparks a ruthless battle between two rival law firms as they fight for the considerable spoils.

“If they play dirty,” says one bloodthirsty brief, “we will be totally and utterly filthy.” Cue honey traps and underhand tactics. The bitter fallout is all played out in the public eye as the celebrity couple come under intense media scrutiny. With its illicit office affairs and drug-fuelled toilet cubicle romps, TV lawyers haven’t been this sexy since This Life.

The series is created by George Kay, whose previous credits include Lupin, Hijack and The Long Shadow. When Kay hit upon the premise of a high-stakes divorce, he realised this was a world ripe with dramatic potential. The prenups and property disputes reminded Kay of the glossy legal procedurals he grew up watching, such as Ally McBeal and LA Law. More recent reference points include Suits and The Good Wife.

It might have the aspirational sheen and starry cast of a US prestige drama but War is set in London, widely acknowledged as the divorce capital of the world. English courts have a reputation for fairness, expertise and generosity to the financially weaker party. Foreign wives fight to have their claims heard in London. In turn, this has spawned an entire industry of specialist ​practices, forensic accountants and private investigators.

Leading man West did his research by listening to the BBC podcast Good Bad Billionaire and by picking the brains of rich divorcees. “I asked one wealthy guy how brutal it gets,” West told this week’s Radio Times. “He said, ‘It gets absolutely awful.’ I suppose the richer they are, the more appalling the divorce is.”

His co-star Miller agrees that marriage becomes a “a commodity to be bartered with – and the more acrimonious, the more money for the lawyers”. Top divorce solicitors have a £1,200 hourly rate. Barristers can charge £10,000 a hearing. Costs soon add up. With an increasing number of long marriages ending in divorce, contested cases can become even more tangled.

ONS data shows that couples who divorced in 2025 had been married for an average of 13 years, the longest since records began in 1963. Jess Knauf, the director of client strategy at the mediation service Mediate UK, said: “A 13-year marriage usually means a shared home, pensions and children. When couples separate later in life, there is simply more to sort out.”

Writer Kay had plenty of real-life cases to go to for inspiration, from multibillion-pound claims against Russian oligarchs to tech moguls Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos’s record-breaking settlements. He lifted one memorable scene – in the opening episode, Carla is served with divorce papers on the red carpet at her movie premiere – directly from the headlines. In 2022, Olivia Wilde was served child custody papers from her ex-fiance the Ted Lasso star Jason Sudeikis while speaking on stage at a cinema convention, introducing her film Don’t Worry Darling.

Full of double-crossing and delicious plot twists, War makes for addictive viewing. In fact, fictional divorces have long kept audiences entertained and enthralled. Here are just a few all-time favourites.

Den and Angie Watts (EastEnders)

“Happy Christmas, Ange!” On Christmas Day 1986, the Queen Vic landlord Dirty Den exacted revenge for his wife, Angie, faking terminal cancer by gifting her divorce papers. A mind-boggling 30.1 million tuned in, making it the most viewed British TV programme ever.

Don and Betty Draper (Mad Men)

They looked picture perfect but the marriage between adulterous ad exec Don (Jon Hamm) and icy blonde Betty (January Jones) was a messy one. They split during the third season, with Don angrily insisting that Betty “won’t get a nickel”.

Blake and Alexis Carrington (Dynasty)

Much action in the 80s supersoap was driven by the feud between the oil magnate Blake (John Forsythe) and his scheming ex Alexis (Joan Collins in her shoulderpadded pomp). Her rivalry with his new wife, Krystle (Linda Evans), descended into camp catfights.

Walter and Skyler White (Breaking Bad)

When the terminally ill chemistry teacher Walt (Bryan Cranston) became a drug lord, his wife, Skyler (Anna Gunn), widely reviled for putting a damper on his activities, demanded a divorce in exchange for her silence.

Frasier and Lilith Crane (Cheers/Frasier)

The mismatched psychiatrists married, then split, on Cheers. It wasn’t until Kelsey Grammer’s spinoff that their divorce was confirmed. Even Eddie the dog was scared of formidable Lilith. Frasier’s brother, Niles, had his own nemesis ex, the much-feared but never seen Maris.

Ken and Deirdre Barlow (Coronation Street)

“Don’t make me walk out that door, Ken!” Somehow the cobbles stalwarts rode out the nation-gripping scandal of Deirdre’s steamy affair with Mike Baldwin. The final straw came when Ken slept with his secretary, Wendy Crozier. Ken and Deirdre remarried 15 years later.