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BBC drama Mix Tape brings first love and 80s nostalgia back to life through emotional reunion of former sweethearts in Yorkshire

BBC

There’s something undeniably sweet—and slightly heart-tugging—about the idea of rekindling your first love.

In a world where many relationships start with a swipe and a double tap, the idea of returning to that one person who first made your heart race has become more romantic than ever.

And that’s exactly what the new BBC2 drama Mix Tape leans into—nostalgia, music, and the bittersweet magic of what might have been.

A Teenage Romance That Never Quite Faded

In Mix Tape, we meet Daniel and Alison, once teenage sweethearts in the late 1980s, now fully grown adults with marriages, children, and entirely separate lives.

Played by Jim Sturgess and Teresa Palmer, the two characters carry a quiet ache for the past, even if neither of them will say it out loud.

Daniel is a struggling music journalist still based in Sheffield, while Alison is a bestselling author living in luxury in Sydney.

Their lives may look complete from the outside, but there’s a lingering sense that something got lost along the way—something that mattered deeply.

Not Quite Happy Ever After

Both of them are married, but not blissfully so.

Daniel’s wife seems a little too pleased with the fact that her career has outpaced his.

Alison’s husband, meanwhile, comes off as arrogant and controlling.

The emotional gaps in their current relationships leave just enough space for memories to slip in—especially the kind scored by Nick Drake and The Velvet Underground.

Music, Mixtapes, and Moments That Last Forever

Back in their schooldays, young Daniel and Alison bonded over music.

He made her a mix tape filled with his favorite tracks and secretly left it in her bag.

She returned the gesture by slipping her own tape into his locker.

Years later, Alison tells her daughter with a distant smile, “You never forget the boy who makes you your first mix tape.”

It’s these flashbacks—set to the unforgettable soundtrack of The Stone Roses, The Smiths, and yes, probably a little Bananarama—that give Mix Tape its emotional core.

The younger versions of Daniel and Alison, played with honest innocence by Rory Walton-Smith and Florence Hunt, make you believe in those early connections all over again.

Remembering the Past the Way We Wish It Was

Let’s be honest—nostalgia has a funny way of airbrushing reality.

Those old tapes probably weren’t as cool as we like to think.

For every Jesus and Mary Chain song, there was likely a cringe-worthy pop track or two.

But that’s the beauty of memory: it lets us keep the best parts and forget the rest.

The show, based on Jane Sanderson’s well-loved novel, paints a picture of a Yorkshire that might not have even existed by the end of the ’80s—complete with pigeon-keeping men and Thermos flasks by the canal.

But it feels real, thanks to the tenderness of the story and the authenticity of the cast.

Meanwhile on TV… Sewing and Fire-Breathing?

Over on BBC1, The Great British Sewing Bee added an unexpected twist.

Dan from Durham, one of the contestants, casually revealed that he’s also a fire-breather.

Host Sara Pascoe joked that one misplaced burp could send a handmade outfit up in flames.

The show’s had drag queens, but dragons? That’s a new one.