Lara Ricote always knew ‘Break Clause’ would be a hit

Break Clause, Channel 4’s hit new romcom, succeeds where others fail because its premise – two young sweethearts graduate from university, move to London, split up immediately but are forced to see out their tenancy agreement – leaves room for both wonder and cold, hard, hilarious reality. Ben, played by Samuel Bottomley (last seen in musical biopic California Schemin’), offers up the bulk of the latter, making ends meet in lieu of any hoped-for writing work by bin-diving and taking part in medical trials. It is Ben who does the cheating the day before the big relocation. READ MORE: The best TV shows of 2026… so far! His will-they-won’t-they partner Lil, meanwhile, injects the sadness and frustration of the situation with moments of wide-eyed optimism and a determined joie de vivre. In one memorable scene in the first episode, arriving in the capital before their dream comes tumbling down, Lil spots a street dance group and jumps in to join them. “Sorry about that, big misread on my part,” she fumbles, backing out when her excitable whimsy is unsurprisingly left unreciprocated. Played expertly by Mexican-American comedian Lara Ricote in her first leading role, there is clearly much...