New images have been released for Small Prophets, the upcoming BBC comedy series created, written, and directed by BAFTA-winning filmmaker Mackenzie Crook. The six-part series, set to launch on BBC Two and iPlayer in early 2026, features a star-studded cast including Sir Michael Palin, Pearce Quigley, Lauren Patel, Sophie Willan, Jon Pointing, and Paul Kaye. Filmed in and around the Greater Manchester town of Urmston, the show blends everyday life with elements of oddball magic and animation.

The story follows Michael Sleep, played by Pearce Quigley, a quiet man whose partner Clea vanished seven years earlier. Since her disappearance, Michael has lived a simple life working in a DIY store, eating cereal, and occasionally visiting his father Brian, portrayed by Sir Michael Palin. The narrative takes a magical turn when Brian shares an old alchemical recipe involving rainwater, manure, and light alchemy, setting the central plot in motion.

Michael embarks on a quest to create Homunculi—tiny magical creatures believed to predict the future—with the help of his curious young colleague Kacey, played by Lauren Patel. As their unlikely friendship develops, their unusual behavior attracts the attention of nosey neighbors portrayed by Sophie Willan and Jon Pointing, who become obsessed with the activities in Michael's garden shed. Meanwhile, Clea's brother Roy, played by Paul Kaye, returns after falling on hard times, convinced his sister will never come back and determined to reclaim the family home.

Produced by Gill Isles for Treasure Trove and Blue House Productions, Small Prophets incorporates animated elements throughout the series. Crook described the project as having been "percolating for nearly a decade" and expressed excitement about collaborating with animators Ainslie Henderson and Will Anderson. BBC director of comedy Jon Petrie praised the series, stating it "brims with wit and wonder" and represents "British comedy at its finest."

Health Secretary Wes Streeting has announced an urgent independent inquiry into maternity services at Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, describing himself as "shocked" by families' experiences of "repeated maternity failures in Leeds - made worse by the unacceptable response of the trust." The decision comes after years of campaigning by bereaved families who reported feeling "gaslit, dismissed and even blamed" for what went wrong at one of Europe's largest teaching hospitals. Mr. Streeting emphasized the "stark contradiction between scale and safety standards" at the trust, which official data shows "remains an outlier on perinatal mortality."

The inquiry follows a June downgrade by the Care Quality Commission, which rated maternity services at the trust as "inadequate" and identified serious risks to women and babies. Inspectors highlighted a deep-rooted "blame culture" that made staff reluctant to raise concerns about incidents. Brendan Brown, chief executive of LTH NHS Trust, apologized to bereaved families and expressed hope that the inquiry would provide them with "answers." He stated the trust is "determined to do better" and is already taking significant steps to improve maternity and neonatal services following reviews by regulatory bodies.

Families affected by the failures have welcomed the inquiry but are calling for rigorous leadership, specifically requesting that midwife Donna Ockenden chair the investigation. Fiona Winser-Ramm, whose daughter Aliona died in 2020 after an inquest found multiple failures, emphasized the importance of ensuring the inquiry is "the best and most thorough that it can possibly be." She described how families have been "thrust into this life that none of us should be living," noting that their shared grief should never have brought them together under such circumstances.

Serious questions are now being raised about what Sir Julian Hartley, who led the trust for ten years until 2023 and now heads the Care Quality Commission, knew about the poor maternity care. In a statement, Sir Julian expressed being "truly sorry" for families' suffering and said that while he was "absolutely committed to ensuring good patient care across all services, including maternity," this commitment "wasn't enough to prevent some families suffering pain and loss." Lauren Caulfield, whose daughter Grace died in 2022, called it "completely unacceptable that nothing has been done to date" to examine Sir Julian's role, expressing hope that the inquiry will address this gap.