BBC One Better: Thriller filmed in Leeds set for red carpet premiere - how to apply for free tickets

Gripping five-part series Better is coming to BBC One and BBC iPlayer very soon, but the first hour-long episode will be screened during an exclusive event at The Everyman Cinema in Trinity Leeds on Wednesday February 8.

Lead actors Leila Farzad (I Hate Suzie, Avenue 5) and Andrew Buchan (Broadchurch, The Honourable Woman, ABC Murders) will be in attendance alongside the show’s writers and executive producers. They will join the audience for the preview screening before taking part in a Q&A session hosted by BBC Radio Leeds presenter Rima Ahmed.

What is the BBC One drama better about?

Better is the story of one woman’s epic battle towards redemption, to reclaim the honour and honesty she handed over to a man many years ago. Nineteen years ago, when DI Lou Slack was a young police officer at her lowest ebb and Col McHugh was a low-ranking but ambitious newcomer to the Leeds underworld, their paths crossed, and they struck a deal that changed their lives forever.

The bargain allowed Col to become very rich and powerful, and Lou to turn around her failing career. A complex but special bond between the pair was forged, and so began Lou’s gradual slide into corruption. It started slowly, almost imperceptibly – small favours for Col here and there in return for tip offs, a little money to help her through some tough times – but over time her criminality seeped into every aspect of Lou’s life and morphed into something far more sinister and dangerous as the stakes grew.

But now, when Lou’s family is brought to the brink of a tragedy that would tear apart everything she has built, she finds her conscience, for so long repressed, awakening. In determining to put right the wrongs that she has spent years rationalising and excusing, to have a second chance at a new, better life, she must first confront her own moral and ethical failings. To find her redemption she must bring down the man she has come to love like a brother.

Why is the premiere taking place in Leeds?

Better has been produced by award-winning content studio SISTER, which also created hit TV shows Chernobyl, The Split and This is Going to Hurt. The series was shot entirely in Leeds and the wider West Yorkshire area last year.

The show’s executive producers Jonathan Brackley and Sam Vincent said: “We’re thrilled to finally share this story – and the brilliant work of all our cast and crew – with the world. And what better place to begin than in the heart of Leeds, the vibrant city where Lou Slack fights to save her soul.”

How can people get free tickets for the premiere in Leeds?

Anyone who would like to be in the audience can enter the draw for free tickets via the BBC Shows and Tours website. Tickets will be allocated by random draw, with 70 per cent of the tickets going to LS postcodes, 20 per cent to West Yorkshire postcodes and 10 per cent going to the rest of the UK.

Registration is now open and closes at 10pm on Monday January 30. Each person can apply for a maximum of two tickets.