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David Tennant and Rosamund Pike's "disarming" What We Did On Our Holiday has arrived on BBC iPlayer

David Tennant and Rosamund Pike's "disarming" What We Did On Our Holiday has arrived on BBC iPlayer

The 2014 comedy-drama comes from the creators of Outnumbered.

A smiling couple stands close together outdoors on a sunny day. The man, with brown hair and a beard, wears a blue sweater and has his arm around the woman. The woman has blonde hair and is wearing a white shirt and navy cardigan. They are standing in front of a tree with lush green foliage in the background.

Lionsgate

Abby Robinson

Published: Saturday, 26 July 2025 at 10:40 am

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If you're looking for something that all of the family can enjoy now that the school holidays have arrived, look no further than What We Did on Our Holiday, which is now available to stream on BBC iPlayer.

The 2014 comedy-drama, from the creators of Outnumbered, follows parents Doug (David Tennant) and Abi (Rosamund Pike), who travel to the Scottish Highlands, with their three children in tow, for a birthday party for Doug's father Gordie, played by comedy legend Billy Connolly.

But it's not the lark you might anticipate.

Doug and Abi are in the process of divorcing, news which they've decided not to tell Gordie, who has terminal cancer.

But "when it comes to keeping a secret under wraps from the rest of the family, their children are their biggest liability", adds the official synopsis.

"You do start off on a story you think you've got a handle on, then it just goes to these extraordinary places," Pike told Digital Spy.

"I like the fact it's a film where the adults are behaving very badly and the children are behaving like grown-ups. I found that funny and I found that truthful."

You can enjoy the trailer below.

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"We wanted to write about a family in genuine peril," Hamilton told the BBC. "We wanted to write something in which what the kids were seeing was much more serious trouble."

But while the subject matter is challenging, the tone of the piece and the likes of Connolly ensure that it doesn't wallow – and provides plenty of laughs along the way.

"I don't get offered many British films, so it was a real pleasure," Connolly told the BBC. "Except for the f***ing midges, which are like pterodactyls," he said of filming.

It was also a "really weird" experience for the comedian, who had had surgery for prostate cancer a year earlier.

"I did have cancer, and no one knew it but me," he said.

Alongside Tennant, Pike and Connolly, the cast also includes Celia Imrie, Ben Miller, Amelia Bullmore and Annette Crosbie.

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Authors

A head and shoulders shot of Abby Robinson. She is in front of a grey background, looking at the camera and smiling. She wears a black zipped-up jacket with an elaborate gold and maroon design

Abby RobinsonDrama Editor

Abby Robinson is the Drama Editor for Radio Times, covering TV drama and comedy titles. She previously worked at Digital Spy as a TV writer, and as a content writer at Mumsnet. She possesses a postgraduate diploma and a degree in English Studies.

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