Can You Keep a Secret? (review)

Published by Mason Oldridge, 2 February 2026

Dawn French’s new sitcom has received heavy promotion and offers a promising premise. There’s just one problem. It isn’t funny, which is kind of crucial for a comedy.

Debbie Fendon plays the grieving widow, except her husband William isn’t actually dead. She has faked his death to claim the life insurance payout. This comes as a shock to their son Harry and puts his police officer wife Neha in a difficult position. However, they have bigger problems as they have a blackmailer on their hands.

Can You Keep a Secret feels like a safe sitcom, allowing it to fit right at home on the BBC One schedule, yet also manages to be insensitive to Parkinson’s, the disease William is genuinely suffering from. Also, jokes are often cringey and derived from far-fetched and ridiculous conversations and actions.

The mystery surrounding the identity of the blackmailer has a decent conclusion as it is revealed that Joan is not actually blind and was extorting Pamela. She therefore saw William around the house and so she was the blackmailer. This is all tied up nice and neatly, until Dr Harper finds William hiding in a cupboard alongside Debbie and Harry, setting up for a possible second season.

The best part of the series is the setting. Debbie and William live in a beautiful, secluded cottage in the West Country with cute and cosy aesthetics inside too.

Unfortunately, the teased potential of the series sees it ultimately fail.

5/10