The first trailer for I Am Helen has arrived, giving us a closer look at Nicola Coughlan and Joe Cole in the new Channel 4 drama as their characters’ five-year relationship begins to fall apart. Coughlan plays Helen alongside Cole as her boyfriend Steve in the latest story from Dominic Savage’s I Am anthology. The two-part drama explores toxic masculinity, control and the effect those behaviours can have within a relationship, with the trailer showing Helen trying to understand what has changed between them as Steve begins shutting her out.

Things become more uncomfortable as Steve starts listening to ideas about men being blamed or treated unfairly. At one point, a friend tells him that “it’s tough for blokes” and that men are “made to be the bad guy”, with those attitudes starting to feed into the way he treats Helen.

We also see Helen talking to a friend about what she is going through, alongside arguments between the couple that become harder to watch as Steve’s behaviour grows more aggressive and controlling. He sends Helen angry voice notes, punches a fridge during one confrontation and repeatedly dismisses her attempts to talk about their relationship.

According to Channel 4, I Am Helen looks at “the experience of womanhood within a world shaped by masculine power, aggression and control”, with the story told through Helen’s perspective. The drama also explores the expectations placed on women and the damage toxic masculinity can cause inside modern relationships.

Coughlan co-created the story with Savage, continuing the format of the I Am anthology, where each instalment is developed with its leading actress and focuses on a different female experience. Previous stories have starred actors including Gemma Chan, Samantha Morton, Vicky McClure, Suranne Jones, Letitia Wright and Lesley Manville, with Kate Winslet leading 2022’s I Am Ruth.

For CultureCues, we cannot wait for this one. Nicola Coughlan looks incredible as Helen and it feels like a really strong role for her, with Joe Cole also giving a brilliant performance as Steve in the trailer. It definitely left an impact, and it is such an important story to be telling, especially through Helen’s perspective and the way it looks at how toxic masculinity and controlling behaviour can affect women inside relationships. We are really looking forward to seeing how the full story plays out when I Am Helen arrives on Channel 4.

I Am Helen will air on Channel 4 later in 2026, with an exact broadcast date still to be announced.

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