FORM's Zak Harney directs 'Doppelgänger'

10 February 2026

Written by Alice Carr and directed by FORM's Zak Harney, 'Doppelgänger' kicks off 'Long Story Short' for BBC Three and BBC iPlayer with a tale of resentment, identity theft, and red balloons.

Written by Alice Carr and directed by FORM's Zak Harney, 'Doppelgänger' kicks off 'Long Story Short' for BBC Three and BBC iPlayer. One of seven short dramas available to stream now (as opposed to, er, then), 'Doppelgänger' has big Fyodor Dostoevsky’s 'The Double' energy—Carr's story, however, takes place in Newcastle, not Saint Petersburg.

When ten-year-old Josie (Lola Todd) released a red balloon into the sky, she never expected it to land in the garden of her exact double, also called Josie (Layla Todd). It's a great story for BBC Look North to cover, but it also sends both Josies down a path of resentment, identity fraud, and more. Years later, the two are played by Sarah Balfour, who nails the whole same but different rivalry with ample humour and deeper shades of vulnerability than you might expect.

Watch the twisty trailer below, or click here to watch 'Doppelgänger' in full. You could always, ahem, double your pleasure and do both, of course—South Shields-born Harney's BBC debut deserves it, we reckon.