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A legendary 90s drama has made its return to the BBC after three decades to commemorate a significant anniversary. First aired in 1996, This Life chronicled a group of young solicitors living together in a south London household as they tackled friendship, career aspirations and the challenges of their twenties.

Created by Amy Jenkins, the cherished programme starred Daniela Nardini, Andrew Lincoln, Jack Davenport, Amita Dhiri and Jason Hughes, whose authentic, gritty and candid performances helped cement the drama as a watershed moment and one of the era's most influential series. Thirty years later, its characters, vitality and uncompromising authenticity remain firmly embedded in the cultural consciousness of the 1990s.

On Wednesday (March 18), This Life marked 30 years since its premiere, with leading actress Daniela commemorating the occasion on BBC Breakfast. Speaking to presenters Sarah Campbell and Roger Johnson, the star looked back on the programme's impact, noting: "The reference [the bosses] used was NYPD Blue and ER, and that was [those] fast edits," reports the Mirror.

She continued: "One of my [daughter's] teachers said, 'Oh my god, is your mumma Anna from This Life?' And she kind of went, 'Oh my god, mum'... [The show] was culturally really different, I think, and exposing."

Revealing where she believes the characters are today, Daniela said: "I think Anna's sober, I think Miles died because he had another divorce and he just couldn't handle it. Oh yeah, Warren and Anna have a baby together, who's now 20. He's called Roger."

Daniela subsequently disclosed that she remains Facebook friends with numerous former castmates, observing that relationships "slowly fade" when you don't see people as frequently as you once did. "I'd love to have you back for a reunion," Sarah remarked, with Daniela quipping: "Oh god, we'll all have walking sticks!"

Fans have persistently expressed their affection for the "addictive" programme online, with one viewer writing on IMDb: "One of the greatest series of all time. Move over Friends, this is more intelligent. A perfect picture of 90s London through the eyes of young professionals and ordinary blokes and girls.

"A few cheesy performances, but it sort of worked at the time, much like the Fonz worked in Happy Days at the time. Not a poor performance from a rich cast that all went on to achieve memorable careers. This is a collectors piece for those who lived through and experienced the era in London. Nostalgic and immersive TV."

Another contributor stated: "Watching This Life almost 30 years after its release is an interesting experience. Although its format has been much copied since the late 90s, it still retains the same freshness and vitality that made it such a captivating watch first time round... This is one of the truly great British TV shows which I look forward to viewing again at some point in the future."

A third viewer expressed: "I just binge-watched this over 5 days and brought great memories back," whilst another viewer similarly stated: "Part of what made This Life such a landmark television series was its uncompromising trendiness - its utter refusal to comply with standard dramatic devices."

This Life will air on BBC Four at 10pm on Wednesday, March 18, and is available to stream on BBC iPlayer

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