'I worked on Netflix's biggest show and had to cut emotional scenes fans will never see'

Irish Daily Star

26-04-2025

The creative mind behind Netflix's heartfelt series One Day, Nicole Taylor, has dished on the scenes that didn't survive the editing room.
Chatting exclusively with Reach, the scriptwriter Nicole Taylor spilled the beans on major moments axed from the final show: "In the book there are two years where Emma is in exactly the same place – working in the Mexican restaurant.
"I love that – it illustrates that her life is at a standstill, but somehow it just didn't work to set two episodes in the same place. The repetition was just – repetitious!".
"We also cut Dex going to India. We cut a ton more than that – it's always a critical part of the process - and there's nothing we cut that I miss."
Taylor shared more behind-the-scenes details from the Leo Woodall and Ambika Mod starrer, admitting she took on the adaptation with "great trepidation", reports
the Mirror US
.
Netflix's One Day struck a chord with audiences 15 years after the book was first published
(Image: NETFLIX)
One Day, which is a screen version of David Nicholls' 2009 hit novel, was previously brought to life in a 2011 big-screen rendition featuring Anne Hathaway and Jim Sturgess, both the book and film garnering dedicated fans.
As an ardent admirer of the original novel, Taylor expressed feeling a "huge responsibility and privilege" in bringing the story to television audiences.
She aimed to encapsulate what made the story so special to her and countless others, stating, "I wanted to capture why it had meant everything to me and to so many other people," she said.
Ambika Mod and Leo Woodall star in Netflix's One Day
(Image: NETFLIX)
Reflecting on the scenes she found most challenging to write, Taylor confessed that it was indeed the finale moments.
While she didn't share which scenes were tough, episode 14 of the series delivered some gut-wrenching moments for viewers, including Dexter (Woodall) in deep mourning speaking to his late wife Emma Morley (Mod)'s ghost – a scene that had audiences globally reaching for tissues.
The initial meeting between Emma and Dex post-graduation in the opening sequence of One Day was another section that proved difficult for Taylor to put down on paper.
"It was all quite tricky! Trickier than I expected – ha. With material that brilliant, one might have hoped it was a cut and paste job but alas no!" confessed Taylor about the task.
One Day is a hit with a 92 percent fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes and applause from critics.
Netflix viewers were left emotional by Netflix's adaptation of One Day
(Image: NETFLIX)
Taylor has found herself competing for a BAFTA Craft Award in Writer Drama. Her competition includes Mickey Down and Konrad Kay with HBO and BBC's Industry, Gwyneth Hughes of ITV's Mr Bates Vs The Post Office, and Richard Gadd for Baby Reindeer, with the outcome to be revealed at the upcoming BAFTA Craft Awards ceremony on April 27.
Wondering why her adaptations have struck such a chord years after the novel's first release?
Taylor proposes: "I think most people have an 'Emma' or a 'Dex' or identify with one or other of the characters.
"I also think that stories that are set in the near past like this are particularly appealing right now because there's no internet or smart phones in them and it's quite strange and lovely and nostalgic to remember our analogue world and how different it was and how different we were in it. It's all not long ago but it feels like a vanished world."
The BAFTA TV Craft Awards are on Sunday, April 27
One Day is streaming on Netflix now