“There’s a psychological equation. It says that attraction, plus an obstacle, equals excitement. But what happens if the attraction is too strong; the obstacles are too great?”

If the name alone hadn’t tipped you off, this question, posed by a northern-accented Romola Garai in the opening of ITV ’s new sexy six-part drama, Adultery , gives a pretty good idea of what’s to come.

Garai plays Beth, a harried, married mum of two and part-time zumba teacher who’s going through a rocky patch after the death of a friend. Minutes into episode one, her world literally collides with Tom ( Dominic Cooper ), a charmed, middle-class GP who’s also married with kids, when she knocks him off his bike with her car. One thing, as they say, leads to another…

‘Attraction plus obstacle equals excitement’: Garai and Cooper in ‘Adultery’ (ITV)

Infidelity is hardly unfamiliar telly terrain.…