Award-winning director Mike Leigh says next film will be his last after health struggles

He had previously announced his diagnosis with myositis, a rare autoimmune disease which causes chronic muscle inflammation and weakness, in a 2025 interview.

He confirmed that Tender Loving Care will be his last in response to a question about the prospect, saying: “Absolutely. I think very likely, yes. I mean, I know the girls don’t like to hear me say that, but I think that is the case.”

Tender Loving Care is a comedy drama which features Leigh’s close colleague and long-term partner, Marion Bailey. Kate O’Flynn, who recently gained prominence for her performance in Widow’s Bay, will also feature.

Details of the plot are currently unknown, but it has been billed as “an insightful exploration of the contemporary world”.

The film will premiere in Canada at the Toronto Film Festival. It will have its global premiere at the Telluride Film Festival.

Leigh went on: “I was lucky in making this last film – people were very helpful 

“You’ll see when I get up, that my two friends all helped me to stand up. So I probably can’t do much more.

“And doing a play is even more physically demanding, strangely enough, than making a film, because on a film you can be moved around.”

It comes after Leigh’s most recent film, Hard Truths, starring Marianne Jean-Baptiste, was reviewed favourably by critics.

The film was Leigh’s final time collaborating with his longtime cinematographer, Dick Pope, who died in October 2024.

Leigh, whose original family name was Lieberman, was born into a Russian-Jewish family that settled in Manchester.

He grew up in the city and was active in youth movement Habonim Dror when he was younger.

He has since built a highly successful career as a director, winning awards such as the Palme d’Or, the Golden Lion, and multiple BAFTAs