FLESH AND BLOOD Sleeping with the enemy
ITV, 9pm
A NOSY neighbour, a possible murder and more affairs than the soaps have seen in a year, this is a gripping story of relationships and intrigue.
A cracking cast, including Imelda Staunton, Russell Tovey, Francesca Annis and Stephen Rea, bring to life the mini-series that is set to take over four nights this week.
Make sure you’re paying attention as this opener introduces a lot of characters and sets up a complex family dynamic. Three adult siblings, Helen (Claudie Blakley), Jake (Tovey) and Natalie (Lydia Leonard), are completely thrown when their recently widowed mum, Vivien (Annis), announces she is in love with a new man.
Mark (Rea) is a retired surgeon who she met on a dating website. He’s charming, gentlemanly and wants to give Vivien the world. But Jake is deeply suspicious, and viewers will be too.
While this is all going on, the siblings each have their own nightmares.
Affairs, failed marriages, conflict at work, perhaps a touch of alcoholism.
Their lives are spiralling out of control. Meanwhile, Vivien’s neighbour Mary (Staunton) has reached peak levels of curtain twitching. She watches absolutely everything that’s going on in her street.
Flash forward and Mary is being interviewed by the police about a terrible tragedy.
Someone, presumably from the family next door, lies on the beach and is seriously injured – perhaps dead. But who is it? And was it an accident?
“I never ever dreamt it would end like this,” says Mary, whose own behaviour is also somewhat dubious.
By the end, you won’t even know who the victim is but you’ll trust no one.
Continues tomorrow.