New ITV thriller Red Eye arrives this week, telling the story of a police detective (Jing Lusi) tasked with chaperoning a murder suspect (Richard Armitage) as he is extradited back to China where the alleged crime took place.
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As disasters hit the flight, MI5 director Madeleine Delaney (Lesley Sharp) works back in London to uncover the truth, treading carefully while doing so, as a Chinese-British nuclear deal could be at risk.
Sharp spoke with RadioTimes.com exclusively about the brand-new thriller, and revealed what excited her most about the series when it first came to her.
Sharp said: "I think it's that, at the end of every episode, first of all, you don't know what's going to happen next. And the second thing is, you don't know who it is that's pulling the strings on this and putting people in danger. And you don't know whether people are pretending to be in danger or whether they're really in danger. So you're right in there.
"I read all the scripts so I know what happens, but when I started watching it, I was going, ‘Oh my God, what's going to happen next?’ So, I think that’s the thing – that it's genuinely [unpredictable]."
Lesley Sharp plays Madeline Delaney in Red Eye. BAD WOLF FOR ITV AND ITVX
Sharp continued: "It's a thriller… and I think that there are ways of telling those stories that are very efficient and very entertaining. But I think what Pete has managed to do is make all of the leading characters psychologically complex and three dimensional, so you invest in all of them as people alongside a very compelling edge of your seat narrative.
"So the marriage of those two things makes the show very elevated and engaging. And I just found, when I started watching it, 'yep, I’m in, I want to see this.'"
Armitage also spoke with RadioTimes.com about the show, and said that he wanted his character to be an "enigma" to the audience.
He explained: "Normally, I would probably have written a biography of him, but I didn't. I focused on his job and I focused on the here and now, because I wanted this man to be an enigma.
"I did like the idea of the viewer fluctuating between completely trusting him and really having serious doubts about who he really is."
Red Eye premieres on ITV1 at 9pm on Sunday 21st April. Stream all episodes on ITVX after episode 1 airs.
James Hibbs is a Drama Writer for Radio Times, covering programmes across both streaming platforms and linear channels. He previously worked in PR, first for a B2B agency and subsequently for international TV production company Fremantle. He possesses a BA in English and Theatre Studies and an NCTJ Level 5 Diploma in Journalism.
David Craig is the Senior Drama Writer for Radio Times, covering the latest and greatest scripted drama and comedy across television and streaming. Previously, he worked at Starburst Magazine, presented The Winter King Podcast for ITVX and studied Journalism at the University of Sheffield.
