Nightsleeper star Gabriel Howell teases tense thriller: 'You'll want to stick with this'
"You're not going to want to look at your phone."
BBC thriller Nightsleeper, which follows the efforts of cyber security officials to regain control of a "hackjacked" train hurtling from Glasgow to London, arrives on Sunday 15th September, and star Gabriel Howell has teased one heck of a ride.
"It's a shame when things get oversimplified, like if you're on your phone," he said of writer Nick Leather's refusal to craft the show for what is now often referred to as a two-screen generation.
"I think it's really lovely to respect an audience and be like, 'No, I trust you, you're going to be with us, and I want you to be with us.
"And if it tried to hold your hand too much, you'd be like, 'Fine, I'm not that worried for you guys.' But I think because we're not pulling you along with us, we're just having you there in the room, and especially with all the steadicam stuff, it's almost like we could look to you at any moment and be like, 'What are you going to do?'"
Like Apple TV+ thriller Hijack, Nightsleeper is also told in real-time, which was one of the "main pulls" for Howell, who plays junior analyst Tobi and one of the people at the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) working to halt the train.
"There's not a minute that you've missed," said the actor, who is set to appear in What We Talk About When We Talk About Anne Frank at London's Marylebone Theatre in October.
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"The journey from Glasgow to London is six hours and we've got you for six hours. We don't jump and then you're like, it's the next day. There's nowhere to go. There's no escape. It has to be figured out right now, or lots of people are in real danger.
"And I think hopefully, if Nightsleeper does its job, you're not going to want to look at your phone. And it's not worrying if you will. It's telling you, 'Trust me, you're going to want to stick with this.'"
The BBC has described the six-parter as "part fast-moving heart-in-the-mouth action-adventure and part twisty-turny whodunnit detective story", adding: "It's a roller coaster ride set across a single night where no-one is ever quite who they seem."
The cast includes Gangs of London and Peaky Blinders star Joe Cole as a detective who is travelling on board the train, and Alexandra Roach (The Light in the Hall, No Offence) as a cyber security director who advises him over the phone.
They're joined by Ruth Madeley (Doctor Who), James Cosmo (Game of Thrones), Katie Leung (Harry Potter), Sharon Rooney (Barbie), Alex Ferns (Andor), Sharon Small (The Bay), Lois Chimimba (Still Up) and Leah MacRae (Rosie Molloy) as fellow train passengers.
David Threlfall (Shameless) plays a cyber security expert who was recently banished from the NCSC but has since been called in to assist.
Nightsleeper starts Sunday 15th September at 9pm on BBC One. All episodes will be available on iPlayer from 6am that day.
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Authors
Abby Robinson is the Drama Editor for Radio Times, covering TV drama and comedy titles. She previously worked at Digital Spy as a TV writer, and as a content writer at Mumsnet. She possesses a postgraduate diploma and a degree in English Studies.
