Netflix adds creepy thriller starring Jill Halfpenny

(Image credit: Channel 5)

Netflix has added The Cuckoo, a twisty dark thriller starring Jill Halfpenny which split viewers when it was first broadcast earlier this year on Channel 5.

While some viewers declared it one of Channel 5's best dramas, others were turned off by the plot which sees Jill play a lodger who forces her way into the lives of her host family.

Now, Netflix users in the UK can make their own minds up about the four-part series, from the creator of The Teacher, which also stars Claire Goose and Lee Ingleby.

Strictly Come Dancing winner Jill plays Sian, a beautiful but mysterious woman who moves in with hard-up couple Nick (Lee Ingleby) and Jessica (Claire Goose) and their 14-year-old daughter Alice (Freya Hannan-Mills). But as she oversteps the boundaries time and time again, Jessica starts to wonder if there's more to Sian than meets the eye...

Jessica and adoptive dad Nick. — Nick (Lee Ingleby) and Jessica (Claire Goose) (Image credit: Channel 5)

Jill said: "Viewers will know quite quickly what Sian wants, but I think the show then becomes about whether she manages to succeed — that’s the thrill of it. Nick and Jessica have already made their worst move letting Sian into the house. The minute she’s inside, she can start messing with their minds. People will be shouting at the telly!”

She added: "She sees they're in a sticky situation, finds their Achilles heel and just twists the knife. She's quite quick in winning around Jessica, but she definitely struggles with Nick. I thought it was important that not everybody was fully taken in by her — you’ve got to have a bit of a struggle, and it’s more interesting if Sian has to try harder. She’s on the back foot with Nick quite a lot of the time."

The Hour cast — The Hour is one of the great gems on Netflix you might have missed first time around (Image credit: Kudos Film & TV / BBC)

Netflix is a great place to rediscover previously shown British dramas. Recently they’ve released a string of dramas you might have missed before including the fantastic Ben Whishaw series The Hour, set in a 1950s newsroom. Other hidden gems include Capital, a Toby Jones series originally shown on the BBC about life in a London Street, and Martin Freeman's true crime drama A Confession, about a real-life cop who sacrificed his career to trap a killer.

Check out our best shows on Netflix guide for more series to enjoy.

David is the What To Watch Editor and has over 20 years of experience in television journalism. He is currently writing about the latest television and film news for What To Watch.

Before working for What To Watch, David spent many years working for TV Times magazine, interviewing some of television's most famous stars including Hollywood actor Kiefer Sutherland, singer Lionel Richie and wildlife legend Sir David Attenborough.

David started out as a writer for TV Times before becoming the title's deputy features editor and then features editor. During his time on TV Times, David also helped run the annual TV Times Awards. David is a huge Death in Paradise fan, although he's still failed to solve a case before the show's detective! He also loves James Bond and controversially thinks that Timothy Dalton was an excellent 007.

Other than watching and writing about telly, David loves playing cricket, going to the cinema, trying to improve his tennis and chasing about after his kids!