A runaway train has arrived in the form of Nightsleeper, a real-time thriller filled with "personal intrigue, political maneuvering and danger".
Alexandra Roach (The Light in the Hall) and Joe Cole (Gangs of London) lead the cast of the six-part BBC One series, which has been created by BAFTA-winning writer Nick Leather (The Control Room, Mother’s Day), and is one of the best BBC dramas available right now.
Produced by Euston Films — appropriate! — the series sees passengers battling to save themselves during a sleeper train journey from Glasgow to London, in a show billed as a modern twist on the runaway train genre.
Talking about making the show, star Joe Cole says: "It was an interesting challenge because we were shooting in a studio just outside Glasgow. We were cooped up in these small carriages for 10, 12 hours a day and they’d pre-recorded the entirety of the train journey exteriors from Aberdeen to London on LED screens, which were outside the train. I've often been fortunate enough to work in real environments a lot, but this was all pretend, so it was a different way of doing things."
Here's everything we know...
Nightsleeper release date
Nightsleeper arrives on BBC One on Sunday, September 15 at 9 pm and will air on Sunday and Monday nights across three weeks in the same slot.
All six episodes of Nightsleeper are now available to watch on BBC iPlayer, so you can watch the whole series now if you like!
There's no US release date currently.
Nightsleeper plot - what happens?
The BBC teases: "Nightsleeper is a real-time thriller set on a sleeper train travelling from Glasgow to London, while a government agency desperately tries to intervene in the rapidly-escalating events onboard.
"Can two people who’ve never met, one on the train and one not, work together to save the lives of its disparate group of passengers as the Heart of Britain service hurtles towards what might quite literally be its final destination?"
"Abby Aysgarth, the Acting Technical Director at the UK’s National Cyber Security Centre, is finally about to take a well-earned holiday when she receives a phone call that will change everything - the UK railway network is under attack.
"Meanwhile Joe Roag, an off-duty cop onboard and hoping for a quiet night. However, over the next six rollercoaster hours, Joe’s about to get anything but, as he and Abby battle both their own distrust and the unpredictable behaviour of the person or persons now in control, desperate to try and stop the Heart of Britain from reaching the end of the line, in more ways than one…"
Talking about the plot, star Joe says: "The whole show is about everyone doing their bit and working as a team to stop this train. Joe is a great leader of teams and a galvaniser of people although, at the beginning of this, he is a lone wolf. Gradually, he learns to cooperate and work with everybody else — he realises that if not everybody is on board, pardon the pun, then he’s not going to be able to stop the train."
Nightsleeper cast - who's in it?
Joe Cole, who's appeared in hit gangster dramas Peaky Blinders and Gangs of London, plays off-duty cop Joe Roag, while Alexandra Roach, whose screen credits include C4 drama No Offence and period piece Sanditon, stars as cyber security boss, Abby Aysgarth.
The series also stars Alex Ferns (The Devil’s Hour), Sharon Small (The Bay), James Cosmo (Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan), David Threlfall (Shameless), Daniel Cahill (The Control Room) and Lois Chimimba (Vigil).
While an impressive cast is completed by Gabriel Howell (The Fence), Katie Leung (Harry Potter), Leah MacRae (Rosie Molloy Gives Up Everything), Ruth Madeley (Years and Years), Adam Mitchell (Mother’s Day), Pamela Nomvete (Andor), Scott Reid (Maxine), Sharon Rooney (Jerk) and Parth Thakerar (Gangs of London).
Who is Nightsleeper creator Nick Leather?
Leather is most famous for writing 2021 BBC1 series The Control Room, a thriller starring Iain De Caestecker and Joanna Vanderham, about an emergency call handler.
He also won a BAFTA for his 2018 standalone Mother's Day, which was based on an infamous IRA bombing attack in Warrington, close to where the writer grew up.
He has also previously worked closely with Jimmy McGovern, penning episodes of his dramas Broken and Moving On, while also writing on Apple TV Plus series Suspicion.
When speaking about working on Nightsleeper, Leather said: “I couldn’t be more excited to work with Euston Films and the BBC to drive the engine of this real-time thriller and take our audience along for a ride full of personal intrigue, political maneuvering and danger. By the time dawn breaks at the end of this journey, no-one involved will ever be the same again”.
Is there a Nightsleeper trailer?
Yes, we have an action-packed trailer to watch, and if this clip is anything to go by, we are in for a real treat...
