Maxine Peake plays Sam Thompson, the brisk COO of a family-run sportswear firm in Manchester whose morning is derailed when HR manager Tess is found hanged in the foyer. The police call it suicide; DI Eve Preston (Susan Wokoma) is less sure, and the arrival of newly appointed compliance officer Maya Benshaw (Rakhee Thakrar) starts prising open a decade of hushed-up harassment, NDAs and another female corpse.
Writer Ruth Fowler, inspired by the Weinstein fallout, keeps the action inside the open-plan office, the car park and the glass-walled boardroom, letting each flashback to the 2012 Christmas party chip away at the corporate gloss. Peake’s Sam paces the factory floor in immaculate trainers while deflecting blame, Thakrar’s Maya hoards personnel files like ammunition, and Alison Steadman’s matriarch Anita smooths everything over with mince pies and veiled threats.
Shot across Manchester and Frodsham in winter greys and blues, the four-parter aired on four consecutive nights in January 2022, pulling in solid if not spectacular ratings. Critics split down the middle: The Guardian and Telegraph praised its juggling of thriller mechanics with workplace commentary, while The Independent likened the dialogue to an HR training video. The series ends on a note of belated justice that leaves the company rebranded but the scars still visible.
Production Details
BBC One / 1 Season / 4 Episodes / 2022
Created by: Ruth Fowler
Writer(s): Ruth Fowler
Producer(s): Simon Meyers
Main Cast
Maxine Peake as Sam Thompson
Rakhee Thakrar as Maya Benshaw
Dominic Vulliamy as Duncan
Ben Batt as Owen Jenkins
Alison Steadman as Anita Jenkins
Amy Leeson as Amy Dixon
Zoë Tapper as Vanessa Jenkins
Susan Wokoma as DI Eve Preston
Callie Cooke as Tess Jones
Sadie Pickering as Beautician
