Sally Bretton plays marketing executive Zoe Dalton, whose tasteful Surrey kitchen, second husband Kenny Doughty’s Chris, and teenage twins appear faultless until David Suchet’s diabetic, cantankerous father George relocates next door and she hires Ludmilla Makowski’s Sandrine, a beguiling Breton girl with a passport full of crossings and no references. Across four weeknights in March 2025 the serial dropped a body every episode, letting Irish director Oonagh Kearney shoot the leafy cul-de-sac like a pressure cooker: all glass doors, baby monitors and mirrored wardrobes that reflect what the characters would rather not admit.
Writers Michael Foott and Andy Bayliss keep the exposition breathless: infidelity, insulin sabotage, forged references, a buried local girl and a long-lost French mother (Virginie Ledoyen) surface before the first ad break, while each hour ends on a cliffhanger calibrated for viewers who like to binge but still need a reason to tune in tomorrow. Critics called the result “schlocky mindless fun” (The Daily Telegraph) and “emotionally gory Cluedo” (i newspaper); the viewing figures rose nightly, peaking at 3.2 million for the finale that revealed which woman was left holding the bloodied trophy. Channel 5 has not renewed the limited series, though Kearney’s 2026 IFTA nomination keeps the possibility of more Gallic malice alive.
Production Details
5 / 1 Season / 4 Episodes / 2025
Showrunner(s): Samuel Kissous, Paul Testar, Julie Ryan
Writer(s): Michael Foott, Andy Bayliss
Producer(s): Cormac Fox
Main Cast
David Suchet as George
Sally Bretton as Zoe Dalton
Ludmilla Makowski as Sandrine
Kenny Doughty as Chris
Margot Pue as Amber
Ripley Barden as Noah
Virginie Ledoyen as Marie
Ebimie Anthony as Raye
Vanessa Ifediora as Dr. Vaughan
Natalie Britton as Susannah
Demi Bhamber as Posh Mum
Jean Law as Sylvie
