Showtrial

Very well made and superbly acted. Held my attention from start to finish. OK the story sometimes seemed a bit too complex and lacking credibility but I was easily able to suspend disbelief. All the lead characters were on top form, and the flash backs were handled well. I felt that five episodes was just about right.

Recommended viewing.

As other reviewers have mentioned, the acting and plot are at a high standard, making for a believable and gripping drama series. There are interesting side stories, often red herrings to the main plot - but you don't know that at the time. My only reservation is that this being a BBC drama, it wasn't too hard to guess the trajectory of the case and who the culprits might be. The Beebs 'usual suspects'. That slightly devalued the twists and turns in the plot for me.

Privileged teenager Talitha improbably finds herself on trial for murder when a fellow student disappears.

The setup was odd and didn't introduce us properly to the missing girl. Instead we had a dislikeable protagonist, a dislikeable father and a stroppy detective.

I didn't find the characters or their behaviour convincing, the dialogue of the duty solicitor, the DI and Talitha was clunky and unbelievable and the crooked property developer father is a tired trope now.

Production values were decent and the direction mostly ok, a nice soundtrack, but a few curiously photographed scenes were distracting. Plot was very creaky.

It seems to be posing the question does money and privilege buy you better outcomes in our judicial system? But we don't need a five hour drama to know the answer to that one. Disappointing all round for me.

What has happened to student Hannah, young working class girl, who's vanished on the night of the student ball.

It's very much a slow burner, that ignites in the final episode. It's a little slow to begin, bur it gets better as it develops, the story unravels well, and you get to learn more about each of the characters.

You could be forgiven for thinking that this was solely a courtroom set drama, it's of course there, but it shows the whole process of the conviction, interestingly it shows the involvement of The CPS.

The acting is first class, every person plays their part, but I must mention Celine Buckens, who was the standout for me as Talitha, a character instantly loathed, but grew to sympathise with, that's down to her talents.

The right result? Not sure.

Worth your time, 8/10.

Very clever writing and superb acting gets you rooting for the most unlikeable character by the end. A smirk has rarely been so annoying! Tracy Ilfeachor is absolutely mesmerising as the solicitor. Loved it!