Desperate Measures is the latest mini-series to land on Channel 5, and the plot is full of tense twists and turns.
The thriller prompts the question: How far would you go if you were desperate…?
And, honestly we’d plough down our best friend to get the last toffee finger in a box of Quality Street.
The plot of Desperate Measures is relatable, and the cast is full of some TV faves.
Here’s why you should watch Desperate Measures on Channel 5 (with no spoilers!).
Desperate Measures plot – what’s the C5 thriller about?
Channel 5‘s new thriller Desperate Measures introduces us to bank clerk Rowan Taylor.
She’s a single parent living in a council flat, who admits she’s “broke” and doesn’t own her own flat or car.
But she has aspirations in her job, and a son she wants to attend university.
However, her life is turned upside down by events out of her control.
Despite her best intentions, she finds herself in an impossible situation with seemingly no way out.
We’re told within the first minutes of episode 1, that the bank she works in has been robbed.
And a policeman asks her if she was involved…
The tension lies in whether she did have something to do with the robbery.
And, if so, would you have done the same thing in her shoes?
Why you should watch it?
The plot of Desperate Measures centres around a premise we can all relate to.
Would you resort to desperate measures to protect yourself and your family?
How far would you go if you had no other choice?
Luckily, most of us won’t ever have to face this dilemma, but it’s something we have all considered in our lifetimes.
Okay, so the plot of Desperate Measures is not entirely plausible.
But then, what thriller is realistic?
We don’t sit down to watch a thriller about a family with a mundane life, with no obstacles!?
It’s pacey, tense, and certainly delivers thrills.
And it’ll keep you guessing until the very end – exactly what we want after a tiring day of work!
Think of it like a trashy novel you won’t want to put down.
How many episodes of Desperate Measures on C5?
Desperate Measures is four episodes.
Each episode is one hour long.
That’s four hours of escapist drama to get you through the week!
Desperate Measures start date
The Amanda Abbington drama starts on Tuesday, February 21, 2023 at 9pm on Channel 5.
It goes out on consecutive nights from Tuesday to Friday.
The final instalment, episode 4, airs on Friday, February 24, 2023.
All episode will be on My5, too.
Who’s in the cast?
Amanda Abbington leads the cast of Desperate Measures on C5.
She plays bank clerk Rowan Taylor, who must make very difficult choices during the course of the mini-series.
Actress Amanda is perhaps best known for playing Dot in Wolfe,
She is currently playing Nicole in the divisive sitcom Family Pile.
Warren Brown stars as Patrick in the C5 thriller.
Trigger Point viewers will know him as Karl Maguire, but he’s also well known for playing Ray Mullen in The Responder, and
Sunetra Sarker portrays bank clerk Varisha.
Of course, Sunetra is best known for her stint on Strictly, and her roles in Casualty, No Angels, Ackley Bridge, and The Bay.
Francis Magee stars as Rowan’s dad Mal Taylor.
He recently popped up in Vera, but is known for his roles in Kin, White Lines, GameFace, and Witless.
Meanwhile, Rovers star Seb Cardinal portrays Clive Powell, and newcomer Jesse Cescatti-McFarlane stars as Rowan’s son Finn Taylor.
Yugoslavian actor Gábor Nagypál plays crime boss Kristof, and Harry Rose stars as thug Conor.
Ralph Berkin plays a desk sergeant, Gabriella Csizmadia is Mrs Gregory, Roderick Hill portrays an IT guy, Jonathan Nyati is Det Simmons, and Zsolt Páll plays Jerry the Guard.
Raid Matwi stars as Deano, Sam Rumbelow plays Steve, Lejaun Sheppard is Trevor, and Jeremy Wheeler is the pawn shop owner.
Who wrote Desperate Measures on Channel 5?
Tim Dynevor co-created the new Channel 5 thriller, alongside Mike Benson.
He’s best known for writing hundreds of episodes of Emmerdale.
Tim also wrote the recent Jill Halfpenny drama, The Drowning.
When he’s not being a hotshot writer, of course Tim is husband to Corrie star Sally Dynevor and dad to Bridgerton’s Phoebe Dynevor.
Meanwhile, Mike Foott wrote Desperate Measures.
Read more: Amanda Abbington says Martin Freeman split caused ‘irreparable damage’ to kids
Desperate Measures starts on Tuesday, February 21, 2023 at 9pm on Channel 5.
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