You’d be forgiven for needing a stiff drink or two after the first episode of ITV thriller No Return, which ramped up the tension, and then some. The four-part drama, which kicked off tonight (Monday 7th February), centres the Powell family, who are in crisis after 16-year-old Noah (Louis Ashbourne Serkis) is accused of sexual assault.
He claims that he’s innocent but the police are gunning for a conviction, which pushes his mum Kathy (Sheridan Smith), in particular, to extreme lengths in an effort to save her boy. But with the odds stacked against them, Noah’s future looks bleak.
Alongside that strand of the story, Noah is also trying to come to terms with his own sexuality. His parents have long thought that he is either gay or bisexual, but they have never broached the subject with him. And Noah, too, has felt unable to voice how he feels, which is unsurprising given what we learn during a conversation between his mum and dad in the opening episode.
Following Noah’s arrest, Martin (Michael Jibson) tells Kathy that a couple of years ago, he stumbled across his son watching gay porn. Noah believed that the house was empty, but his dad had come home early and approached his bedroom after hearing noises. That led to Noah “going ballistic” and slamming the door in Martin’s face, after which he made a homophobic comment.
“I shamed him from being able to tell us,” said Martin. “I’m sorry. I love him, gay or not. He’s my child and I love him.”
!["No]("https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/3/2022/01/No-Return-Sheridan-Smith-091adc4.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413" "\"No")
Speaking to RadioTimes.com about that admission from Martin, Jibson said: “I just don’t think Martin even– it’s obviously crossed his mind [that his son is gay or bisexual] because this situation happened. I just don’t think he’s ever been in that situation before and he’s just not dealt with it.
“It comes down to the fact that he should have communicated with his wife about what was going on with his son when he found something out that wasn’t making sense. But he didn’t. He kept it to himself and potentially was part of the ingredients that caused this mess.
“Certainly the way I played it was that he didn’t have a problem at all with it. But he’s kicking himself for not communicating with his family when he should have done, and for not being the dad that he wants to be.”
He added: “It’s about a lack of communication between families and I think certainly for Martin and Kathy, they realise they need to communicate with each other and, of course, their kids, whether it’s to do with sexuality or anything else. Martin certainly looks at himself and thinks, ‘I need to say what I think. I need to stand up to my wife. I need to be more communicative with my kids.’
“I think that’s how he comes out of it at the end.”
All four episodes of No Return are available to stream now on the ITV Hub. Check out our Drama hub for more news, interviews and features or find something else to watch with our TV Guide.
The latest issue of Radio Times is on sale now – subscribe now to get each issue delivered to your door. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to the Radio Times podcast with Jane Garvey.