The opening episode of Channel 5 drama The Catch left viewers with a chilling cliffhanger that raises significant questions about Ed.
Following a disastrous dinner with his family and Abbie’s new boyfriend Ryan, who Ed accused of sneaking off to the local “red light district”, the fisherman headed down to the docks, where something strange caught his eye.
A lit candle and a photograph of four young men dressed in navy uniforms, one of whom is Ed, had been placed on the dashboard of his boat.
But given the expression on his face, he clearly doesn’t remember his time in the navy fondly. What happened to Ed all those years ago? What secret is he hiding?
There was also another nasty surprise waiting for him.
After hearing a noise, he ventured outside, gutting knife in hand, to discover that the word ‘killer’ had been written on the deck in red paint.
Did Ed kill someone in the line of duty? Or is his tormentor referring to something more sinister?
“It twists and contorts and stretches all the characters as we go,” Jason Watkins (who plays Ed) told RadioTimes.com and other press. “The graffiti hints at another past event, hints at something else that’s lurking in the past that is affecting the present, which again adds more fuel to the piece.
“There are clearer thriller elements to it and hopefully we will take our audience on an amazing journey of both a family drama and a thriller.”
Cathy Belton, who plays Ed’s wife Claire, teased: “There’s a lot more to come.”
There’s also a big question mark hanging over Ryan.
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Ed is convinced that his daughter’s boyfriend is bad news, but Ryan has both Abbie and her mum on his side. Is he simply a victim of Ed’s paranoia? Or is there something bubbling beneath the surface?
His entrance did coincide with the arrival of the photograph and the graffiti, which could be an unhappy coincidence. But viewers will undoubtedly be wary of his true intentions.
“I love messing with an audience’s perception of what they think they know,” said Aneurin Barnard (Ryan). “I felt with this script and the role there was a rare opportunity to manipulate positive or negative perceptions of another character. I felt I could mess around and have fun with that aspect and not make it predictable.
“There’s also an arc for all the characters throughout this story, where they start at one point and finish at a completely different point.”
You can buy TM Logan’s The Catch via Amazon, Waterstones and Bookshop.org.
The Catch airs on Channel 5. For more news, interviews and features, visit our Drama hub or find something to watch now with our TV Guide and Streaming Guide.
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