Katherine Kelly, best known for her role as Becky McDonald in Coronation Street, returns to our screens in a grim new thriller, In Flight. The six-part series, which aired on Channel 4, follows Joanne, a single mother and long-haul flight attendant, whose son Sonny is sentenced to 15 years in a Bulgarian prison for a murder he claims he did not commit.
The show's depiction of the Bulgarian prison system is unrelentingly bleak, featuring scenes of violence and despair that are likely to displease the Bulgarian tourist board. Joanne is forced into a desperate situation when a menacing man named Cormac offers her a choice: smuggle drugs for his cartel to ensure her son's protection, or refuse and see him killed.
The thriller elements kick in as Joanne begins her dangerous double life, hiding heroin in a suitcase with a false bottom and narrowly avoiding detection. The tension is ratcheted up through various set pieces, including hiding drugs in a tampon dispenser. Meanwhile, Joanne's complicated relationship with customs officer Dominic adds an extra layer of emotional turmoil.
The show is unrelentingly grim, with a script that delivers necessary information in a stark, unadorned manner. While some viewers may find the claustrophobic atmosphere and the suffering of innocent characters compelling, others may find it simply exhausting. The series is well-made and briskly paced, but its harrowing nature is not for the faint-hearted.
