Wednesday 19 September
9:00pm - 10:00pm
ITV1 London
Try to ignore any unease you might feel in the early minutes of this three-part drama when a four-year-old girl vanishes from a crowded beach while on a family holiday in the summer of 1996. For some, it might feel too close for comfort to real-life events. But Torn soon becomes something other than a missing child mystery.
After young Alice disappears in the blink of an eye, we quickly move forward to the present. Alice's family seems to have re-established a normal life, despite never knowing for sure what happened to her. But her mother (Holly Aird) has always held on to the hope that her daughter is still alive, somewhere. Though you might be able to see where Torn is going, this doesn't diminish what is a surprisingly taut psychological drama. The excellent Holly Aird (see above) is so believable as a mother who cannot let go, and her powerful, low-key performance anchors Torn and stops it from turning into an overheated melodrama. Just one word of caution - avert your eyes after the credits roll to avoid the astonishingly revealing trailer for next week's second episode.
RT reviewer - Alison Graham
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