Five Days is a British mystery drama television series produced by the BBC in association with HBO which follows five non-consecutive days of a police investigation into the disappearance of a young mother and her two children (the first season) and an abandoned baby and a suicide victim (in the second season).
The series aired in the UK on BBC One from 23 January, 2007 to 5 March, 2010. There are 10 hour-long episodes in two seasons.
Five Days premiered in South Africa on TopTV's Fox FX channel on Monday 7 March 2011, at 20h30. It later aired on DStv's BBC Entertainment channel, beginning with Season 2. See "Seasons" below for seasonal broadcast days and times.
Season 2 premiered on BBC Entertainment on Monday 4 July 2011, at 20h00. New episodes broadcast weekly. There are five episodes in the second season.
Season 1
Written by Gwyneth Hughes, Five Days is an intricate thriller which tracks five 24-hour periods following the abduction of a beautiful young mother, Leanne.
This five-part drama serial boasts an ensemble cast which includes Nikki Amuka-Bird, Hugh Bonneville, Charlie Creed-Miles, Phil Davis, Patrick Malahide, Janet McTeer, David Oyelowo, Sarah Smart, Penelope Wilton and Edward Woodward.
The story begins one hot summer day when Leanne (Christine Tremarco) sets out to take her two young children to visit her grandfather.
She stops to buy flowers at a lay-by but then inexplicably vanishes, leaving her two small children waiting for her in her car, lost and far from home.
They set off to find her, only to go missing themselves.
Their ordeal is captured on CCTV cameras and, before long, the family's heart-stopping trauma is not only a complex police investigation but also a major news story.
The action unfolds on days one, three, 28, 33 and 79.
As each episode unravels, it becomes clear that nobody is quite as they seem – not Leanne's grieving husband, Matthew (David Oyelowo), who finds himself under suspicion; not the laconic detective Barclay (Hugh Bonneville), or his cynical sergeant, Foster (Janet McTeer); not Leanne's parents, Barbara (Penelope Wilton) and John (Patrick Malahide); and not Sarah (Sarah Smart), a stranger who is drawn into both the investigation and the family.
Five Days is produced by Paul Rutman. The serial is directed by Otto Bathurst (episodes 1, 2 and 3) and Simon Curtis (episodes 4 and 5).
Executive producers are Hilary Salmon and Simon Curtis for the BBC and Kary Antholis for HBO.
Season 2
A tiny newborn baby is abandoned in the toilets of a Yorkshire hospital. At the same time, the Trans-Pennine commuter train is halted by a suicidal jumper – are they connected?
From this moment on, the lives of those on board the train and in the hospital will be changed irrevocably, not least for DC Laurie Franklin (Suranne Jones), off-duty that day but travelling on the train with her mum, Jen (Anne Reid), who has recently been diagnosed with Alzheimer's.
Laurie likes tying up loose ends. And, if she can prove a connection between the body and the baby, she will be happy. But things never turn out quite the way we expect.
Who is the baby's mother? And who is the jumper? And was it a suicide – or was it really a murder? As Laurie is drawn deeper into the mystery, she realises this might not be a simple case at all, but something much darker.
Five Days 2 is an atmospheric ensemble drama – a mystery which unfolds over the five most significant days of the police investigation into these two mysteries.
It is set in the heart of urban Yorkshire – a melting pot of tensions and relationships within a multicultural landscape.
The cast features Suranne Jones as PC Laurie Franklin; David Morrissey as DI Mal Craig, Anne Reid as Jen, Laurie's mum; Bernard Hill as Gerard Hopkirk; Hugo Speer as Superintendent Jim Carpenter; Derek Riddell as Nick Durden; Nina Sosanya as Colly Trent; Steve Evets as Pat Dowling; Ashley Walters as Jamal Matthews; Shaun Dooley as SGT Don Parker; Matthew McNulty as Danny Preston; Navin Chowdhry as DC Bilal Choudry; Shivani Ghai as Nusrat Preston; Sacha Dhawan as Khalil Akram; Cornell John as Didi Mputu; Aaron Neil as Ibra Akram; Philip Arditti as Dr Adel Haydar; Kerry Condon as Sister Siobhan Doole; and Chris Fountain as PC Paul Tait.
A BBC Drama Production for BBC One, Five Days 2 is written by Gwyneth Hughes and produced by Caroline Skinner. The serial is directed by Toby Haynes and Peter Hoar. The executive producer is Hilary Salmon.
Seasons
Note: the first season did not air on BBC Entertainment
Season 1 (5 episodes)
Channel: Fox FX | Premiere: 7 Mar 2011 | Finale: 4 Apr 2011 | Mondays, 20h30
Season 2 (5 episodes)
Channel: BBC Entertainment | Premiere: 4 Jul 2011 | Finale: 1 Aug 2011 | Mondays, 20h00