“A
fourteen-year-old girl who is due to
be crowned May Queen mysteriously
disappears on her way to the Mayday
celebrations in a sleepy village where
some of the residents have more than
one secret to hide in the BBC television
drama series Mayday...”
STRANGE SUPERNATURAL HAPPENINGS give an extra dimension to the thriller Mayday,
in which a young teenaged May Queen who was passionate about pagan traditions
and saving the Earth fails to turn up for her crowning at the village celebrations.
Has fourteen-year-old Hattie Sutton (Leila Mimmack) been abducted or has she
run away with someone she met on the Internet? Is there some other explanation
to her disappearance?
As the Police begin their search for Hattie after her abandoned pink bicycle
is discovered close to the woods — the focus of the drama here is
on the villagers, rather than on Police investigations — a number
of would-be suspects become alarmed.
“Mayday is a fascinating
and dramatic thriller
with sinister and
supernatural elements
that make it compulsive
viewing...”
Hattie's
twin sister Caitlin (also played by Leila Mimmack) could be jealous of the favouritism
their parents Jo (Caroline Berry) and Richard Sutton (Richard Hawley) had shown
towards Hattie.
Their uncle by marriage, Steve Docker (Sam Spruell: Spooks) has a brother Seth
(Tom Fisher: Midsomer Murders), who has learning difficulties. Seth is
a visionary outcast who loves to spend much of his time in the woods and who
has Hattie's Mayday crown of flowers in his possession.
Next-door neighbour to the Suttons, Everett Newcombe (Aiden Gillen) has developed
a liking for young blonde women since his wife died tragically, leaving him
to bring up their son Linus (Max Fowler), who is attracted to Caitlin and who
sees the ghost of his mother every time he is about to do something remotely
wrong. What has his father hidden in the case in the padlocked cupboard under
the stairs?
PC Alan Hill (Peter McDonald) is facing a Police investigation after being accused
of using excessive force on a young woman suspect and his ex-policewoman wife
Fiona (Sophie Okonedo: Criminal Justice), who is keen to been involved
in the search for Hattie, is suspicious of a strange object she finds in their
loft.
Facing a difficult marriage, Malcolm Spicer (Peter Firth: Spooks) avoids
his wife Gail (Lesley Manville: Emmerdale) by immersing himself in his
hobby of bird-spotting and badger-watching from his hide in the woods or spending
time in his study, where he has a mock-up of a housing development he had designed
for the village. His planning application was refused as it would encroach on
a Green Belt area and Hattie was one of the objectors and was also instrumental
in seeing Malcolm's dreams turn to dust.
Evidence of pagan rituals is found in the woods, which may have a bearing on
the case. As the search goes on, Caitlin hears ghostly whisperings and begins
to believe that her sister is trying to contact her. But when the Police are
shown CCTV footage of Hattie boarding a train at the station, it looks as though
the hunt for the missing girl has taken a different turn. But has it?
Mayday is a fascinating and dramatic thriller with sinister and supernatural
elements that make it compulsive viewing. A television drama worthy of note
with a creditable cast that helps put together an enticing plot where you are
never quite certain where the truth lies.
Mayday also features the young and talented Hannah Jean Baptiste as Charlotte
Hill. Composer is Stuart Earl; Director of Photography is Dirk Nel; Created
and Written by Ben Court and Caroline Ip (the exceptional crime-writing team
responsible for The Hole and Whitechapel); Produced by Chris Fry;
and Directed by Brian Walsh.
*
The
sophisticated five-part thriller Mayday is a gripping drama originally
aired on BBC One and will be released on DVD, courtesy of Acorn Media, on 8
April 2013. Catalogue Number AV3090 | Running Time: 300 Minutes Approximately
| RRP: £19.99.
Special Features: The Making of Mayday | Cast Filmographies | Picture Gallery.
"Mayday is a fascinating and dramatic thriller with sinister and supernatural
elements that make it compulsive viewing" —Maggie Woods, MotorBar
“A
fourteen-year-old girl who is due to