From his standout performance in Peaky Blinders to his appearances in shows such as Gangs Of London and The Ipcress File, Joe Cole is no stranger to high-stakes drama.

Now, he’s adding yet another thriller to his repertoire, alongside Alexandra Roach (The Light in the Hall), in the BBC’s upcoming real-time drama Nightsleeper. The series sees Cole take on the role of a sleeper train passenger who is forced to act to save his fellow passengers when danger strikes. Intriguing, right?

And the series will hit the BBC imminently - with the drama arriving on Sunday 15 September. Keep reading to find out everything else we know about Nightsleeper including its high octane trailer. 

What is the plot of Nightsleeper?

Nightsleeper is a ‘real-time’ drama, meaning the events that unfold on screen are portrayed over the same period of time required to view it. And the series will be set over the course of six hours, so there’s a lot to pack in.

Cole plays train passenger and off-duty police officer Joe Roag while Roach is Abby Aysgarth, the acting technical director at the National Cyber Security Centre. The pair have to work together to stop the train and to hopefully figure out who is responsible - is it a hostile state, terrorists, or even another passenger? 

As the series’ official description reads: “Nightsleeper is a real-time thriller set on a sleeper train travelling from Glasgow to London, while a government agency desperately tries to intervene in the rapidly escalating events onboard.

“Can two people who’ve never met, one on the train and one not, work together to save the lives of its disparate group of passengers as the Heart of Britain service hurtles towards what might quite literally be its final destination?”

It sounds like Hijack (the Idris Elba plane thriller) meets Bodyguard, (the Richard Madden and Keeley Hawes political cliffhanger) meets 24 (the Keifer Sutherland counter-terrorist one). 

Who stars in Nightsleeper?

Cole will star as one of the “two people who’ve never met”, alongside Alexandra Roach. But the exciting cast list doesn’t stop there.

In fact, the BBC has confirmed plenty of names who will appear in the show, including Ruth Madeley (Years And Years), Sharon Rooney (Jerk), Lois Chimimba (Vigil), Alex Ferns (The Devil’s Hour), Sharon Small (The Bay), James Cosmo (The Bay) and David Threlfall (Shameless).

Also joining them are Daniel Cahill (The Control Room), Gabriel Howell (The Fence), Katie Leung (Harry Potter), Leah MacRae (Rosie Molloy Gives Up Everything), Adam Mitchell (Mother’s Day), Pamela Nomvete (Andor), Scott Reid (Maxine) and Parth Thakerar (Gangs Of London).

When will Nightsleeper be released?

The series will arrive on Sunday 15 September, with all episodes available on BBC iPlayer from 6am. On BBC One, the series will air on Sunday and Monday nights across three weeks from 9pm that night.

And until then watch this adrenaline-packed trailer to get a taste of what’s to come. As Joe Roag says: “I think we may have a problem.”

Images: BBC