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Hostage seem Prime Minister Abigail Dalton’s (Suranne Jones – I Am Victoria) better half in a bit of trub, since he and a few other doctors have been kidnapped whilst working for Médecins Sans Frontières doing humanitarian work, or – given that it’s the actor Ashley Thomas – is it Channel 4 whisking him off to film more of In Flight?
As part of the baddies’ demands, she’s told she must resign as PM within 24hrs, or he’ll be killed. Erm… why not just pretend? Get hubby back, and then show that you made it all up? Sorted!
But that’s not written into the script.
For Abi and Alex, it’s a mixed-race relationship, same as my parents: one man, one woman… (ba-dum-tss!)
But back to the plot, and turning up for a visit at the same time is the French President, Vivienne Toussaint (Julie Delpy – Waking Life Special Edition), a far-right character, so given that she’s both mad AND stunning, she’s the equivalent of the real-life Italian PM, Giorgia Meloni.
I know in reality, a hostage situation would be a serious issue, but for me, this drama just feels so utterly uninvolving. I don’t care whether or not he returns, everyone onscreen just feels like they’re going through the motions, and Ms Jones has such a Stone Gargoyle face, it doesn’t come across as concern or worry, but just a blank expression.
Even the driving scenes out in the field lack gravitas, as it’s everything we’ve seen before, with drones swooping by one way, as a convoy of trucks drives the other way. Plus, standard jeeps are bulletproof, it seems. They get hit on one side, but never go through. Best make his wife’s car out of that!
And whenever people have a disagreement, they shout ultimatums at each other, as if that’s in any way useful(!)
Hostage runs for five episodes, but is like a three-parter dragged out far longer than it needs to be. And like, In Flight, it feels like it’s been pushed out in August while a lot of people are away, because it’s not that good, hence it comes and goes before the September new season begins.
Then again, kudos to Suranne Jones for telling Phillip Schofield what everyone thinks of him, on This Morning! And you can see that video above 😀
Thanks to our friends at Netflix for the screener prior to release.
Hostage is not available to pre-order on Blu-ray or DVD, but is on Netflix from today.
Check out the Hostage teaser below:
Detailed specs:
Cert: 
Running time: 45 minutes per episode (5 episodes)
Release date: August 21st 2025
Studio: Netflix
Format: 2.39:1
Series Directors: Isabelle Sieb, Amy Neil, Matt Charman
Producers: Annelie Simmons, James Levison
Creator: Matt Charman
Music: Jeff Russo
Cast:
Abigail Dalton: Suranne Jones
Vivienne Toussaint: Julie Delpy
Kofi Adomako: Lucian Msamati
Matheo Lewis: Corey Mylchreest
Dr. Alex Anderson: Ashley Thomas
John Shagan: Martin McCann
Sylvie Anderson: Isobel Akuwudike
Hiftu Quasem: Hiftu Quasem
Saskia Morgan: Sophie Robertson
Dan Ogilvy: Pip Carter
Tristan: Josh Barrow
Zadie: Ami Okumura Jones
Adrienne Pelletier: Jehnny Beth
Michael Hall: Paul Thornley
Kathy Macintyre: Sara Powell
Simon Kingsley: Fode Simbo
Max Dalton: James Cosmo
Elias Vernier: Vincent Perez
General Livingston: Mark Lewis Jones
Agent Thomas Mercer: Gerald Kyd
Reviewer of movies, videogames and music since 1994. Aortic valve operation survivor from the same year. Running DVDfever.co.uk since 2000. Nobel Peace Prize winner 2021.