The Stolen Girl has landed on ITV and promises to be your next obsession. It centres around the story of a kidnapped girl, as well as the lives of a group of complex women and mothers. Ambika Mod plays a journalist determined to get to the bottom of the case of a missing young girl, while Denise Gough, Jim Sturgess (who you may recognise from the One Day film, which he starred in opposite Anne Hathaway) and Holliday Granger also star.
Denise and Jim will play the aggrieved parents of the missing Lucia, Elisa and Fred. Holliday will portray Rebecca, the woman who they believed to be the mother of young Josie, who invited Elisa on her first sleepover, and the next day all three had disappeared.
“The show is like a mystery, psychological thriller, especially in terms of Elisa’s story, and I do think British people love that kind of genre," Ambika has said. "They gravitate towards that. So, I hope people who are into that genre find this show and enjoy it.”
Denise has also opened up about the fact that the series is much more than meets the eye, and tackles trauma and motherhood in a very real way.
“On the surface, it’s ostensibly a thriller, but each character comes from a place of some kind of trauma… The Stolen Girl is about the strength and passion of motherhood and protecting your own and the emotional fallout when you’re unable to do that," she has said. "It’s a whodunit and how-dunit and whydunit thriller, but there’s so much trauma and pain on all levels that no one really wins.”
What book is The Stolen Girl TV series based on?
It's an adaptation of the novel Playdate by author Alex Dahl, who is known for her twisty psychological thrillers. Playdate was also the working title for the TV series, but was eventually changed to The Stolen Girl.
The Stolen Girl plot
The plot synopsis for the series reads as follows, and seems to align with the novel it's based on: "A seemingly ordinary decision turns the world of Elisa, mum to two young kids, upside down in this tense thriller. When her nine-year-old daughter Lucia excitedly asks to go on an overnight playdate with her new best friend Josie, Elisa agrees. After meeting Josie’s mother, Rebecca, she’s put at ease by her charming nature and their impressive house.
"But when she says goodnight to her daughter, she has no idea that she is about to be thrust into every parent’s worst nightmare. The next day, when Elisa goes to pick up Lucia, she discovers that the beautiful house was a holiday rental. Lucia is missing. Rebecca and Josie have vanished. What started out as her daughter’s first sleepover has turned into an abduction.
“As an urgent manhunt unfolds across Europe, Elisa and her husband Fred find themselves the object of police and public scrutiny. Elisa’s perfect family begins to unravel under the pressure, and long-buried secrets come to light. Rebecca took Lucia for a reason.”
The Stolen Girl cast
Joining Ambika, Denise, Jim and Holliday will be Bronagh Waugh as DI Shona Sinclair, Layo-Christina Akinlude as DS Lizzie Walker, Michael Workéyè as Kaleb Negasi and Lisa Bowerman as Maria Blix.
The Stolen Girl release date
All five episodes of The Stolen Girl are available to watch now on ITV.
The Stolen Girl trailer
Watch a taster of the drama below – we reckon it's one that you can watch in one sitting.
