Hostage review: Political thriller sets bonkers bar high

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Channel 4 was understandably delighted this week to acquire Sherlock creator Steven Moffat’s Number 10, a drama set in what its makers dub “the only terrace house in history with mice and a nuclear deterrent”. 

Let the record show, however, that Suranne Jones got there first with Hostage. There have been Downing Street thrillers before Netflix’s latest, and there will be more after, starting with Moffat’s, but Hostage sets the bonkers bar impressively high. 

Jones plays British Prime Minister Abigail Dalton. The Dalton government is beset by crises, chief among them a shortage of cancer drugs. To top it all, the PM’s teenage daughter has been out on the town with mates, and the French president is coming round to tell Dalton off for being soft on migrants.

Madame President is played, rather magnificently, by Julie Delpy, bona fide French cinema goddess/writer/director. What a hoot it is to see her character waft into Downing Street, a right-winger ready to do battle with Dalton’s seemingly soppy liberal. 

But what do you know: fate has brought these two alpha women together for a reason, or reasons, that will emerge over five episodes. 

Created and written by Matt Charman (Bridge of Spies), it is almost impossible to say more about the plot of Hostage because the series relies so heavily on killer twists and handbrake turns. I’m convinced Netflix and the other streamers have secret labs somewhere churning out plot surprises, the crazier the better, and there are some doozies here. Best to consider the title a clue and take it from there. 

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With all this high-octane mayhem going on, Hostage needs its ballast. Lending Jones and Delpy a hand are James Cosmo as the Prime Minister’s dad (complete with a north of England accent to match his screen daughter), Lucian Msamati (Conclave, Gangs of London) as her chief of staff, and Ashley Thomas as her doctor husband. 

Jones and Delpy do most to smooth the rough edges, and there are a few. The Downing Street in Hostage has the smallest press pack I’ve ever seen. They look more like a bus queue than a posse of reporters. Some of the dialogue sounds like a beginner's guide to British politics. And if you want a drinking game, take a gulp for every time Dalton kicks her heels off to signal how fed up she is with keeping up appearances when her world is crumbling. 

Jones is an executive producer on Hostage. What a distance she’s come since playing one of Steve McDonald’s many wives in Coronation Street. Doctor Foster made her a small-screen A-lister, and from then on she had her pick of parts. Not everything has gone her way - HBO fell out of love with period drama Gentleman Jack - but the successes, including the Scotland-set police thriller Vigil - have kept coming. 

Now she’s an industry player in her own right, her name enough to carry a series, nationally and internationally. Real-life Prime Ministers should watch and learn.