As the first episode of Showtrial begins, we see a bunch of young people at a party before jumping over to the courtroom and hear about the trial that has gripped the nation. When the judge returns, he asks the jury whether it has reached a verdict in which they all agree. After the intro, we’re transported to Bristol on June 19th two days after the student ball. Andrea Ellis (Claire Lams) checks her daughter’s room and immediately suspects something is wrong. She calls Hannah (Abra Thompson) who doesn’t answer. She looks through the flat while we see flashbacks of Hannah working during the student ball. She calls the police and explains it was her birthday yesterday and didn’t hear from her daughter so she went to Hannah’s place, but she wasn’t there. Then, we jump to the second day of the investigation on the 20th.

Hannah’s friends have started passing out leaflets in the city center while police are optimistic that she hasn’t been harmed. At the South West Police Station, DC Andy Lowell (Christopher Hatherall) and DI Paula Cassidy (Sinead Kennan) discuss getting divers in the water to search for Hannah’s body. Paula reveals the CPS is sending sweet baby James. Andy doesn’t like that, but Paula believes they just need to make nice with him right now. She also believes Virginia Hoult (Sharon Clarke) will be all over the case before they can file murder charges. Next, we see the Crown Prosecution Services and James Thornley (Kerr Logan) is told that it is a fishing expedition. Virginia doesn’t believe they have anything and argues the arrest is for malicious communication only. She believes they’ll need to tread carefully given the suspect’s family connections.

If they mess it up, they might become a case study for law students. Paula confronts Talitha Campbell (Celine Buckens) to arrest her on suspicion of malicious communication. Talitha lights a cigarette, takes a puff, and shows no emotions before she is driven away in a squad car. As we hear Andrea’s plea for information about her daughter, Talitha argues with the police officer at the station because she doesn’t want to give up her valuable bracelet. Paula tells her to take it off, so Talitha doesn’t argue this time. The officer sorts through her belongings while she is placed in a cell and left alone. Soon, she complains about her boredom before asking for her solicitor. Then, we learn that Hannah was a second-year philosophy and English literature student. Cleo Roberts (Tracy Ifeachor) is shown the text messages between Hannah and Talitha with the last one being on the day of the ball.

When Paula walks by, she refers to Talitha as a rude, entitled little cow. Cleo has been here before and knows how much Paula would like to lock her behind bars. When Cleo is introduced to Talitha, she asks if she knows Hannah to which Talitha responds hashtag praying for her. Talitha refuses to pretend she liked Hannah and says they were just a few stupid texts although Cleo says the disappearance is a big deal. They begin discussing Talitha’s falling out with Hannah over a few things and Hannah accuses her of enabling predators. Talitha reveals she does a little webcam and escort work that Hannah was hostile about. She calls Hannah a bigot for not supporting sex work although she claims it is better than getting help from her crappy family. Cleo learns Talitha is the daughter of Damian Campbell (James Frain) who is a luxury property developer who tore down an orphanage to build a hotel.

Talitha goes on to say things got noisy, ended with words being exchanged, and that is the end of it. Cleo attempts to convince her that things are direr than that since the subject of her threats is now missing. She instructs her client to say no comment to their questions and not change tack because it is the worse thing you can do. James meets with Paula who shows him the photo taken from the ball. It was taken at 5 AM and five hours after Hannah finished her shift to walk home. Talitha isn’t in the photograph with the others. CCTV, witnesses, and Hannah’s phone confirm she got home without being followed. They agree the phone was strange since it was wedged between the bed and the wall like it was pushed there. Hannah’s mother rinsed out all the glasses so there isn’t much in terms of forensics evidence.

Talitha is picked up on CCTV walking home with a housemate, Dhillon Harwood (Joseph Payne), after Hannah. The two lived close to each other. Then, their conversation turns to Talitha getting a duty solicitor because she didn’t want to tell her family about the arrest. James admits he has to visit the mom in the morning to manage the expectations that Paula and her team have falsely inflated. Dhillon comes down the stairs to find his mother, Meera (Lolita Chakrabarti), preparing a meal and watching herself on television. He is asked about Hannah who he knows because they did a few courses together. He jokes that Hannah is likely in bits too before arguing she just went off somewhere since it is the end of term. Then, Meera learns her son is going to go to the cottage because he works better down there. After a few flashbacks to the party, Andy tells Paula that Hannah’s debit card has been used at a small train station just outside of Cannock.

Whoever is using the card is specifically picking locations without cameras, but Andy wonders if Hannah has run away since a bag and sleeping bag have gone missing. Paula refuses to believe it and suspects the card was either found somewhere or stolen. She also wants to see what Talitha has to say about the debit card. When James returns home, Laura (Jenny Rainsford) has lasagna ready and he hears a news report about Hannah’s disappearance. He mutes it before telling his wife about the other student being arrested. During the first interview, Talitha continues saying no comment to the questions from the detective. Talitha seems to be having fun as Andy reads the text message from Hannah asking Talitha and that creep to leave her alone. The text messages show that the girls were arguing back and forth until Talitha threatens to get a crackhead to sort Hannah out. Hannah threatened to go to the police, so Talitha cursed her and the police. She finds that funny now.

Talitha finally breaks character, calls everything bull crap, and argues she has nothing to hide. She insists it was just a joke and that Hannah wants to be alone and away from it all. Cleo prevents the detectives from questioning her client about the disappearance, so the conversation returns to the threats and what caused them. Paula asks if she was jealous of Hannah who was doing everything right and getting good grades while Talitha was pushed through the exams. Paula says Hannah didn’t have a silver spoon in her mouth. As Talitha tries to tell them what she wanted in her mouth, Cleo knocks the coffee onto the desk in a desperate plea to stop her. After that, she reminds her client to say no comment to the questions. She also accuses Paula of using oppressive questions. When a police officer enters and talks to Paula, she decides to suspend the interview because new evidence has been discovered.

Then, we see CCTV footage of Troy Manners (Angus Castle-Doughty) three days later at the pub where Talitha was arrested. He is also at the ball, so the detectives theorize that he might’ve been Talitha’s crackhead. Andy wonders if it was Troy or his crew using the debit card. They agree to bring him in for an interview, but Paula wants his connections in the West Midlands out of it. Meanwhile, Cleo scolds Talitha and tries to get her to see the bigger picture. She warns her that her attitude and indifference for a missing girl could convince 12 strangers to send her to prison for the rest of her life. Cleo admits it is her job not to let it get that far before Talitha tells her that are more lawyers in town. When Cleo leaves for the night, she meets with her friend to tell her about Talitha and her parents. Her friend knows them and believes the case could bring them publicity or the parents could pay them a lot of money.

Although Cleo calls Talitha a pain in the arse, it is clear she isn’t ready to give up on her case just yet. As Talitha tries to sleep that night, she remembers running into Hannah during the college ball and grabbing a bottle of alcohol. She is interrupted and asked what she’d like to have for breakfast although her options are slim. Dhillon watches videos of himself with Talitha and Hannah until she tells him to put the camera away. He sends another text message to Tally and it looks like it has been five or six in a roll without a response. Talitha speaks in riddles in hopes of drowning out the other inmates and going to sleep. In the morning, Damien gets a call and learns about his daughter before telling his partner about it and saying it wasn’t drugs. James talks to Virginia Hoult about Talitha and Cleo as well as going to Hannah’s mom to make sure she knows they’re still on her side.

He is asked if it is going to be okay with him and Cleo, but he isn’t sure what it’ll be until they find a body, Hannah shows up, or they get more evidence. As the divers prepare to enter the water, we learn that there have been two arrests and one suspect was known to Hannah. James goes to the family’s home and meets the lesion officer Amanda Wilkinson (Mika Simmons) who invites him in. He plays with their dog, Spam, who was named by Hannah before Andrea reveals her daughter had received an offer from Oxford. She turned it down to be close to her mother so Andrea wonders if she’d be alive if she left. They talk about the threats and James insists it might be nothing but some silly texts. Andrea breaks down and leaves the room. James follows her and tells her he was the first person in his family to go to college although his mom was an LPN at the local hospital. He refers to his father as a full-time pisshead.

Meera gets a call from Damian, learns about Talitha, and agrees to talk to her son. Before the call ends, Damian tells her he’ll see her at the next Select Committee. Damian’s friend says the detectives will get an extension if they’re contemplating a murder charge. They’ve activated Brian Reeves (Rupert Holliday-Evans) who can find a leak in a nuclear sub. They agree to get rid of Cleo before Damian says the commies are going to love this news. Cleo runs into James, and they talk briefly before Troy enters and calls her name. She begins to suspect that Troy is somehow involved in Hannah’s case. Cleo goes to Talitha and asks her about the drug dealer named Troy Manners, but she insists she doesn’t know anyone of that name. When she learns that her dad is there, she wants Cleo to get rid of him. Cleo gives her a last warning and tells her to shut her mouth. She also wants to get rid of his friend Seb Harding (Tom Andrews).

She confronts both men who are ready to get rid of her, but she makes it clear that Talitha doesn’t want them involved in any way. Cleo gives him a card and promises she is okay before leaves. Damian tells Seb that his daughter won’t budge until she is scared enough to do so. Troy is asked about Lady Tease and whether it is Talitha Campbell, but he continues saying no comment. Paula tells James that Lady Tease is how he had Talitha’s number in his phone and they have him at the ball and calling her. Three days later, he met Tally at the pub and took an envelope from her. There is CCTV footage of the exchange because they’ve been watching the pub as a part of a drugs operation. Although Paula and Andy believe that is enough evidence, James is concerned there is too much reasonable doubt. Paula says they’re working on getting DNA from Hannah’s room before ordering them to get Talitha for another interview.

Brian calls Damian to tell him Cleo was a whistleblower on the Hargreaves case. She was part of a prosecution team handling a big gangland case that involved a lot of undercover work. The digital disclosure was all over the shop. When she squealed on her own team, the case was abandoned and the judge slapped everyone about and Cleo’s name was mud. After that, she teamed up with Heidi McKinnon (Amy Morgan) and started defending criminals. When Tally is asked if she buys drugs, she says she doesn’t need to because men are always asking her to take them for reasons that are beyond her. She denies knowing Troy so Paula brings out the evidence that says otherwise. When she is asked about the envelope, she says no comment.

A call to Paula interrupts and causes her to terminate the interview, but Tally believes she should be charged or released. DI Cassidy says they can get an extension and keep her there longer. She arrests her on suspicion of murder. Andy takes over and reads her rights while Tally does everything she can to avoid listening to them. Cleo eventually gets her to stop. A trashcan is pulled from the water while Talitha admits she didn’t say anything about Troy because she didn’t want to admit to knowing a drug dealer in a police station. She confesses they used to call him Monies. When asked about Seb, she says he is too close to her mother. Cleo says there will be a hiatus while they get the formal identification, autopsy, and DNA tests. They’ll likely have another 36 hours with Tally thanks to the new murder charge. Tally complains about that since she is supposed to go to Paris for a gallery opening.

Talitha doesn’t seem to understand the severity of it and jokes she’ll keep Cleo on to sue them if she does a good job. Meera returns to Dhillon and asks him about Talitha. He admits he doesn’t know since she isn’t answering him. Although she is a bit nuts, Dhillon doesn’t think she is a murderer. He insists he has nothing to do with it and doesn’t believe his friend does either. In a flashback, we see Hannah dancing at the party while Dhillon records her using his smartphone. Andy tells Paula about the texts Dhillon has been sending Tally and she urges him not to tell the CPS anything about it. They approach the evidence which looks like a sleeping bag and a blue kettlebell. Her body is in the sleeping bag likely. Amanda returns to Andrea to tell her what they’ve found. Cleo goes to the office and tells Heidi about the case and murder charges. Damian storms in and tries to find out what is going on, but Cleo won’t say anything. He mentions the Hargreaves case and says he can be either a snake or ladder.

Before he leaves, he tells Cleo to get his daughter to talk to him because he can help and it’ll be to everybody’s advantage. Paula learns that Hannah was likely gagged with the same item that was used to strangle her. Fibers are in her mouth and fingers, and she suffered a fractured hyoid. They believe Hannah was gagged and strangled with a green scarf. Cleo researches Talitha’s father while James tries to put the crib together. Paula Cassidy looks through pictures of the evidence. James gets a call from Cassidy and rushes over before she theorizes that they put Hannah in the sleeping bag and put a kettlebell in a rucksack to weigh her down. Then, they dumped her in the bin. They go inside where Cassidy shows him a video of Tally wearing a green scarf.

 

Showtrial Review

Showtrial follows a high-profile murder case of a college student allegedly committed by another student. A once top solicitor, Cleo Roberts, is thrust back into the spotlight when she is assigned to the case. Showtrail sounds like a gripping drama with many jaw-dropping twists and turns, but the keyword here is sounds. Although it has only been one episode, we can already see the good and bad of this show.

The cast is top-notch with the likes of Sinead Keenan and Tracy Ifeachor. The production value is high and the scenes look brilliant on the small screen. The two biggest and most important factors of all are missing, likeability and realism. We’re thrown right into the midst of the investigation without getting an opportunity to build a rapport with the characters.

As a result, it is incredibly difficult to sympathize with anyone. Talitha and her father Damian are stereotypical millionaires who never show any sense of urgency or worry. Showtrial is further muddied by the spy-like storyline of Brian Reeves digging into Cleo’s law enforcement past. Showtrial might present a gripping trial, but it will likely never grip audiences with its frequent, confusing flashbacks and over the top portrayal of a rich girl accused of murder.

It still has time to improve, but that sadly likely isn’t going to happen. The opening episode scores a 6 out of 10. Showtrial recaps will be available on Reel Mockery here.