Undeniable, written by Chris Lang (A Mother's Son) is a gripping two-part thriller that tells the story of Jane Phillips, played by Claire Goose (Mount Pleasant), a woman who's determined to bring the man she believes is responsible for her mother's killing to justice.
Imagine being 7 years old, seeing your mum lying dead on the ground and staring straight at her killer as he walks away from the scene of the crime. Well for Jane Phillips, imagining wasn't necessary as this actually happened to her.
Undeniable begins, with a flashback to 1991 where on a sunny day in Long Mynd, Shropshire, 7 year old Jane hears her mother cry out, then turns back to find a man crouched over Anne’s lifeless body holding a rock in his bloodied hand. In these opening two minutes you're bound to be in tears as a young girl is left without a mother in a matter of moments.
The drama then picks up 23 years later, when Jane is 30 and pregnant with her second child - on the night of her killing, Jane's late mother, Anne was in the same state - pregnant with her second child.
Jane still carries the mental scars of that fateful day, and when attending an antenatal clinic at the local General Hospital, suddenly finds herself confronted by a man she is adamant killed her mother. And as the only witness to her mother's killing, has she found the right man?
Only time will tell. That man is Andrew Rawlins, played brilliantly by Peter Firth. Andrew is an eminent consultant oncologist employed by the Health Trust however quickly becomes the focus of Janes attention and prime suspect in the unsolved murder inquiry into her mother's death.
Much like Jane, my opinion of Andrew changed throughout the two episodes. There were times where I'd bet money on Andrew being guilty, and other times where it felt as though this hardworking family man had been dragged into something he shouldn't have.
Whatever the outcome, Andrew is suspended and as enquiries proceed, inconsistencies in both Andrew and Jane’s testimonies cast doubt on the innocence and integrity of each of them. Both of their families end up taking the strain and the plot thickens when Andrew agrees to take a blood sample.
The blood sample is designed to see if his DNA matches the DNA on Anne's body. I'm not going to give anything away, but the results from that blood sample is certainly a turning point in the drama, and it's at that point that we realise one of them is definitely lying. But who is it? Andrew or Jane? That's the biggest question throughout Undeniably and we are left waiting right until the very end to find out.
As I've mentioned, their respective families end up taking the strain. None more so that Jane's partner Rob and Andrew's daughter Emma.
Rob is played by Felix Scott (Doc Martin), and at first he's very supportive of Jane and her quest to find her mother's killer. But one thing after another means he has to leave the family home.
She hasn't been taking her anti-depressants, her behaviour becoming more and more erratic and irrational and her obsession with Andrew becomes too much to handle. In what turns out to be a rather heartbreaking scene, Jane is left alone as Rob drives off with her daughter in tow.
Emma, played by Christine Bottomley (DCI Banks), is 100% certain that her father is not guilty and that Jane is, for want of a better word, a mad woman determined to find her mother's killer. And in doing so has framed the wrong man. So much so that she goes as far as taking a restraining order out on Jane, preventing her from getting anywhere near her family.
There's one person in the middle of it all though, and that's Chief Investigating Officer Alison Hall, played by the brilliant Pippa Haywood (Prisoners' Wives), who just two weeks away from retirement finds herself picking up a case she'd dropped many years ago.
The case, it appears will forever remain a mystery and whilst Alison would love to offer Jane closure, this simply doesn't seem possible.
That is until Jane goes to meet with Andrew's former wife, and Emma's mother, Isobel. Instead she is greeted by Isobel's new husband who gives Jane some damning information about the man she believes killed her mother.
It is at that point that Jane reaches back out to Alison, and she begins to do some digging into Andrew's past. And before long, the profile of a violent, abusive and self-obsessed fantasist starts to emerge.
When Emma herself decides to visit Isobel, her feelings towards her father somewhat change. He's no longer the man she thinks he is. But with Isobel being a hopeless alcoholic, can any of what she says actually be taken as gospel? Only time will tell.
But that's what's great about Undeniable - just as you think you know someone, just as you think you know who is and isn't telling the truth, something happens to make you rethink your judgement.
Having watched both episodes back-to-back, I can't help but think this should have been shown across two consecutive nights, rather than with a week in between. Regardless, Undeniable is a powerful drama that tells the story of one woman's fight for justice. Who killed her mother on that fateful day in Shropshire? Is Andrew Rawlins the right man? Should she have stopped taking her anti-depressants? Will she ever restore the trust of those around her?
These are just some of the questions that you'll be asking when you watch Undeniable. The piece will undeniably (sorry, I had to) draw you in and you'll find yourself getting emotionally in the characters and the decisions they make. If you like your drama, then you'll love this and make sure you stick around for Prey starting soon on ITV, another example of brilliant drama.