Nightsleeper fans joke baddies should have just put wet leaves on the line

Joe Cole plays Joe Roag in Nightsleeper episode 1 recap
(Image credit: BBC)

Nightsleeper, BBC One's big new runaway train thriller, has seen many reactions, including jokes that the baddies should have just put some wet leaves on the line to cause chaos rather than using a hacking device!

The first episode, which aired on Sunday night, saw a huge amount of twists as Joe Roag (played by Joe Cole) set out on a sleeper train from Scotland to London only for a mysterious figure known as the driver to take control of it.

Joe calls up Abby Aysgarth, the Acting Technical Director at the UK's National Cyber Security Centre, for help and the pair embark on trying to stop the train.

Alexandra Roach plays Abby Aysgarth in Nightsleeper ending explained

Can Abby Aysgarth (Alexandra Roach) stop the train? (Image credit: BBC)

Some fans really enjoyed the show, which is being compared to Red Eye and Bodyguard. One wrote: "Just finished bingewatching. I did actually really enjoy it. Some ridiculous plot holes and unrealistic stuff but accept it for what it is absurdism and you should like it". While another billed it "excellent Sunday viewing". A third fan tweeted: "Just watched 1st episode of Nightsleeper and I'm hooked."

But, well, it's fair to say not everyone was keen. "This makes Hollyoaks look like Chekhov," blasted one critic. While another wrote: "This is a total disaster - and not in the intended way. The script is wooden, the characters cliched, the casting poor, the plot is not credible.” And, in a particularly scathing, assessment another wrote: "So bad that even the train will deny being in it."

It's clear, though, that lots of people have started binge-watching the series, with all six episodes available on BBC iPlayer. The BBC is hoping that Nightseeper will be a Bodyguard style hit. As to whether this scenario could happen in real life, the BBC has helpfully posted an article answering that question. Good news it says it’s "fairly unlikely".

A couple of observations we'd make watching the first episode is why didn't Abby just move carriages to escape the noisy hen party on the train while she called Joe? And secondly, once a police description went out of him wearing a distinctive chequered jacket, why didn't Joe dump the jacket?! Perhaps it's his favorite?!

Nightsleeper continues on BBC One on Sunday nights. You can watch the whole series now on BBC iPlayer. See our best BBC dramas guide for more shows to enjoy.

David Hollingsworth
Editor

David is the What To Watch Editor and has over 20 years of experience in television journalism. He is currently writing about the latest television and film news for What To Watch.

Before working for What To Watch, David spent many years working for TV Times magazine, interviewing some of television's most famous stars including Hollywood actor Kiefer Sutherland, singer Lionel Richie and wildlife legend Sir David Attenborough. 

David started out as a writer for TV Times before becoming the title's deputy features editor and then features editor. During his time on TV Times, David also helped run the annual TV Times Awards. David is a huge Death in Paradise fan, although he's still failed to solve a case before the show's detective! He also loves James Bond and controversially thinks that Timothy Dalton was an excellent 007.

Other than watching and writing about telly, David loves playing cricket, going to the cinema, trying to improve his tennis and chasing about after his kids!