THE MISSING is missing nothing

Give me a drama featuring James Nesbitt and I'm there.

Which is why I initially watched The Missing, when it started a couple of weeks ago. Now, it's a staple in my Tuesday evenings and it has all of the components that a gritty, thrilling drama needs.

The story, in case you haven't watched yet, is all about the Hughes family - Tony, Emily and their young son, Olly.
Olly goes missing after an evening swim with his dad. France have just won the World Cup and among the excitement, no one saw who took Olly (if anyone did) or where the little boy ran off to (if he did).

I think it's safe to say, though, that Olly was taken.

Going back and forth from the present day, to when Olly disappeared, we soon learn that the Hughes marriage did not survive the trauma of their son's missing status. Emily is now married to Mark - a British police officer, who somehow managed to worm his way on to the case.

It's this man I do not yet trust...

Tony can't forget what happened to Olly, and returns to France in a bid to get the case re-opened. with the help of Julien, a now-retired detective who worked on Olly's disappearance when it happened. The two men succeed after Tony sees a photo of a boy wearing the scarf Olly had when he went missing. Tracing that scarf to a house - Tony soon notices a picture drawn on the wall in the basement. The same picture Olly drew of his dad, time and time again. Olly was kept in this house.

This is just a bite-sized piece of the story so far, so if you haven't seen any of The Missing yet, hop over to BBC iPlayer to catch up...because the story is only just beginning.

Who did take Olly?

With journalist Malik knowing 'what Tony and Emily did,' and police officer Khalid feeding information to Malik... what are their stories? And surely whatever Malik knows about Olly's parents isn't directly linked to his disappearance?

Olly's grandfather - in the present day, has passed away - but he and Tony had a secret, which could have put Olly in danger.

Then there's known sex-offender, Vincent, who was a suspect - but his cast iron alibi was actually bought by wealthy property developer, Ian Garret. Vincent is currently seeking chemical castration to "cure" him of his urges. He claims innocence, but his story surely has some relevance to Olly's case... And why was Ian Garrett so interested in the disappearance when he saw the press coverage on TV. He even offered a €100,000 reward for whoever finds Olly.

My number one suspect so far, is Emily's new husband, Mark. The officer who wormed his way in and on to the case... He grabs Emily's phone to stop her hearing it ring, and when she does, he never tells her it's Tony calling. Is he just protective, or does he have something more to hide?

We'll find out more during tonight's episode three, on BBC1 at 9pm.

Tune in - because The Missing cannot be missed!

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