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be alright and you're so desperate," and in those "desperate few minutes, I realised sort of how profoundly the person on the other end of the line can help you and affect you. Their manner is so important", and "t's such an intense relationship, such an intense conversation with , who you’ve never spoken to before, and you’re never gonna speak to again. You don't know what they look like, they don't know what you look like, yet despite that anonymity you are so dependent on them and you're reaching out to them. And the person on the other end of the phone line is a bit of an everyday hero. So based on that experience, I thought 'God, I wonder if there's something in that as a starting point?'", pondering "what if an emergency call room handler was pulled into the emergency? What if, in that professional situation, suddenly it was a personal situation?". He said "the next time I sat down and tried to come up with a story, I wrote two things at the top; one was call room handler and caller. I then put a circle around it and tried to think of the way the relationship between those two people would be and a scene that involved them both."
626:, awarded it three stars, commenting it was "a serviceable page-turner of a thriller, even if you feel you might have seen it all before", and that it "veers perilously close to out of control when it comes to plot twists and illogical choices from its characters", which "with so much plot to cram into every corner ... feel more like sketches than fully fledged entities." A further three-star review from Helen Hawkins of
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a frosty reception from his dad and former friends when he reveals who he's searching for. Giving coded instructions the next time she calls, she - Samantha Tolmie, local pariah - and Gabe are reunited, and following a promise made when they last were together, conjures up a plan to have Sam escape the repercussions of her actions that spirals out of control.
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turns a tactic which works wonders at the start of the series but occasionally reaches the point of frustration midway through", exacerbated by "hefty dose of childhood flashbacks, a narrative device which always needs to serve a purpose, yet here largely chooses atmosphere over illumination, repeatedly slowing down the otherwise propulsive action".
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and in the process starts to piece together the events leading up to his ordeal - in the not-so-distant past and his traumatic childhood - placing his and Sam's lives at risk as their involvement in
Anthony's criminal enterprise, and the truth behind the brutal end of their childhood friendship, catches up with all of them.
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ambulance control room, Gabe receives a call from a woman who has murdered someone - who reveals she knows him, using a childhood nickname. While pretending he doesn't know who the woman was to police and colleagues, he returns to places critical to his upbringing in the hopes of finding her, finding
365:
Leather disclosed that he had De
Caestecker in mind as playing the character of Gabe as early as the writing of the series. De Caestecker spoke of having "felt a degree of responsibility when it came to portraying the career accurately on screen", commenting that he experienced what it was like in a
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Leather was inspired to write the series by a real-life health-scare that happened with his daughter. He explained, "So when I then sat down and was trying to think of the story, when everything's okay, I just thought back to that and how, just for a few minutes, you don't know if things are going to
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Gabe manages to retrieve the van from the police pound, but before he and Sam can escape with it, is called to the control room by boss Leigh, where Gabe is informed Sam's claims are not what they seem. As he discovers how much Sam has kept from him, he questions his personal and work relationships,
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also awarded it four stars, praising the cast - De
Caestecker in particular - as well as "the visuals", all of which "makes its an atmospheric and compelling watch, with any other qualms tempered by its sheer entertainment value", yet noted "the show's delight at concealing its multiple twists and
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Anthony blackmails Gabe over his discovery of his links to Sam, the mystery caller, and ropes him into a scheme involving delivering a mysterious parcel and accepting payment for it on his behalf - in return for keeping silent. After previously managing to elude police and take the van Sam claims
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only reviewed the first episode, yet said it "put hardly a foot wrong", that "erformances from both De
Caestecker and Vanderham were exquisite", and "ith its fresh-feeling premise, fleshed out characters, and just enough twists to deliver escapism without compromising believability, has all the
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called the flashbacks "annoyingly extensive, intrusive and confusing stylised" - "no better symbol of the creative impoverishment of television drama departments than this" - and that the show "is let down by too many" of them and "disjointed storytelling" that requires suspension of disbelief,
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awarded the same, praising the cast and setup, calling it "a thriller that takes a tremendous, hooky premise, then builds around it with loving detail", and that the "convolutions of the ... narrative seem to arise organically and never strain your credulity." James Hibbs from the
603:, in her two-star review, picked up the same point, saying the show "slumps under the weight of countless woozy flashbacks", and that De Caestecker's "impressive central performance" is "the only mark in its favour". Dan Einav's two-star review in the
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remarked that the "trauma-filled flashbacks stand in for careful character development", while deeming the show "sadly prosaic", "dry and uninspired", with the "scripting ... overwrought and the plot contrived". Sean O'Grady of
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It was my first day I had a conversation with the director, Amy Neil, she said to me 'How do you picture Gabe? You know, what do you actually see in your head when you're writing?' And I said 'I see sort of that Iain De
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live control room, and that "they do such an amazing job potentially don't get the credit they deserve", meaning it "was one thing we were very conscious of, just making sure we did that respectfully".
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as Sam Tolmie, a former childhood friend of Gabe's; they became close to each other with the absence of their mothers from their lives as kids, and as an adult ropes Gabe into covering up a crime.
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contains the body of her partner, his attempts to hide it further go awry when he discovers it missing, and on the journey to retrieve it reignites old passion and anger from those closest to him.
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praised the cast as "impeccable", but that "the noir setting often gets in their way", which
Hawkins calls "inauthentic" alongside the "relentless melodramatic pitch of the plotting".
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Daniel Cahill as Robbo, a former childhood bully/friend of Gabe and Sam's, who blames Gabe for causing the fire at the
Christmas tree farm that killed his father.
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as Ian Maver, Gabe's father; the two have been estranged for some time, their relationship fraught since the death of the family matriarch when Gabe was a child.
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somewhat "redeem" by "the performances of the leads" - especially
Vanderham, her characterisation "disturbing but compelling" - in a three-star review.
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as Gabe Maver, a reserved member of the control room, who is thrown back into his painful past upon receiving a call from someone from his childhood.
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The series has received mixed reviews, with specific praise given to the acting but critique over the use of flashbacks, as a stylistic device.
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as Leigh, the duty manager of the control room, who is in a secret relationship with Gabe and becomes growingly frustrated at his behaviour.
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Garry
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as DI Anna Breck, the lead detective on the case investigating the call to the control room, who grows suspicious of Gabe's actions.
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International to various international markets. The show has a first-run window on BBC Studios, before later being broadcast on
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Dazzler Media obtained home entertainment rights in the UK and
Ireland, with the series released on DVD on 31 December 2022.
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Filming took place during
September and October 2021, in southern areas of Glasgow and the city centre, as well as at the
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Episodes 2 and 3 were made available on BBC iPlayer as a boxset on 17 July 2022, before their linear airdate.
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as Anthony, the outgoing control room supervisor, who blackmails Gabe into criminal activity on his behalf.
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in Australia. In China and Spain, the show has been acquired by streaming services Pumpkin Film and
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Jatinder Singh Randhawa as Tah, a housemate of Gabe's engaged in criminal activity of his own.
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ingredients to emerge as one of the year’s standout dramas", giving it four stars.
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as Danni, working at the control room and, surreptitiously, under Anthony's thumb.
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954:"The Control Room, BBC1, review: This could be one of the year's standout dramas"
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1000:"The Control Room review: Iain De Caestecker wows in anxiety-filled thriller"
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979:"The Control Room review – the thriller that's almost too good for summer"
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1091:"The Control Room review: Drama veers perilously close to out of control"
1026:"The Control Room, review: 999 call handler thriller is dead on arrival"
1169:"BBC drama 'The Control Room' travels to Australia, China & Europe"
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730:"The Control Room writer explains real-life inspiration for thriller"
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712:"The Control Room: Release date, trailer and news for BBC thriller"
684:"BBC Drama Reveals Raft of New Commissions and Commissioning Roles"
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Conor McLeod as Ross, another, junior, member of the control room.
1045:"BBC1 thriller The Control Room squanders its promising premise"
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de Wolfe, Danielle (16 July 2022). "A life turned upside-down".
1070:"The Control Room is disturbing but compelling – review"
830:"BBCs The Control Room filming to close Glasgow streets"
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828:Wilson, Caroline (10 September 2021).
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927:"Control Room tails off after launch"
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880:@jamiesimpson.photo (22 July 2022).
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1280:British thriller television series
882:"The Control Room 🎥. Night shoot"
854:McAlpine, Dayna (4 October 2021).
371:Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum
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1241:BBC Media Centre - Press Packs -
924:Price, Stephen (5 October 2022).
288:Harvey Calderwood as a young Gabe
1245:(interviews with cast and crew)
1115:Hawkins, Helen (19 July 2022).
952:Watkins, Emily (17 July 2022).
803:Leather, Nick (15 July 2022). "
792:(Weekend Magazine). p. 18.
1089:Watson, Keith (17 July 2022).
757:Leather, Nick (13 July 2022).
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1024:Singh, Anita (17 July 2022).
998:Hibbs, James (12 July 2022).
728:Hibbs, James (17 July 2022).
352:Simone Medonos as Gabe’s mum.
253:television series created by
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1043:Einav, Dan (14 July 2022).
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357:Development and production
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511:19 July 2022
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402:UK viewers (millions)
659:, and in Ireland on
277:Cast and characters
152:Executive producers
759:"The Control Room"
283:Iain De Caestecker
259:Iain De Caestecker
249:is a 2022 British
193:Production company
70:Iain De Caestecker
1236:at BBC Programmes
1075:Independent.co.uk
789:The Northern Echo
700:. September 2021.
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188:David Arthur
172:Eric Coulter
49:Nick Leather
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1004:Radio Times
937:30 November
860:GlasgowLive
816:Caestecker'
734:Radio Times
590:Radio Times
578:Lucy Mangan
502:"Episode 3"
459:"Episode 2"
412:"Episode 1"
392:Directed by
341:Taqi Nazeer
271:BBC iPlayer
132:of episodes
55:Directed by
1254:Categories
834:The Herald
670:References
515:2022-07-19
472:2022-07-18
425:2022-07-17
395:Written by
235:2022-07-19
225:2022-07-17
147:Production
45:Created by
886:Instagram
768:14 August
645:All3Media
562:Reception
305:Taj Atwal
121:of series
1203:1 August
1147:C21Media
909:1 August
865:1 August
839:1 August
528:(28-day)
505:Amy Neil
485:(28-day)
462:Amy Neil
438:(28-day)
415:Amy Neil
377:Episodes
251:thriller
169:Producer
92:Music by
63:Starring
58:Amy Neil
36:Thriller
1178:19 July
1152:19 July
1126:19 July
1100:19 July
1054:19 July
1009:19 July
963:19 July
811:BBC One
739:17 July
523:(7-day)
513: (
480:(7-day)
470: (
447:Glasgow
433:(7-day)
423: (
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267:BBC One
233: (
229: –
223: (
221:17 July
218:Release
212:BBC One
208:Network
113:English
653:Filmin
185:Editor
1095:Metro
958:The i
623:Metro
521:3.22
478:3.52
431:5.38
389:Title
29:Genre
1228:IMDb
1205:2022
1180:2022
1154:2022
1128:2022
1102:2022
1056:2022
1011:2022
965:2022
939:2022
911:2022
904:BARB
867:2022
841:2022
770:2022
741:2022
526:4.0
483:4.2
436:6.6
261:and
1226:at
657:NPO
580:of
385:No.
130:No.
119:No.
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