New BBC drama You Don’t Know Me surprises viewers with episode one twist

Virgin Radio

6 Dec 2021, 10:23

The BBC is smashing it with its Sunday night dramas, isn’t it? Line of Duty was followed by Stephen Graham’s gritty prison-based story, Time. Then came the underwater thriller Vigil and courtroom whodunnit Showtrial, and now You Don’t Know Me is wowing fans, who were completely thrown by a shock twist in its very first episode.

Hot on the heels of Showtrial, You Don’t Know Me is another courtroom drama, with much of the narrative taking place through flashbacks, as the protagonist Hero (played by Samuel Adewunmi) tells his story. 

Hero, who is in court on the charge of murdering a local drug dealer, decides to fire his lawyer so that he can deliver the closing statement himself. With this giving him the opportunity to address the jury, he recounts the story of meeting and falling in love with the mysterious Kyra (played by Sophie Wilde). 

One day (spoilers ahead) Kyra vanishes, leaving Hero desperately searching for her. 

With viewers wondering where Kyra has gone, Hero receives a tip-off as to her whereabouts. He follows the tip to North London, where he spots her getting into a car, which suggests that she is now a sex worker. 

Judging by the reaction on Twitter, it was a twist to the narrative that no-one saw coming. 

Several viewers took to Twitter to express their surprise at where the narrative had taken Kyra.

One person wrote: “What a plot twist."

Another added: “Didn’t see that coming.”

Someone else said: "#YouDontKnowMe was really fabulous. Loved that. Surprises everywhere."

When Hero asks Jamil, the local drug dealer and the man he is accused of killing, for a gun, the payment demanded also left viewers shocked. Jamil tells him he’ll sort out a weapon, in exchange for Hero completing his university coursework for him. 

You Don’t Know Me is a four-part drama which continues tonight, (Monday 6th December) on BBC One. It has been adapted by screenwriter Tom Edge, who also worked on Vigil. It is based on a book of the same name from criminal defence barrister Imran Mahmood.