How does pain turn to anger? How do vulnerable people find themselves ensnared by poisonous rhetoric? Those were the questions at the heart of the first episode of Channel 5’s new thriller The Night Caller , in which disenfranchised cabbie Tony Conroy ( Robert Glenister ) was slowly radicalised by silken-voiced radio host Lawrence (Sean Pertwee) as he drove around the dark streets of Liverpool. “I know how hard it can be just to keep on going,” purred Lawrence, as caller Doreen finished a tirade against unruly young people. “You can find yourself on the edge, on the margins, but I’m here for you.
” Punctuated only by customers piling into the cab, Tony’s entire working soundtrack came from Lawrence’s Night Talk show. As more and more people phoned in, it was clear that Night Talk provided a sanctuary for those who felt that life wasn’t going their way. Minute by minute, spurts of insidious us-and-them populism hit Lawrence’s ears – he was a raw, receptive target.
Before long, Tony found himself calling Night Talk to vent, too. As he explained to Lawrence, he had been a teacher: “27 years of loyal service, so they could just throw me on the scrap heap.” While the reason for Tony’s dismissal remained a mystery, flashbacks to a schoolboy struggling in a swimming pool suggested a terrible accident.
“I hear you, I really do mate,” intoned Lawrence, soothingly. Read Next The Great is exquisite - it should have never been cancelled From its very first .
