The Reckoning (ITV Thriller, Ashley Jensen, Max Beesley)

The Reckoning is two-part drama about a single mother who faces a shocking dilemma, starring Ashley Jensen and Max Beesley.

Cash-strapped Sally Wilson (Jensen) is summoned to an expensive law firm by a solicitor who reveals that she has been bequeathed £5 million by an anonymous benefactor. But there is a horrifying catch – she will only receive the money if she kills someone who deserves to die.

Initially shocked and appalled, Sally wants to go to the police, but then her boyfriend Mark (Beesley) establishes that the offer is genuine. Sally is torn, because her daughter Amanda (Sophie Stuckey) is suffering from an illness which will take her life within months unless Sally can afford expensive medical treatment in America.

Sally investigates her intended victim, Richard Bury (Daniel Ryan), and finds a man who seems to be a successful businessman and attentive father. But is there more to Bury than meets the eye? Two more troubled people enter the picture and things become even more complicated – and when Sally witnesses Bury committing a shocking act of violence, Mark begins to wonder why such a man should be allowed to live when Sally’s daughter is facing death.

As Sally is drawn deeper into the mystery behind the bequest, she uncovers shocking links to her own past and a twisted story of loss and heartbreak.

Cast: Ashley Jensen (Sally Wilson), Max Beesley (Mark Dobson), Sophie Stuckey (Amanda Wilson), Jane Perry (Debra Cale), Aidan McArdle (Simon Harris), Peter Wight (Frederick Taylor), Daniel Ryan (Richard Bury)

Writer: Chris Lang / Executive Producers: Jeremy Gwilt, Chris Lang / Producer: Kit Williams / Director: Jim O’Hanlon

UK / ITV – ITV Studios / 2×60 minute episodes / Broadcast 18 – 19 April 2011

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