Twenty8k

Set against the backdrop of the 2012 Olympics, this convoluted, uninspired thriller is strewn with clichés and caricatures, which is surprising and disappointing given that it was co-written by Paul Abbott (Shameless, State of Play). Parminder Nagra works hard as the fashion executive who returns from Paris when brother Sebastian Nanena is arrested for murder. But her investigation lacks suspense and her encounters with social worker Jonas Armstrong, beautician Nichola Burley, thug Michael Socha and his croupier mum Kierston Wareing are as perfunctory as her run-ins with scowling cops Stephen Dillane and Derek Riddell. This surfeit of sketchy secondary characters and the signposted plot twists mean that the pacey but formulaic action rapidly loses credibility.