Red Eye season 2 airs huge episode 5 twist for [spoiler] in early ITVX release - as star speaks out

Red Eye fans were sent reeling by a surprise season 2 return, which had been kept top secret until the new episodes dropped on ITVX yesterday (New Year's Day).

Having previously been omitted from the returning cast list, Richard Armitage reprises the role of Dr Matthew Nolan in the fifth episode of the season, who comes to the aid of Jess Li (Jemma Moore) in a moment of crisis.

Matthew had previously spent a harrowing 24 hours aboard a sabotaged extradition flight with her sister, Hana (Jing Lusi), who was serving as his police chaperone on the journey.

Meanwhile, on the ground, Jess was digging into Matthew's past and uncovered a crucial piece of information regarding why he'd been framed for a crime he did not commit.

It was this complex history that caused Jess to have, in Armitage's words, an "instinctual gravitation to Nolan's door" when faced with another life-or-death scenario – and he stepped up to save the life of MI5's Ruth Banks (Cash Holland).

"He was just about to open a bottle of red when the doorbell rings and he is interrupted to deal with a near fatal bullet wound and perform an emergency blood transfusion on his dining table; cobbling together equipment," explained Armitage.

"He's basically able to improvise major trauma surgery, with a bag of saline from his fridge and a left over suturing kit from his bag. It says a lot about him!"

The actor admitted to feeling "a bit deflated" when he realised that there was only a "slim" chance that his character would return in Red Eye season 2, but insisted he was "ecstatic" for the rest of the show's team.

After writer Peter A Dowling plotted out Matthew's return, they worked to keep it a secret even among the cast, with the character being referred to only as 'The Professor' on the call sheet.

"Maybe in the future evolution of Red Eye that will stick," he teased, suggesting an openness to reprise the role once again, should the series be renewed for a third season (no word on that yet).

If so, Armitage may be hoping to be reunited with more of his former co-stars, as he acknowledged that he "didn't really get to see everyone" when shooting this brief appearance. Still though, he hailed the Red Eye cast and crew as "absolute troopers".

"It was like a fun family reunion with blood, cannulas and gory SFX," he concluded of his season 2 sequence.

Red Eye is available to stream on ITVX now.

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