Red Eye on ITV: What it's about, how many episodes, who's in the cast and where you've seen them before

New ITV drama Red Eye is set between an all-night flight from London to Beijing, the streets of London and the corridors of power within Whitehall. The series has been described as a "brilliantly addictive thriller" by ITV bosses.

Written by Peter A Dowling, it follows the collision of three worlds – DC Hana Li (Jing Lusi), Journalist Jess Li (Jemma Moore) and MI5’s Madeline Delaney(Lesley Sharp). The three women are thrown into the same life threatening conspiracy when a British doctor (Richard Armitage) is arrested for murder upon flying home from Beijing.

ITV head of drama Polly Hill said: “Red Eye is a brilliantly addictive thriller with an international story taking place on the red eye flight from Heathrow to Beijing. Thanks to Peter’s scripts, the story will have the audience gripped and continually surprised throughout."

Read on to find out more about the show and its cast.

What is Red Eye about?

There's no connection to the 2005 Hollywood film of the same name, starring Rachel McAdams, Cillian Murphy and Brian Cox.

After attending a medical conference in Beijing and coming close to dying in a car crash, Dr Matthew Nolan (Richard Armitage) arrives home and is immediately arrested at London’s Heathrow Airport. A dead woman was discovered in his crashed car and, despite his protests that he was driving alone, Nolan must return to China to face charges.

No-nonsense, London police officer DC Hana Li (Jing Lusi,) is charged with accompanying Nolan back to Beijing. She was born in Hong Kong and does not want to go, hiding a traumatic past.

When a death occurs onboard, Hana begins to suspect foul play and she commences an investigation. Further deaths confirm that is in danger, and after a call from MI5, Hana finds herself embroiled in an escalating conspiracy.

Also caught up in the events that follow are Hana’s half-sister Jess Li (Jemma Moore) a journalist trying to cash in on Hana’s assignment who runs her own investigation and finds herself on the run from an unknown assassin. There's also the head of MI5, Madeline Delaney (Lesley Sharp), who risks her career to help Hana and Nolan stay alive and expose an international conspiracy.

How many episodes of Red Eye are there?

There are six episodes of Red Eye, with the series starting on Sunday, April 21 at 9pm on ITV1 and ITVX.

Who is in the cast of Red Eye?

The cast is as follows:

Richard Armitage (Dr Matthew Nolan)

Jing Lusi (DC Hana Li)

Lesley Sharp (Director General Delaney)

Jemma Moore (Jess Li)

Sarah Toogood (Elizabeth Burk)

Dan Li (Toni Zhang)

Kevan MacKenzie (Len Delaney)

Cash Holland (Ruth Banks)

Daphne Cheung (Ruan Yue)

Arron Long (Policeman)

Xiangyi Tan (Tiffany Song)

Tai Yin Chan (Ren Yunxi)

Elaine Tan (Shen)

Robert Gilbert (Simon King)

Rick Warden (Dr Chris Peele)

Chris Anderson (Jenkins)

Peter Guinness (Sir George Chapman)

Maria Rivera (Cohen)

Natasha Patel (Ayesha)

Jack Colgrave Hirst (Doyle)

Mido Hamada (Mike Maxwell)

Jonathan Aris (John Tennant)

Aidan Cheng (Co-pilot Wu)

Parker Sawyers (Eric Jones)

Zoe Telford (Dr Amber Hurst)

Oliver Maltman (Dr Steven Hurst)

Lucianne McEvoy (Kate Ward)

Thomas Chaanhing (Captain Chen)

Where you might have seen the cast of Red Eye before

Rising star Jing Lusi has previously appeared in Crazy Rich Asians, Man vs Bee, Heart of Stone, Gangs of London, Holby City, Lucky Man, SAS: Red Notice and Man vs Bee.

Richard Armitage probably needs no introduction, with credits in a host of popular TV shows including Netflix's Harlan Coben adaptations Fool Me Once, Stay Close and The Stranger. He's also been in North and South, Obsession, Spooks, Robin Hood and Hannibal.

Another familiar face from British TV hits aplenty is Lesley Sharp, who's appeared in everything from Scott & Bailey to Bob & Rose, Cranford, Poirot, Afterlife, Doctor Who and Playing the Field.

Among the show's lesser-known stars are Jemma Moore (Silent Witness, Two Doors Down and Lockwood & Co), Dan Li (Luther: The Fallen Sun, Vigil, The Lazurus Project), Sarah Toogood (Doctors, Sex Education), Jonathan Aris (The End of the F***ing World, Lucky Man, Sherlock and Black Mirror: Bandersnatch) and Lucianne McEvoy (Shetland).