Coma | Preview (Channel 5)

New Channel 5 drama starring Jason Watkins, Claire Skinner, Jonas Armstrong, David Bradley, Joe Barber, Kayla Meikle, David Mumeni and Matilda Firth.

Devoted family man Simon (Jason Watkins) finds himself at a breaking point as his neighbourhood falls victim to the terrorising behaviour of a group of teenagers, led by menacing 17-year-old Jordan (played by rising star Joe Barber) and his questionable companions.

Simon and his wife, Beth (Claire Skinner) are desperate to move their young daughter to a safer area away from the threatening atmosphere. When Simon's frustration reaches its peak and he confronts Jordan outside his own home, a split-second decision changes everything.

The cast also features David Bradley as Simon’s quiet grumpy neighbour Harry, Jonas Armstrong as Jordan’s dangerous father Paul, Kayla Meikle as determined DS Kelly Evans, and David Mumeni as Simon’s untrustworthy boss Jimmy.

In the first episode, mild-mannered family man Simon Bamford is at breaking point, juggling his mortgage, redundancy and the gang of youths terrorising his street.

One night, troublemaking teen Jordan brings danger to his doorstep. Simon finally confronts the 17-year-old youth, but when Jordan continues to provoke him, Simon snaps and swings a wild punch. The young man falls back, banging his head on the curb. Panic sets in when Simon realises Jordan’s not breathing…

Simon is no murderer, and immediately starts CPR. The police arrive to find Simon desperately trying to keep the young man alive, and they presume he’s an innocent bystander. Simon plays along, explaining that he found the lad unconscious in the street and has no idea how he came to be here.

With no witnesses to say otherwise, the police believe him. After all, Simon is a middle-class businessman with no previous offences and the young lad, Jordan Franklin, is well known as a gang member. When DS Kelly Evans questions Simon at the scene, he begins to spin a deeper, darker web of lies.

Earlier that day, Simon installed a ring doorbell in an attempt to protect his family from the local gang of youths. Naively, he goes to the hospital to check on Jordan. DS Evans is surprised to see Simon there, but he quickly covers, explaining that he’s collecting his wife, Beth, a nurse at Haverbridge Infirmary. What DS Evans doesn’t know is that Beth is not on shift.

Simon’s heart sinks when Jordan’s parents, Paul and Anna arrive, demanding news about their son. Paul is a threatening figure, not someone you would want to mess with, let alone Simon. Things worsen when Paul turns out to be a local career criminal and takes an interest in Simon. Meanwhile, Simon is hailed a local hero. But there was someone else watching that night…

Coma begins Monday 18th March at 9pm on Channel 5.