***THIS ARTICLE CONTAINS SPOILERS FROM THE FIRST EPISODE OF RIDLEY***
New ITV drama Ridley, starring Adrian Dunbar, made its debut today - but viewers were less than impressed with the plot twist.
The show, which stars Line Of Duty actor Adrian in the titular role as retired Detective Inspector Alex Ridley, follows the story of Ridley's return to the police to help them with a cold case. Alongside DI Carol Farman (Bronaugh Waugh), Ridley was tasked with solving the case of the death of local sheep farmer Jesse Halpin (Rob Mitchell-James).
Halpin had previously been interviewed by Ridley in connection with the disappearance of Zoe Lindsay, who was just three at the time. Elsewhere, a body of a young girl was recovered in the woods, with forensics sure it had to be Zoe. They needed to test the DNA to ensure it was really her, but were left stunned when it didn't match with her mum's.
As the show continued, it was then revealed who had killed Jesse - and why.
His wife Moll was responsible for both his death and that of the young girl's. It was then revealed that Catherine had died and the Halpin's had abducted Zoe to be her replacement. She killed Jesse because he wanted to reveal Catherine's true identity to her.
However, frustrated fans took to social media to insist they had worked out the plot long before it was shared with viewers.
" #Ridley Seems like we all worked it out after about 50 minutes. Hope next week’s is a bit more of a challenge," one fan wrote, as another added: "Enjoyed Adrian Dunbar, but me and missus worked out the plot at 8.30, needs better writers. 3 out of 5. #Ridley."
A third penned: "I should be a detective, worked it a while ago #ridley," with a fourth writing, "Called it an hour ago! #Ridley Must mean I need to work with Adrian." A fifth shared: " Twitter definitely solved this quicker than the cops #Ridley."
However, other viewers praised the show and looked forward to next week's episode.
One penned: "I could have written Ridley, I’d worked out the plot in 15 mins. Still enjoying it, just right for Sunday evening. #Ridley," as another wrote on the social media site: "Worked it out in the first half hour but it hasn’t spoiled #Ridley at all. Great detective dramas are about playing detective yourself. Sometimes you solve it sometimes you don’t."
A third shared: "Well I really enjoyed that! Perfect Sunday night viewing. Well done all the Poirots and Miss Marples who solved it #Ridley," with a fourth writing: "Well, I hadn't seen that coming but apparently the rest of Twitter did. I've really enjoyed it."
*Ridley returns to ITV next Sunday at 8pm.
