“Nightsleeper” star reveals important finale: “We didn’t know for a long time”

The series shows the so-called “hackjack” of a night train from Glasgow to London, in which several passengers are held hostage while the train races recklessly along the tracks.

Howell plays Tobi McKnight, part of a team from the National Cyber ​​​​Security Centre (NCSC) desperately trying to put an end to the nightmarish situation.

They don’t know that the perpetrator is in their ranks – read on for Howells filled with spoilers Reaction to episode 6 of Nightsleeper, now streaming on BBC iPlayer.

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In episode 6 of “Nightsleeper,” it is revealed that Paul Peveril (David Threlfall), the eccentric ally of NCSC director Abby Aysgarth (Alexandra Roach), was actually the evil hacker they had been tracking all along.

“I really hope they don't see it coming,” Howell said. “I really don't think they will. A lot of us in the control room didn't know for a while, and then we found out and thought, 'Oh, it's you!'

“We haven't played it for a long time; we didn't know for the longest time, and that was really cool. And hopefully that translates, because we didn't know, so you shouldn't know either.”

Howell went on to say that he felt the twist was deserved, as Paul's betrayal of his former team made sense given his harsh treatment by the NCSC bosses – including Nicola Miller (Pamela Nomvete), who had come under suspicion earlier in the series.

“He was ostracized and thrown out because he wanted to be an informant about what was going on, what might happen and how things were,” Howell continued.

“When things are moving and evolving so quickly, and the people who know the most are perhaps hampered by the government's failure to recognize the true extent of the threat … then what I saw was frustration.”

Howell added: “It's that Chicken Little thing, 'the sky is falling, folks!' – and nobody's listening… It was woven into the character and it's a really nice climax.”

In addition to Howell, Roach and Threlfall, Gangs of London veteran Joe Cole also plays the role of disgraced police officer Joe Roag, who is himself responsible for the rising tensions on board the hacked train.

Nightsleeper is available to stream on BBC iPlayer. Tune in to BBC One on Sundays and Mondays at 9pm.

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