{"id":566814,"date":"2026-05-05T04:36:15","date_gmt":"2026-05-05T04:36:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/566814\/"},"modified":"2026-05-05T04:36:15","modified_gmt":"2026-05-05T04:36:15","slug":"viewers-fume-over-ridiculously-bad-thriller-based-on-tv-stars-stalking-ordeal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/566814\/","title":{"rendered":"Viewers fume over ‘ridiculously bad’ thriller based on TV star’s stalking ordeal"},"content":{"rendered":"

The new series stars Jill Halfpenny and Sally Lindsay, and while fans have hailed the ‘perfect’ casting, they’re not so convinced by the plot\"Jill<\/p>\n

Jill Halfpenny stars as beloved TV presenter Lucy (Image: Channel 5)<\/p>\n

Viewers have been left divided on a new Channel 5 psychological thriller<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Number One Fan<\/a> premiered on Monday night, starring Jill Halfpenny<\/a> and Sally Lindsay<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The new drama follows the attack on a beloved TV presenter, who comes to face her stalker.<\/p>\n

Jill plays morning show presenter Lucy, who is saved from an attack in a car park by a strange woman named Donna, played by Sally.<\/p>\n

Donna\u2019s interactions at first seem innocent, introducing herself as Lucy\u2019s \u201cnumber one fan\u201d, but things quickly turn more and more sinister.<\/p>\n

Her dark obsession begins to infiltrate Lucy\u2019s career, family and friends, going so far as to abduct her daughter and blackmail her.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Sally Lindsay plays stalker Donna (Image: CHANNEL 5)<\/p>\n

The series synopsis reads: “When a beloved TV presenter\u2019s seemingly perfect life is disrupted by a chance encounter with an adoring fan, admiration slowly turns into something far more unsettling.<\/p>\n

“As the spotlight intensifies and trust begins to fracture, fame becomes a dangerous place to hide\u2026 And the line between fan and foe starts to blur with devastating consequences.<\/p>\n

“To her horror, Lucy comes to realise that Donna has a link to a hidden secret in her past which threatens to derail the career she has so carefully curated.”<\/p>\n

As the first episode premiered, one viewers slammed: \u201cNot sure there\u2019ll be a series 2.” \u201cI don\u2019t know if I can manage another episode,\u201d another echoed.<\/p>\n

\"Jill<\/p>\n

Number One Fan has sparked mixed reviews (Image: Channel 5)<\/p>\n

Someone else wrote: \u201cI thought this might get better as I love Sally and Jill. But guys this is bad. This is really bad.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is ridiculously bad,\u201d yet another said, as another wrote: \u201cThis is terrible.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh dear. This is going to be really bad isn\u2019t it?\u201d another said.<\/p>\n

Other viewers rushed to share their support for the series, with one writing: \u201cI just knew this show was gonna be incredible,\u201d as another said: \u201cLoving it.\u201d<\/p>\n

One viewer said: \u201cI already sense this is going to be one of those dramas I\u2019ll never forget and I\u2019m here for it,\u201d as someone else commented: \u201cSally Lindsay+Jill Halfpenny = Perfection.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Sally<\/p>\n

The casting has been hailed as ‘perfect’ (Image: Channel 5)<\/p>\n

Someone else wrote: \u201cThe way this show is cringing me out so badly, but yet I can\u2019t stop watching it bc it\u2019s so weirdly intriguing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Teasing what to expect, The Madame Blanc Mysteries star Sally described the series as \u201cdark and a bit of a rollercoaster\u201d.<\/p>\n

She added: “You think it’s taking you down one path with this famous TV presenter, the queen of daytime television, who meets someone who adores her and then you go down this completely different path that you\u2019re not expecting.<\/p>\n

“When I read it, I was like, \u2018Well, I didn\u2019t see that coming.\u2019 It\u2019s quite contemporary but it also explores television’s past and things that just wouldn\u2019t happen now.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor me and for Jill, we’ve been knocking around for nearly 30 years, so we remember living through all that.”<\/p>\n

Number One Fan continues on Tuesday at 9pm on 5.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The new series stars Jill Halfpenny and Sally Lindsay, and while fans have hailed the ‘perfect’ casting, they’re…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":566815,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[21407,96,194174,194175,391,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-566814","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tv","tag-channel-5","tag-entertainment","tag-jill-halfpenny","tag-sally-lindsay","tag-tv","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/566814","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=566814"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/566814\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/566815"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=566814"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=566814"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=566814"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}