Deliciously gripping thriller about 'perfect mothers' who lie starts on TV tonight

You know those smug, perfect mums? How well do you really know them? What if they’re not that perfect after all? Little Disasters, airing today (Thursday 22 May) on Paramount+, is a deliciously gripping psychological thriller. Based on the novel by Sarah Vaughan, it follows a group of four women whose friendship implodes.

When Jess (Diane Kruger) takes her baby to hospital with an unexplained head injury, her close friend and on-duty A&E doctor Liz (Jo Joyner) must make the excruciating decision of whether to call social services.

It starts with Jess taking her screaming baby to hospital. It’s A&E on a Friday night and only Liz is available to check baby Betsy. When Liz finds a significant bump on Betsy’s head, she asks Jess what happened - but Jess is sketchy on the details. “She slipped,” she says. Turns out the 10-month-old has a skull fracture and significant bruising. The action flashes back to when she and Jess met 11 years ago at a class for expectant mums, along with two other women.

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Exploring themes of motherhood and friendship, the series looks at what happens to this group of women after Liz sets off a catastrophic chain of events. Liz says: “I always thought that Jess was the perfect mother, but then something happens, some little disaster and suddenly you ask yourself, what else is she hiding?” Also starring Shelley Conn, Emily Taaffe, Stephen Campbell Moore, Ben Bailey Smith, Patrick Baladi, Robert Gilbert, Chizzy Akudolu and JJ Feild, this thriller will have you questioning everything. All six episodes are now available to binge.

*Little Disasters is airing now on Paramount+ There's plenty more on TV tonight - here's the best of the rest.. THE HORNE SECTION TV SHOW, CHANNEL 4, 10pm

Riotous, wacky, sublimely silly, this sitcom revels in taking a swipe at popular culture and definitely doesn’t take itself too seriously. Written by and starring Alex Horne, with an appearance from his real life wife Rachel, playing his wife (who else!), this is a second run for the quirky comedy.

Struggling with his newfound fame, the pressures of filming live from his family home, and a subsequent lack of money, Alex is determined to prove to the nation that he's a credible leader of his band, while trying not to be overshadowed by the real musicians he works with.

It starts with an unsuccessful appearance on Sunday Brunch, during which Alex is irritated by the presence of ‘proper musician’, James Corden’s band leader Reggie Watts. Producer Thora (Desiree Burch) then books Reggie as a guest on The Horne Section TV Show, while C4 exec Ash (Georgia Tennant) commissions talent contest, World’s Strongest Musician, which gives Alex a chance to prove himself. Or not.

NINE PERFECT STRANGERS, PRIME VIDEO

Nicole Kidman returns as the creepy, mysterious wellness guru Masha, who has invited nine new strangers to a transformational retreat in the Austrian Alps. With her ageless face, white blonde hair and bewitching eyes, Nicole is made for this role and this is another thrill-ride of a series.

The nine people have been chosen under bizarre circumstances for a healing retreat - they think they’re heading off to a spa, but they are connected in ways they could never imagine. Over the course of a week, Masha takes them to the brink. She says: “I invited you all here because sometimes you shouldn’t deal with pain gently.”

The first series included vials of blood and digging your own grave, so we know that something sinister is definitely going on. An excellent cast includes Henry Golding, Annie Murphy, Christine Baranski, Lucas Englander, Murray Bartlett, Mark Strong and Aras Aydin. “You have to trust me,” says Masha. They definitely shouldn’t…

EMMERDALE, ITV1, 7.30pm

With Mack being ostracised by sister Moira and mortified over his actions, he backs out of being Aaron’s best man. Belle tells Sam that Nate never arrived at his job in the Shetlands. Suspicious, Belle vows to get to the bottom of his sudden disappearance. John pushes a flashback of Nate’s dead body out of his mind and focuses on relaxing. Sarah slips away to her hospital appointment alone where she’s forced to face her potential cancer diagnosis.

EASTENDERS, BBC1, 7.30pm

Stacey leaves the house for the first time in weeks. However, Kat is concerned when Stacey invites them for a big family meal, fearing that she’s trying to do too much too soon.

Everything comes crashing down later when Stacey realises that her coat and mobile phone have accidentally fallen into the laundry bag and Freddie has taken everything to be washed. The phone contains voicemails, photos and texts from Martin and if the phone is damaged, they will be lost forever.

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