Jill Halfpenny delves into the world of daytime TV for new thriller
Number One Fan will kick off on Channel 5 next month and co-stars Sally Lindsay
As Jill Halfpenny prepares to wrap up a successful run at Manchester’s Royal Exchange in Private Lives on May 2, the Geordie actor is set to return to television screens in a new four-part thriller that leans into the darker side of fame.
Number One Fan, due to air on Channel 5 from May 4, places Jill at the centre of a tightly plotted story set in the high-pressure world of daytime TV.
She plays Lucy Logan, a popular presenter whose seemingly polished life begins to fracture after a chance encounter with an admirer who refuses to remain at arm’s length.
In the series, Lucy is introduced as a woman very much in control of her own narrative – at least on the surface. As Jill describes her, “She’s tenacious, ambitious, and fun… She is always on a mission. I like a woman on a mission.
“Considering she started out as a runner, she has made her way up and I think feels quite comfortable there, like it’s the right place for her.”
The drama’s central premise is set in motion when Lucy is targeted in a mugging and helped by Donna, played by fellow Coronation Street alumnus Sally Lindsay, who quickly establishes herself as Lucy’s “number one fan”. What follows is a gradual shift from gratitude to unease, as Donna’s presence becomes increasingly difficult to escape.
Sally describes the series as one that plays deliberately with audience expectations. “I’d say, it’s a thriller, it’s dark and it’s a bit of a rollercoaster,” she says. “You think it’s taking you down one path… and then you go down this completely different path that you’re not expecting.”
That unpredictability is matched by the complexity of its central characters. Lucy, in particular, is far from a straightforward protagonist. “At the heart of it Lucy is not a bad person, but she is also not a person who thinks that the world is just black and white,” says Jill.
Filmed in the Basque region of Spain, the series also taps into broader questions about the television industry and the ethics behind what audiences see on screen. “I think this is a bigger question that could go across any industry,” Jill adds. “At what point do you cross a line? And lines are clearly crossed in Number One Fan.”
For Sally, the show’s themes reflect a changing media landscape. “I think some members of the public were treated like a commodity, as opposed to actual human beings,” she says. “There should be a duty of care. I’m so glad those days are over.”
While Number One Fan deals in psychological tension and moral ambiguity, it also fits comfortably into Channel 5’s recent run of fast-paced, high-concept thrillers. These are series designed to hook viewers quickly and keep them watching across a tightly contained number of episodes.
“They’re quite raw because you’re telling the story in a very short period,” Sally says. “There is an immediacy to them, which is exciting.”
For Jill, the new series continues a strong run of television work following the success of The Feud, the Newcastle-based drama from Lonesome Pine Productions that climbed to the top of the UK Netflix chart, Girl Taken — the Paramount+ adaptation of the hit novel Baby Doll; and 2024’s The Cuckoo.
Its setting is also likely to strike a chord with viewers. “I think people will enjoy Number One Fan because it is set in a world that we all know and that we all maybe have a love/hate relationship with,” Jill says.
“Some people don’t like daytime television, some people absolutely live for it. But it’s very familiar. And it’s not a world that gets delved into that often – people having hushed conversations in dressing rooms. That’s all quite fun. It’s very well written. And the propulsion of it really makes you want to watch the next one and the next one and the next. It goes at quite a lick.”
Episode one of Number One Fan will air on May 4 on Channel 5.