For a series about a missing child to succeed, it has to retain just enough plausibility to be “every parent’s worst nightmare” whilst also accommodating the necessary twists to sustain the drama. Disney+’s latest entry into the genre, The Stolen Girl, based on the novel Playdate by Alex Dahl, nails the balance in the first episode – and then forgets about it altogether in the subsequent four.Elisa Blix (two-time Olivier Award winner Denise Gough) is a stewardess on private jets, constantly off on glamorous trips and arriving late to pick up her kids from their bougie private school.
One day at hometime, she meets fellow mum, the charming Rebecca (The Capture’s Holliday Grainger), whose daughter Josie has befriended Elisa’s nine-year-old Lucia. When the girls beg for a playdate, an initially reluctant Elisa is convinced into allowing Lucia to trot off with her new pal. Later, when Lucia calls to ask if she can sleep over, Elisa again hesitates but – after visiting Rebecca’s enormously chic home and having a cosy chat over kombucha – she caves.
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addToArray({"pos": "inread-hb-ros-inews"}); }Jim Sturgess as Fred and Denise Gough as Elisa (Photo: Matt Squire/Disney+)For many parents, alarm bells may be sounding. But The Stolen Girl does a great job of making Elisa’s decision believable. Not only is she feeling guilty about being late to collect Lucia, but Rebecca is essentially a mirror image of herself: a beautiful, wealthy,.
