David Farnor | On 10, Feb 2018

It’s been more than a decade since Sarah Lancashire signed a golden handcuffs deal with ITV for millions of pounds, and all these years later, you can still see why she was worth top dollar. Here, she plays Miriam, a social worker who is trying to do the best for the eponymous Kiri, a young girl about to be adopted by her foster family. Before they can officially make her part of their family, though, Miriam arranges an unsupervised visit to her birth grandfather and his wife – only for her to go missing. By the end of the first episode, a body has turned up. That’s when things get even more complicated.

A Black girl going missing just before she was set to live with a white family? It’s the kind of situation guaranteed to whip up a media frenzy, and it certainly does. Kiri dives right into the complex themes of adoption, race and class, not to mention childcare and social services. Writers Jack Thorne and Rachel De-Lahay twist the tension and teases out new details and nuances in a beautifully understated way, never shying away from uncomfortable conversations.

Their work comes to life thanks to a superb cast, including the excellent Lucian Msamati as Kiri’s grandad, Tobi, who makes an impression from his first appearance on screen, the brilliant Paapa Essiedu as Kiri’s father, Nathanial, whose shady past bring its own complications to the table, and Steven Mackintosh as Jim, Kiri’s foster-father.

Throughout, Sarah Lancashire is fantastic as Miriam, unsure how much the biological family is too blame and how much is her fault for cutting corners or not performing adequate checks. She emerges as the resilient, but weary, moral heart of the show – and of a system – both social and justice – that isn’t perfect. The result is a gripping four-parter with a flawless sense of character, subtlety and pace.

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