“The Stolen Girl” is the latest British Original drama series to be released on Disney+, which takes viewers to the heart of suburbia where life is not quite as tranquil as it first seems.

When Elisa (Denise Gough) and Fred Blix’s (Jim Sturgess) daughter, Lucia (Beatrice Cohen), goes missing after what appears to be a normal sleepover with a school friend, the couple’s mundane existence spirals into chaos. Elisa is forced to embark on a high-stakes cat-and-mouse chase across Europe to discover the shocking truth about her daughter’s disappearance. Exactly why did the enigmatic Rebecca Walsh (Holliday Grainger) take her daughter?

Was Lucia a random target? What personal price will she have to pay to get her back? As Elisa starts to fit the pieces together, chaotically persistent journalist Selma Desai (Ambika Mod) reports live, relentlessly ripping apart her family life at every turn. Slowly, the unsettling truth emerges – Rebecca didn’t want any child; she wanted Lucia – and what started as a textbook abduction is quickly evolving into something much darker…

The series consists of five episodes, and it feels like it could easily be your typical British drama series that could be broadcast on the BBC or ITV in an evening primetime slot.   This shouldn’t come as a huge surprise considering it’s actually made by ITV Studios, so I wouldn’t be surprised if, in a year or so, it also gets shown on linear television.   So, if you’re a fan of primetime thrillers on the BBC or ITV, like I am, then this is going to be right up your alley.

While there will no doubt be some viewers complaining about the series consisting of just five episodes, I think this is a benefit to the show since it doesn’t feel overly drawn out, with filler to space it out to six or eight episodes.   It feels like the show is the natural length it needs to be to tell the story, while also having some cliffhangers along the way to keep you motivated to keep watching.

I really enjoyed “The Stolen Girl”.  Denise Gough is fantastic as the distraught mother, but she also has that little glint in her eye that makes you think something isn’t right.  The rest of the cast is also great, with Holliday Grainger also standing out as what would appear to be the villain of the show, but drawing you in to feel sympathy for her.

The story has some twists and turns along the way, making you second-guess what’s going on and why not everything is as it seems. There’s not necessarily anything new in this story that hasn’t been done before, but it’s a different take on the typical child kidnapping story.

Including Selma Desai as the journalist is also a great way of moving the story forward. She uncovers the family’s history and slowly puts together the pieces of the kidnapping, in a way you’d normally expect a police detective to do.   The character can be a little one-dimensional at times. While she works for an online website instead of a traditional newspaper, some elements of this angle didn’t feel realistic in a world where online journalism typically moves onto the next thing within hours. 

Overall:  “The Stolen Girl” is certainly one of the best British drama series to arrive on Disney+ in recent years and leans in more on what British creatives can do well.   I binged through the entire series over two evenings and couldn’t wait to get into the final episode to find out the reason for the kidnapping and if the truth was going to come out, which is precisely what I want from a drama series like this.  It’s not groundbreaking, but it’s certainly worth giving your time to and a great addition to the Disney+ Original lineup.

Rating: 4.5 Out Of 5

“The Stolen Girl” will be released on 16th April 2025 on Disney+ worldwide. In the U.S., Freeform will roll out episodes weekly at 10:00 PM ET beginning 16th April 2025, and episodes will be available to stream the next day on Hulu and Hulu On Disney+.

Are you looking forward to watching “The Stolen Girl”?  Let me know on social media!

Roger Palmer

Roger has been a Disney fan since he was a kid and this interest has grown over the years. He has visited Disney Parks around the globe and has a vast collection of Disney movies and collectibles. He is the owner of What's On Disney Plus & DisKingdom. Email: Roger@WhatsOnDisneyPlus.com Twitter: Twitter.com/RogPalmerUK Facebook: Facebook.com/rogpalmeruk

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