Watch Platform 7 FREE online
Platform 7 will be streaming exclusively – and for free – on ITVX from Thursday, December 7 in the UK. All four episodes will be available immediately. If you’re currently travelling outside of the UK, you’ll want to download a VPN to watch Platform 7 online from anywhere.
Platform 7 preview
A young woman investigates the circumstances surrounding her own death in ITV's gripping psychological thriller, based on Louise Doughty’s 2019 novel. Starring Jasmine Jobson (Top Boy) as the recently deceased Lisa, it interweaves a relationship drama with a ghost story and a smidge of detective fiction.
Adapted by Paula Milne (Endgame, Small Island) from Doughty’s acclaimed ninth novel, Platform 7 finds a young woman unable to recall her untimely demise or the details of her former life, her spirit tethered to the no man’s land of the titular platform. That is, until she witnesses the death of a commuter whose shocking end triggers a flood of recollections, compelling her to uncover the mystery of exactly what happened and why the night she died.
In addition to Jobson, Platform 7's cast includes Toby Regbo (A Discovery of Witches) as Dr. Matthew Goodson, Lisa’s bereaved boyfriend; Yaamin Chowdhury (The Essex Serpent) as Transport Officer Akash, Emily Carey (House of the Dragon) as Ella, and Phil Davis (Apple TV Plus series Trying) as Edward, Lisa’s spectral co-passenger in purgatory.
It's a fascinatingly rich story, described by ITV’s Head of Drama as “edgy, fresh, engaging and unlike anything we’ve commissioned before.” You can catch every episode for FREE now with our guide below, which tells you everything about how to watch Platform 7 online from anywhere in the world.
How to watch Platform 7 online for FREE
How to watch Platform 7 outside the UK
You can watch Platform 7 for free from the UK, but bear in mind that if you're abroad and away from home, you won't be able to watch Platform 7 online from abroad, or access ITVX.
Don't get deterred off by geo-restrictions, though, which prevent certain services and content from being accessed outside of the UK. Instead, you can circumvent geo-blocks by using a VPN, or Virtual Private Network. It's completely legal, very affordable and easy to use - and it also encrypts your browsing, offering protection against cybercriminals and government snooping.
Use a VPN to watch Platform 7 online from anywhere
Using a VPN is as easy as one-two-three...
1. Download and install a VPN - as we say, our top choice is ExpressVPN
2. Connect to the appropriate server location - open the VPN app, hit 'choose location' and select the appropriate location (a server in the UK in this case)
3. Go to the broadcaster's stream - head to ITVX and start watching Platform 7 as if you were back at home.
Platform 7 full episode guide
Platform 7 Episode 1
A suicide on Platform 7 prompts Lisa to discover more about her own death. Transport Police officer Akash Lockhart takes an interest in Lisa’s case.
Platform 7 Episode 2
Free at last from the station, Lisa continues to hunt for clues about her death before a dark realisation dawns. Akash’s investigation leads him in an unexpected direction.
Platform 7 Episode 3
When Lisa’s past is revealed, we get a glimpse into the events that led up to her death before witnessing the shocking revelation of what really happened on Platform 7 that night.
Platform 7 Episode 4
Akash races against time to gather evidence for Lisa’s case. Armed with the truth, it’s time for Lisa to turn the tables and finally get the justice she deserves. But how far will she go?
Q&A with Louise Doughty (writer)
Tell us where the idea for the book came from?
The novel version of Platform 7 was set on Peterborough railway station and it's a station that I've had a long relationship with. I grew up in the East Midlands, went to university in Leeds, which involved changing trains at Peterborough, then I did a postgrad in Norwich which meant I had to change chains at Peterborough and I then moved to London for the next 30 years of my life and whenever I went home I had to change trains at Peterborough. There was many cold winter night where I stood on that platform having just missed a connection. I used to have a standing joke that if I had been bad and died and went to purgatory, I would find myself trapped on Peterborough railway station on a freezing November night. That's where the idea came from: a railway station as a metaphor for purgatory, and a young woman who has died there in mysterious circumstances and is trapped there until the mystery of her death is solved.
Can you introduce us to the main character, what can you tell us about her?
The lead character of Platform 7 is called Lisa. She's a young woman, she's a ghost and as the story begins she has no memory about her past life let alone what caused her death. One night at 4am a man comes onto the station to throw himself under a freight train - she attempts to stop him and fails - and the next day, to her shock, he is back on the station as ghost. She begins to talk to him, and her memory starts to return. Then one day she sees Matty or Matthew, a man that she was in a relationship with in her living life. She sees him with her parents as they come to lay flowers on the spot where she died and she finds she's free of the station - she's able to follow the people that she knew in her real life, and she starts to unpick what happened to her.
In terms of a toolbox for a set for a story - talk about what a train station gives you as a writer.
It's a fantastic gift for a writer because you have a setting where there is huge amounts of action: there are scores of people passing through at all times of day and night. I spent a lot of time on Peterborough railway station myself as I was researching the novel and got to know the staff quite well: I really felt for the way in which this small community has to be dealing with customer's minor needs all day - why is the lift broken, why is my service six minutes late - and then suddenly they may have to deal with life or death situations.
Talk about your experience of creating a show, or a show being created by your book? And also your working relationship with Paula.
One of the more amusing elements of being adapted for television is that everybody asks, how do you feel about it, it's your baby and you have to let it go when another writer comes in and takes your work and changes it... I'm here to tell you that it's absolutely bliss. I love it! Paula Milne is a wonderful writer in her own right, she does very few adaptations, so I was very lucky to get her for Platform 7 and I have to be honest, when I wrote that novel I thought myself, well there's no way they'll put this one on film or TV but how wrong was I about that!
Q&A with Paula Milne (screenwriter)
What have been the challenges for you when adapting Platform 7?
Well in a way, it's the same challenges in doing any novel - the dramatic action in a drama is very different, you have to demonstrate feelings and emotions very often that’s possible with dialogue but it's a very internalised book. The ghost reflects a lot - also Lisa has the ability to read minds, which I think is almost impossible to convey. I was working on a project with Steven Speilberg and he said it's really important to establish the rules of the ghost. They're the age they are when they die, they have unresolved business with the living, can they move objects or not. So I started by applying the rules of the ghost, from cinema, into the story, then you can work out what you can and can't do.
What were some of the challenges for you, when you were writing the script?
The rules of the ghost, as mentioned, and Lisa becomes an observer, which is a very tricky thing to have a central character who’s already dead. They aren’t in any danger and they are essentially listening and forming conclusions about what happened to them. I thought you need to appeal to the audience on a different level of dramatic tension of wanting to know what happened to her as much as she does - empathising with her. Those things are very visual.
Was the supernatural element useful?
I've never done it before, it was part of the appeal and I didn't want to make too much of it. I watched some movies, to see how other people had approached it. They were really helpful. Sometimes you see what you don't want to do supernatural can drift into horror - you have to establish the rules very early so that if you wish to break those rules later, that's legitimate because they've been set up.
In terms of the working relationship with Louise - how did you work together?
A lot of screenwriters say the best authors of books to work with are those that are dead - because there aren't any issues! She is extraordinarily gracious. The most important thing is her authorial intention, the plot is the mechanic for the audience. You can say this won't work but if you don't change the course of the book then it's legitimate. I hope the response to the drama, for people who have read the book, they’ll feel that I've done the right thing and that they won't be disappointed.
Q&A with Jasmine Jobson (Lisa)
Tell us a bit about Lisa...
Without giving away too much, Lisa is a ghost, trapped at a station. She's very strong minded and strong willed and she witnesses a devastating incident that jogs her fractured memory. Along her journey she finds similarities to something that she's experienced herself, which in turn gives her a lot of power, which is very exciting.
When you first read the script, what was your reaction?
There's a lot of flashbacks so I was trying to keep up with the timeline and how things progressed, but the script was phenomenal. There's so much description, it's almost like the book - so I could visualise every scene for every moment because it was so beautifully detailed, Paula smashed it!
Your character is a ghost - as a concept for an actress, what were your thoughts?
My biggest concern about playing a ghost would have been the special effects side of things, - how I'd manage to walk through things, figuring out at what point in the story I'm able to do certain things as it changes as the story goes on. I’ve always been fascinated by special effects and how they film people walking through you, so it’s been a beautiful thing to be a part of.
Sometimes it felt odd, talking and no one saying anything back to you - I had to adapt to being a fly on the wall. Especially being the main character in the show that often doesn't have a lot to say in scenes - I'd say about 60% of the job was facial expressions which is a tough skill to manifest. I was definitely ready for the challenge and think I did pretty well! Being a fly on the wall was a crazy experience, to have everyone talking about you but no one talking to you and then when Lisa speaks no one responds!
What was your experience of filming at the train station?
Well, filming the show was so much fun, but being in a train station in the middle of winter definitely wasn't fun all the time, I had to constantly act like I didn't feel the cold as a ghost - so I would always try to imagine I was in a hot country like the Dominican Republic! Other than the weather, it was a breeze! I'd come straight off of another job so coming into Platform 7 was a little bit challenging going from one project straight to another but it meant that my performance is all unchecked emotion, it was all round amazing.
What can you tell us about the other characters at the station - there's a whole community…
There's a lot going on - outside of my character’s family, there’s Matt - played by Toby who was so great to work with, we had such a laugh. There’s Transport Police Officer Akash and station worker Melissa too and another ghost Edward. He has his own story that viewers will discover too - Phil Davies is a phenomenal actor and a lovely guy, he's like a BFG (big friendly giant!). He's so great, I learnt a lot from him. It was nice to have another character that Lisa can talk to as well so we bounced off each other well too which was lovely.
Q&A with Geoffrey Sax (director)
As a director, what was appealing for you about the script?
When you get a script written by Paula Milne you sit up and take notice! She's someone I’ve wanted to work with for a long time and the script was wonderful. It was also based on a very good book by Louise Doughty so the story was very compelling. The complexity and richness of it, I'd never read anything like it before. I was astounded by how original it was and the issues that it brings up without being preachy.
What was your approach to any technical concerns for the story?
The technical concerns is that it's told in several times, the ghost Lisa is trying to find out who she was and where she came from and gradually memories start to seep in. She can't interact with others but she can observe so the technical challenges were how to present that without it being too tricksy. So you do see people pass through her but that's really as far as it goes. One of the things we had to look out for, when we had non speaking parts on set, to remind everyone that she can't be seen, if Lisa is walking towards you, you can't step around her. We had to stage everything to make sure they were walking past her without avoiding her, which often took a few tries!
What look and feel were you aiming for with the show?
We were steeping it, as much as we could, in reality to make it more believable, we tried to put the audience into the head of a woman that happens to be dead but otherwise a fully formed human being. We also tried to keep performances as truthful as possible too.
What's it been like working with Jasmine, given so much of her character is conveyed through observing?
I think we were lucky with Jasmine in that we had an actor that was able to show feelings through looks, rather than dialogue. There was a lot of discussion early on about voiceover or if she should speak more but she was able to pull those looks off so the audience knows what she's thinking at times.
What do you think Platform 7 has to offer audiences?
I think Platform 7 is a lovely rounded story, it's very unusual but it deals with serious issues and at the end of the day is an entertaining piece, one one level its a ghost story but on another level it addresses some serious issues, and hopefully keeps audiences hooked throughout to find out what happened to Lisa and why. It's a multifaceted piece, I hope the audience lean in with it and go with the ‘whodunnit’ . There’s the parallel stories of Lisa trying to work out what happened to her and Akash, the British Transport Police Officer who risks getting fired to find out the truth.
