Richard Armitage has shared praise for his Missing You co-star Mary Malone, highlighting one particularly “heartbreaking” scene in the new Harlan Coben Netflix series.
Following on from last year’s Fool Me Once, Missing You dropped on New Year’s Day, making it the latest adaptation of the best-selling mystery-thriller author.
The new TV show centers on Detective Kat Donovan (Rosalind Eleazar), who is forced to confront buried secrets while investigating a wider conspiracy after discovering her ex-fiancé Josh (Ashley Walters) on a dating app – more than a decade after he ghosted her.
Missing You’s cast is absolutely packed, but one star in particular has been earning praise for her role as Kat’s best friend Aqua. Warning: spoilers ahead!
Mary Malone is a “revelation” in heartbreaking Missing You scene
In a conversation with Pink News, Armitage said it was a “revelation” working with Mary Malone, sharing “kudos” for an Episode 5 scene “where she is heartbreaking.”
The scene in question arrives right at the end of Missing You, where we find out that Josh was the one who killed Kat’s dad Clint (Lenny Henry), but only because he attacked Aqua.
You see, Aqua accidentally stumbled upon a conversation between Clint and his lover Parker (Cyril Nri), who he’d been having an affair with for years.
Clint was desperately trying to keep his affair and his sexuality a secret, so much so that he was being blackmailed by crime boss Calligan (James Nesbitt). When he spots Aqua, he storms into her house and confronts her.
Aqua promises she won’t tell Kat anything but that he needs to tell her and his wife Odette (Brigid Zengeni) the truth. As a trans woman, she tells him that she knows what he’s going through.
But Clint retorts, “You don’t know anything about me. You think you’ve got it all sorted, because you’re free? You can be who you want, love who you want. You’ve had it easy.”
“You think this has been easy for me?” Aqua replies. “You have no idea what I’ve had to do to get here.”
Their conversation is interrupted when Kat calls Aqua. As her friend, she probably just rang for a chat, but it sends Clint into a paranoid rage and he attacks her. Just as it looks like he’s going to kill her, Josh runs in and stabs Clint to stop him.
This powerful scene was expertly performed, with Armitage – who also appeared in other Coben Netflix adaptations Fool Me Once, The Stranger, and Stay Close – sharing praise for Malone.
“It has been a revelation working with Mary. In the book, [Aqua] is a slightly less evolved character. [She] brings something incredible to a character we don’t often see on TV,” he told the outlet.
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“It has been an absolute pleasure to get to know her and chat to her about her route through life and into drama. There is a scene in Episode 5 where she is heartbreaking. So, kudos to Mary.”
While Missing You is far from Malone’s first major acting role, viewers are eager to find out more about the star after her performance in the Netflix series.
What else has Mary Malone starred in?
You may recognize Malone from her role in one of the longest-running British shows of all time: Doctor Who.
The star played Ruby Sunday’s friend Trudy in the 2023 Doctor Who Christmas special, ‘The Church on Ruby Road’.
She’s also enjoyed minor appearances in TV shows like crime drama Vera and The Girlfriend Experience, and took on a lead role in the 2023 movie The Prince.
As a skilled singer and dancer, Malone has extensive experience in theater, having appeared onstage in London for titles such as Fangirls, Burnt at the Stake, and As You Like It.
Malone also has an open GoFundMe to raise funds for her gender-affirming healthcare, in which she describes issues with accessibility in the UK.
“This support will help keep me safe and further me on my transition journey,” she wrote.
“The state of the UK trans healthcare means I am unable to access these life-changing and saving treatments through the NHS.
“Due to this, I’m asking for your support. I would be extremely grateful if you could contribute any amount to my fund, or to support through sharing.
“Fundraising is the only option for lots of people so please give generously to others in need.”
If you’d like to see Malone in action, Missing You is streaming on Netflix now. For more content, check out the TV shows to get excited about in 2025, our ranking of the best series of 2024, and the movies coming to streaming this month.
