As he worked he chatted away, dropped a few names of celebrities he’d worked with and in no time at all it was finished. He turned Clare round and she was amazed at her reflection. ‘See?’ he said. ‘Told you you’d look fab.’

Clare was moved to another chair where a hairdresser began spraying dry shampoo into her hair, teasing out the layers. ‘Just giving it a bit of body,’ the woman said. Then she picked up a set of straighteners and set about tidying up loose ends. Finally, she sprayed Clare’s hair, patting it to check it was secure. ‘You’ll do,’ she said, and Clare rose from her seat. Jess appeared to take her back to the green room.

The DCI shook his head. ‘My God but you scrub up well, Clare Mackay,’ he said. ‘You look amazing.’

Clare patted her hair nervously. ‘It’s not too much?’

‘Definitely not. A bit OTT for chasing killers but, for TV, I’d say it’s pretty much perfect.’

She smiled. ‘Thanks, Al.’

At five to eleven Jess took her along a dark corridor towards a heavy door marked Studio Four. There was a red light illuminated outside the door and Jess put a finger to her lips. They stood silently for a few minutes until the red light went out. Jess tugged open the door and ushered Clare in. She was immediately struck by how bright the studio was. And how large. She recognised the set where she’d watched Gaby on the odd days she’d spent at home with daytime TV on in the background. But she was struck by how small the set itself was, compared to the rest of the studio. A gantry of lights hung from the ceiling and there were four, or was it five, large cameras on tripods, dotted around, cables trailing everywhere. A TV monitor out of sight of the cameras was showing the news presenter from another studio and, on the set itself, Gaby was having her face dusted with powder.

Another young woman led Clare across the studio and installed her on a sofa. A technician appeared and pinned a microphone to her jacket, tucking a power pack down the back of the sofa.

‘You’ll be on camera two,’ the technician said. ‘But try to ignore it. Just focus on Gaby and don’t look around.’

Clare gazed at the camera. There was an autocue screen below the lens and she wondered if it was a backup for Gaby.

‘Thirty seconds,’ someone called.

‘Okay?’ Gaby mouthed and Clare nodded.

‘Five, four…’ the voice said then, out of the corner of her eye Clare saw a red light on the front of the camera. They were live.