Viewers reel from explosive cliffhanger to BBC's Baptiste after lead female character is revealed to be transgender

  • Actor Tchéky Karyo returned to screens on Sunday night as Julien Baptiste 
  • Baptiste is tasked with finding a missing sex worker Natalie Rose in Amsterdam
  • Her uncle Stratton approaches Baptiste claiming to be worried about her  
  • Baptiste finds the girl he is looking for on a canal boat in Amsterdam
  • It's revealed her uncle is not who he says he is - and he has a head in his cellar 
  • Viewers took to Twitter to attempt to unravel the mysteries of the episode

Viewers of new drama Baptiste were left in shock after a dramatic twist revealed that the lead female character was transgender.  

Television's most enigmatic and obsessive French detective returned last night in a new series, which saw him attempt to find a missing sex worker.   

In an opening episode which took a series of surprising turns that kept viewers guessing, Julien Baptiste went hunting through Amsterdam's underworld as he tried to get to the bottom of the case.

And in a further unexpected twist, audiences were left gobsmacked when it transpired the lead female character Kim Vogel (Talisa Garcia) was once a man.  

Ms Garcia plays Kim Vogel, who lives with a man who is head over heels for her but is unaware that she is transgender

Ms Garcia plays Kim Vogel, who lives with a man who is head over heels for her but is unaware that she is transgender

Talisa Garcia (pictured), 45, received gender reassignment surgery when she was a teenager and says men hit on her after watching her in the BBC show

Talisa Garcia (pictured), 45, received gender reassignment surgery when she was a teenager and believes most men would still want to have sex with her after watching her in the BBC show

Detective Julien Baptiste, played by Tchéky Karyo, discovers the the character's secret in a shocking twist at the end of the episode. 

He successfully finds the missing girl he was hired to trace - and it was revealed the man claiming to be her uncle had been lying the whole time.  

The spin off from BBC 1 hit show The Missing sees Baptiste in Amsterdam trying to help an uncle, Edward Stratton (Tom Hollander) find his drug addicted sex worker niece, Natalie Rose (Anna Próchnia). 

Sexy French detective Julien Baptiste returned to a captive audience tonight, as he attempted (and succeeded) at finding a missing girl 

Sexy French detective Julien Baptiste returned to a captive audience tonight, as he attempted (and succeeded) at finding a missing girl 

Baptiste and Stratton start by hunting for Stratton's niece Natalie in Amsterdam, where it's revealed the French detective and his family are living 

Baptiste and Stratton start by hunting for Stratton's niece Natalie in Amsterdam, where it's revealed the French detective and his family are living 

At first it seems the series will focus on Natalie and her uncle's desperate search for her - but by the end of the episode, it's unclear what direction it will take. Pictured: Stratton with Baptiste

At first it seems the series will focus on Natalie and her uncle's desperate search for her - but by the end of the episode, it's unclear what direction it will take. Pictured: Stratton with Baptiste

Viewers were put on edge straight away as the first on screen character Peter was brutally murdered less than three minutes in. 

And in the climax of the show, it's revealed that Baptiste had located Natalie on a canal boat in the city - and that Stratton is not her uncle as he claims to be.   

Meanwhile, Stratton, who returned to his home in England, where viewers were shocked to discover he was keeping the head of the man killed at the beginning of the programme in his basement.  

Viewers have been left reeling with questions and took to Twitter to voice their confusion while attempting to piece together the mystery. 

Viewers were charmed by Peter, played by Nicholas Woodeson, who is killed by an assassin less than three minutes into the programme 

Viewers were charmed by Peter, played by Nicholas Woodeson, who is killed by an assassin less than three minutes into the programme 

And left stunned when it was revealed at the end of the episode that his head was in Stratton's underground cellar 

And left stunned when it was revealed at the end of the episode that his head was in Stratton's underground cellar 

One wrote: 'Well I've gone right off a trip to Amsterdam! I've been holding my breath for an hour! that #Baptiste is as good as I'd hoped.'

While another commented: 'Now I'm just so desperate for answers. I need episode two #Baptiste'. 

One said: 'Great first episode of @BBCOne's #Baptiste. Nice set up for what looks like a great drama. Wasn’t expecting to see a severed head in a cellar...'

Another wrote: 'The guy is not her uncle?? And he has the guys head in his basement? #Baptiste'.

One user said: 'Knew there was something dodgy about the 'Uncle' all along. Good solid start leaving lots of questions for next week #Baptiste'. 

And another wrote said: 'Spent most of it watching through my fingers but love love love the new #Baptiste'.

Episode one saw a series of new characters introduced, including Peter, Stratton and Natalie, a brothel madam who is revealed to be transgender (played by Talisa Garcia), an assassin Constantin (played by Alec Secareanu) among others. 

It's unclear where the spin off will go next, as Baptiste continues to piece together the  mystery 

It's unclear where the spin off will go next, as Baptiste continues to piece together the  mystery 

The spin off from BBC 1 hit show looks likely to be just as baffling as the original thriller The Missing, which ran for two series and finished in 2016. 

Viewers were introduced to Julien Baptiste in 2014 in the first series of The Missing, in which James Nesbitt's character Tony Hughes and Tony's wife Emily were left in despair when their five-year-old son Oliver disappeared in France during a family holiday.

The story focused on Baptiste, a detective who retired in part to deal with his daughter's drug problems, returning to the case when Tony believed he'd found fresh evidence. 

The second series was set on a British military base in Germany and starred David Morrissey as Captain Sam Webster and Keeley Hawes as his wife Gemma.

Their daughter Alice, who went missing in 2003, suddenly reappeared saying she'd been held captive with a French girl, Sophie Giroux. Baptiste, who was in charge of the Giroux investigation, returned and found there was more to Alice's story than anyone could imagine. 

In the final episode of series two, eight million viewers tuned in to watch Julien Baptiste undergo brain surgery for a cancerous tumor. 

But in this new series, he is fit and healthy, and back to trying to solve mysteries - and although at the start of the episode it looks like he'll be tracking down a missing drug addicted sex worker, by the end it appears nothing has been as it seems. 

Baptiste is on Sundays, at 9pm on BBC One, catch up on the latest episode on BBC iPlayer

The comments below have been moderated in advance.

The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline.

We are no longer accepting comments on this article.