Fool Me Once star Richard Armitage gives worrying career update ahead of his new ITV drama Red Eye

Richard Armitage has shared an ominous career update ahead of his new TV series, Red Eye.

The Fool Me Once star, 52, has hinted that he could disappear from our screens in the near future, in favor of moving to the other side of the camera.

ITV’s Red Eye debuts tonight at 9pm on ITV1 and ITVX, and will introduce us to Matthew Nolan (Armitage) as he is arrested on suspicion of murder.

He is joined in the show by Jing Lusi (DC Hana Li), Robert Gilbert (Simon King) and Lesley Sharp (Madeline Delaney).

But Armitage told it Subway prior to the series’ release, “My desire to be in front of the camera is waning.”

Armitage recently appeared in Netflix’s hit Fool Me Once series (pictured with on-screen wife Michelle Keegan)

Armitage has been a fixture in both TV and film since the 1990s, emerging as a love interest for Dawn French’s character Geraldine Granger in Vicar of Dibley.

He has since appeared in The Hobbit, North & South, Obsession and Netflix’s hit adaptation of Harlan Coben’s Fool Me Once.

But Armitage said that now that he’s “grown up,” his desire is “to come in at an earlier stage to shape stories.”

However, there are still at least six more hour-long episodes to come from him.

The 52-year-old’s character is nicked upon his return from China after a business trip, with the authorities sending him in the opposite direction.

DC Li is the suspect’s chaperone, but reluctantly, reluctant to return to the scene of her mother’s mysterious death decades earlier.

As the pair continue on their way, tensions rise as it appears there is a killer on board, but not Nolan, who appears to be their main target.

As their fellow passengers die around them, the police officer and her detainee are forced to work together.

Armitage revealed that the story eventually develops into something “bigger than my imagination” as the situation evolves outside the plane and into the geopolitical world.

Despite this, the series was shot almost entirely in a small set to better simulate the airplane environment, with the claustrophobia, according to the protagonist, only increasing the tension.

Red Eye was also shot in the same order as the script followed.

Another exciting element that convinced Armitage to participate in Red Eye was the complexity of his character.

He revealed that he tries to imagine himself actually being the character – which in this case led to him learning CPR – and tries to find a redeeming quality that he can connect to in every role he takes on.

The Hobbit and Obsession star plays a suspected murderer, who must team up with his police chaperone (Jing Lusi, right) as it becomes clear that another murderer is on their run

Much of the six-part series was shot on a small set to recreate the claustrophobia of an airplane

Lusi said landing a leading role in the ITV drama felt ‘groundbreaking’ as diversity improves in British television and film.

“I just turned something down because I knew from page one what the guy was going to do,” he added.

Armitage isn’t the only star to praise the making of Red Eye. Lusi, 38, praised the makers for their diverse cast, which is telling The women’s hour that getting her lead role felt “groundbreaking.”

The Crazy Rich Asians star added that “we’re seeing a lot more East Asian visibility in America,” adding that in Britain, many actors of that heritage are “kind of pushed to the background” and “peripheral” play characters.

Red Eye will see new episodes air every Sunday on ITV1, with all six parts airing on ITVX tonight at the show’s launch at 9pm.