State of Play is a British television drama series, written by Paul Abbott and directed by David Yates, that was first broadcast on BBC One in 2003. The series tells the story of a newspaper's investigation into the death of a political researcher, and centres on the relationship between the leading journalist, Cal McCaffrey, and his old friend, Stephen Collins, who is a Member of Parliament and the murdered woman's employer. The series is primarily set in London and was produced in-house by the BBC in association with the independent production company Endor Productions. The series stars David Morrissey, John Simm, Kelly Macdonald, Polly Walker, Bill Nighy, and James McAvoy in the main roles.
David Mark Joseph Morrissey is an English actor and filmmaker. Noted for the meticulous preparation and research he undertakes for each role, he has been described by the British Film Institute as one of the most versatile English actors of his generation.
David John Tennant is a Scottish actor. He rose to fame for his role as the tenth incarnation of the Doctor in the BBC sci-fi series Doctor Who, returning to the show as the fourteenth incarnation of the character in 2022. His other notable roles include Giacomo Casanova in the BBC comedy-drama serial Casanova (2005), Barty Crouch Jr. in the fantasy film Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005), Peter Vincent in the horror remake Fright Night (2011), DI Alec Hardy in the ITV crime drama series Broadchurch (2013–2017), Kilgrave in the Netflix superhero series Jessica Jones (2015–2019), Crowley in the Amazon Prime fantasy series Good Omens (2019–present), Angus in The Loud House Movie (2021), and Phileas Fogg in Around the World in 80 Days (2021).
Steven James Pemberton is a British actor, comedian, director and writer. He is best known as a member of The League of Gentlemen with Reece Shearsmith, Mark Gatiss, and Jeremy Dyson. Pemberton and Shearsmith also co-wrote and starred in the black comedy Psychoville and the anthology series Inside No. 9. His other notable television credits include Doctor Who, Benidorm, Blackpool, Shameless, Whitechapel, Happy Valley and Mapp and Lucia.
Sarah Parish is an English actress. She is known for her work on television series including The Pillars of the Earth, Peak Practice, Hearts and Bones, Cutting It, Doctor Who, Mistresses, Merlin, Atlantis, Monroe, HBO's Industry, Stay Close, Trollied,W1A and as the titular character in Bancroft.
Holding On is an eight-part British television drama series, created by screenwriter Tony Marchant, that first broadcast on BBC2 on 8 September 1997. The series follows the life of a seemingly unconnected group of people living in London, whose lives are strangely affected by the murder of a young woman in the city. While some of the group are able to take a newfound hope from the remains of the tragic event, others including food critic Gary Rickey simply watch on as despair begins to unravel in the light of the aftermath. Proving popular with both critics and viewers alike, the series won a Royal Television Society award for Best Drama Serial in 1998.
Georgia Taylor is an English actress. Her TV roles include Toyah Battersby in the ITV soap opera Coronation Street, Ruth Winters in the BBC One medical drama series Casualty (2007–2011), and Kate Barker in the ITV crime series Law & Order: UK (2013–2014).
Viva Laughlin is an American musical dramedy television series adapted by Bob Lowry and Peter Bowker from the popular BBC serial Blackpool, and taking its name from the latter program's sequel Viva Blackpool. Lowry and Bowker also served as executive producers alongside Hugh Jackman, John Palermo, Paul Telegdy, and Gabriele Muccino. The latter also directed the pilot. It was filmed on location in part at the Morongo Casino Resort & Spa in Cabazon, California for most of the inside casino shots.
South Riding is a novel by Winifred Holtby, published posthumously in 1936.
The filmography of English actor David Morrissey encompasses acting, directing, producing, and screenwriting roles in film, television, and theatre for over 30 years.
Peter Bowker is a British playwright and screenwriter. He is best known for the television serials Blackpool (2004), a musical drama about a shady casino owner in the north of England; Occupation (2009), which follows three military servicemen adjusting to civilian life after a tour of duty in Iraq; Capital (2015), an Emmy award-winning drama about real-estate bubbles in South London; and The A Word (2016), an adaptation of Keren Margalit's Israeli drama Yellow Peppers about a family raising an autistic child. In 2007, he adapted Blackpool for CBS as Viva Laughlin.
Five Daughters is a British television drama miniseries starring Ian Hart, Sarah Lancashire, Jaime Winstone and Juliet Aubrey. Set in 2006, it is about the five victims of the Ipswich serial murders and how the crime affected their families. It was written by Stephen Butchard and Julie Rutterford. It was shown on BBC One in three one-hour episodes from 25 to 27 April 2010.
Thorne is a British crime drama television series, based on the novels of author Mark Billingham, that was first broadcast on Sky One on 10 October 2010. A single six-episode series, starring David Morrissey in the title role of Detective Inspector Tom Thorne, was broadcast at 21:00 on Sundays until 14 November. As well as Morrissey, the series also stars Aidan Gillen, Eddie Marsan, O-T Fagbenle and Lorraine Ashbourne in supporting roles. The series comprises two three-part dramatisations of the first two Thorne novels, Sleepyhead and Scaredycat. Sleepyhead, directed by Stephen Hopkins, previewed in full at the BFI Southbank in London on 4 October 2010, followed by a Q&A session featuring writer Mark Billingham and actors David Morrissey and Eddie Marsan.
Broadchurch is a British crime drama television series broadcast on ITV for three series between 2013 and 2017. It was created by Chris Chibnall, who acted as an executive producer and wrote all 24 episodes and produced by Kudos in association with Imaginary Friends Productions Ltd. The series is set in Broadchurch, a fictional English town on the coast of Dorset and focuses on Detective Inspector Alec Hardy and Detective Sergeant Ellie Miller. Other members of the ensemble cast appearing in all three seasons are Jodie Whittaker, Andrew Buchan, Arthur Darvill, Carolyn Pickles, Jonathan Bailey, Matthew Gravelle, Charlotte Beaumont and Adam Wilson.
Inside No. 9 is a British black comedy anthology television programme that first aired in 2014. It is written by Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton and produced by the BBC. Each 30-minute episode is a self-contained story with new characters and a new setting, almost all starring Pemberton or Shearsmith. Aside from the writers, each episode has a new cast, allowing Inside No. 9 to attract a number of well-known actors. The stories are linked only by the number 9 in some way, typically taking the form of a door marked with the number 9, and a brass hare statue that is in the background of all episodes. Themes and tone vary from episode to episode, but all have elements of comedy and horror or perverse humour, in addition to a plot twist. Pemberton and Shearsmith took inspiration for Inside No. 9 from an episode of Psychoville, a previous project, which was filmed in a single room – this in turn was inspired by Alfred Hitchcock's Rope.
Derek Wax is a British television executive producer. His work includes The Rig, The Sixth Commandment, Sex Traffic, Occupation, The Hour,Troy: Fall of a City,Capital,Humans, Lip Service, Tsunami: The Aftermath and From There to Here. He was a producer at Granada TV from 2001 to 2005 and an Executive Producer at Kudos from 2005 to 2017.
Murder on the Blackpool Express is a 2017 comedy drama television film created by Jason Cook. Starring Johnny Vegas, Sian Gibson, Sheila Reid, Una Stubbs, Griff Rhys Jones, Nina Wadia, Nigel Havers, Kimberley Nixon and Kevin Eldon.
Murder is a British television crime drama series, first broadcast between 29 May and 19 June 2002, that ran for a total of four episodes on BBC Two. The series starred Julie Walters as Angela Maurer, a mother who seeks help from a local journalist after her son, Christopher, is killed the day after his 21st birthday. Each episode focuses on a different character who is somehow linked to the story through Angela, including the journalist, a shopkeeper, a police detective and a witness to the crime itself. The serial was written by playwright Abi Morgan, and directed by Beeban Kidron.
Des is a British three-part television drama miniseries, based on the 1983 arrest of Scottish serial killer Dennis Nilsen, after the discovery of human remains causing the blockage of a drain near his home. The series premiered on 14 September 2020.
The Pembrokeshire Murders is a Welsh three-part television drama miniseries based on the Pembrokeshire murders by Welsh serial killer John Cooper. In 2006, newly promoted Detective Superintendent Steve Wilkins decided to reopen two unsolved 1980s murder cases linked with a string of burglaries. New advances in technology for forensic DNA analysis, witness reports and artists impressions of the suspect led to Dyfed-Powys Police reviewing a 1989 episode of Bullseye, which led to the serial killer finally being caught. It premiered on ITV on 11 January 2021.
