Jackie Malton

Last updated

Jackie Malton (born 1951 [1] ) is a UK television script consultant and former senior police officer best known for being the inspiration for the character of DCI Jane Tennison in the Prime Suspect drama written by Lynda La Plante.

Malton's police career, initially in the Leicestershire and then the Metropolitan Police Service, was notable for her rise within the ranks of a very male, heterosexual establishment while being a woman detective who was openly gay. Malton worked in a number of areas, including the Flying Squad, Murder Squad and Fraud Squad. She also acted as a whistle-blower against police corruption in the 1980s.

Following her work with La Plante on the Prime Suspect series, and her involvement with Cracker and Band of Gold , Malton retired from the Metropolitan Police in 1997 to pursue a career in script consultancy and has subsequently worked on over twenty major television police series including The Bill , Trial & Retribution , Life on Mars , Ashes to Ashes , both series of Murder Investigation Team and The Level for ITV. Malton also wrote a play, which was aired on BBC Radio 4 entitled "Be Mine".

Between 2008 and 2012, Malton achieved an MA in Creative Writing and an MSc in Addiction Psychology. She contributed a chapter to Addiction, Behavioural Change and Social Identity, edited by Sarah A. Buckingham and David Best.

Malton, who was already a Freeman of the City of London, was awarded an honorary doctorate from London South Bank University in October 2019 as Doctor of the university. Malton continues to volunteer in a prison with men who have a range of addiction issues, that often have had the most profound effect on their lives and the lives of others.

Her TV documentary series, The Real Prime Suspect examined ten high-profile murder cases and was aired in 2019; the second series was released in 2020. Both have been seen in the US, South Africa and across Europe.

Jackie Malton's biography, "The Real Prime Suspect" was published by Endeavour in 2023. In this book she admits to once having had a drinking problem and she identifies herself as a gay woman.

Related Research Articles

<i>In the Heat of the Night</i> (TV series) American TV series

In the Heat of the Night is an American police procedural crime drama television series loosely based on the 1967 film and 1965 novel of the same title that starred Carroll O'Connor as police chief Bill Gillespie and Howard Rollins as police detective Virgil Tibbs and was broadcast on NBC from March 6, 1988-May 19, 1992 before moving to CBS, where it aired from October 28, 1992-May 16, 1995. Its executive producers were O'Connor, Fred Silverman and Juanita Bartlett. This series marked O'Connor's return to a series for the first time since the All in the Family spinoff Archie Bunker's Place ended in 1983.

<i>NYPD Blue</i> American television police procedural (1993–2005)

NYPD Blue is an American police procedural television series set in New York City, exploring the struggles of the fictional 15th Precinct detective squad in Manhattan. Each episode typically intertwines several plots involving an ensemble cast. The show was created by Steven Bochco and David Milch, and was inspired by Milch's relationship with Bill Clark, a former member of the New York City Police Department who eventually became one of the show's producers. The series was originally broadcast by ABC from September 21, 1993‚ to March 1, 2005. It was ABC's longest-running primetime one-hour drama series until Grey's Anatomy surpassed it in 2016.

<i>Prime Suspect</i> British police procedural TV series (1991–2006)

Prime Suspect is a British police procedural television series devised by Lynda La Plante. It stars Helen Mirren as Jane Tennison, one of the first female Detective Chief Inspectors in Greater London's Metropolitan Police Service, who rises to the rank of Detective Superintendent while confronting institutionalised sexism within the police force.

<i>Police Story</i> (1973 TV series) Television series

Police Story is an American anthology, crime-drama, television series that aired weekly on NBC from September 25, 1973, through April 5, 1977, followed by a season of irregularly scheduled television film specials from September 27, 1977, to May 28, 1978, with three further television films screened in 1979, 1980, and 1987. The show was created by author and former police officer Joseph Wambaugh and was described by The Complete Directory of Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows as "one of the more realistic police series to be seen on television". It was produced by David Gerber and Mel Swope.

The police procedural, police show, or police crime drama is a subgenre of procedural drama and detective fiction that emphasizes the investigative procedure of police officers, police detectives, or law enforcement agencies as the protagonists, as contrasted with other genres that focus on non-police investigators such as private investigators.

Lynda Joy La Plante, CBE is an English author, screenwriter and former actress, best known for writing the Prime Suspect television crime series. In 2024 she was honoured with the Crime Writers' Association of Britain's Diamond Dagger award for her outstanding lifetime's contribution to the crime and mystery fiction genre.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jessica Fletcher</span> Fictional character

Jessica Beatrice "J. B." Fletcher is a fictional detective and writer and the main character and protagonist of the American television series Murder, She Wrote. Portrayed by award-winning actress Angela Lansbury, Fletcher is a best-selling author of mystery novels, an English teacher, amateur detective, criminology professor, and congresswoman. In 2004, Fletcher was listed in Bravo's "100 Greatest TV Characters". AOL named her one of the "100 Most Memorable Female TV Characters". The same website listed her among "TV's Smartest Detectives". She was ranked at number six on Sleuth Channel's poll of "America's Top Sleuths". Guinness World Records called her the "most prolific amateur sleuth".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pam Grier</span> American actress (born 1949)

Pamela Suzette Grier is an American actress and singer. Described by many as cinema's first female action star, she achieved fame for her starring roles in a string of 1970s action, blaxploitation and women in prison films for American International Pictures and New World Pictures. Her accolades include nominations for an Emmy Award, a Golden Globe Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award, a Satellite Award and a Saturn Award.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Disappearance of Suzy Lamplugh</span> 1986 disappearance of woman in London

Susannah Jane Lamplugh was a British estate agent reported missing on 28 July 1986 in Fulham, London, England, United Kingdom. She was officially declared dead, presumed murdered, in 1993. The last clue to Lamplugh's whereabouts was an appointment to show a house in Shorrolds Road to someone she called Mr. Kipper. The case remains unsolved.

<i>Police Woman</i> (TV series) Television series

Police Woman is an American police procedural television series created by Robert L. Collins, starring Angie Dickinson that ran on NBC for four seasons, from September 13, 1974, to March 29, 1978.

<i>Bhagam Bhag</i> 2006 film by Priyadarshan

Bhagam Bhag is a 2006 Indian Hindi-language comedy film directed by Priyadarshan and written by Neeraj Vora. It is based on the Malayalam film Mannar Mathai Speaking (1995), was directed by duo Siddique–Lal. It was produced by Sunil Shetty and Dhilin Mehta under their banners Popcorn Motion Pictures and Shree Ashtavinayak Vision Limited. The film stars Akshay Kumar, Govinda and Paresh Rawal as the three leads alongside Lara Dutta, Rajpal Yadav, Jackie Shroff, Arbaaz Khan, Shakti Kapoor, Manoj Joshi, Razak Khan, Sharat Saxena and Asrani. The film adapted certain subplots of Malayalam film Mannar Mathai Speaking which itself was based on the 1958 movie Vertigo.

<i>Oh! Heavenly Dog</i> 1980 film by Joe Camp

Oh! Heavenly Dog is a 1980 American fantasy comedy film written by Rod Browning and stars Benjean, billed here as Benji, Chevy Chase, Jane Seymour, and Omar Sharif. The film was directed by Joe Camp and released by 20th Century Fox.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brenda Leigh Johnson</span> Fictional character featured in TNTs The Closer

Deputy Chief Brenda Leigh Johnson is a fictional character and the main protagonist featured in TNT's The Closer. She heads the Major Crimes Division of the Los Angeles Police Department. She is portrayed as an intelligent, determined, and exacting woman. The character has a tendency to offend coworkers and other people involved in her cases but is skilled at determining the facts of a crime, compelling confessions, and closing cases. Thus, she is "a closer".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Doakes</span> Fictional character in the Dexter television series

James Doakes is a fictional character in the Dexter television series and the novels by Jeff Lindsay. In the TV series, he is portrayed by Erik King. Doakes appeared in the first two seasons as a detective sergeant, and is depicted as one of the few characters in the series to suspect the truth of lead character Dexter Morgan being a serial killer.

Above Suspicion is a British crime drama based on the series of Anna Travis novels written by Lynda La Plante. The series stars Kelly Reilly and Ciarán Hinds as the protagonists Anna Travis and James Langton. Four series were broadcast over a total of four years on ITV. The first episode was broadcast on 4 January 2009, and the final episode on 28 January 2012. The first three series all aired on consecutive nights; whereas the fourth series a more traditional weekly format.

Flowers of Evil (<i>Police Woman</i>) 8th episode of the 1st season of Police Woman

"Flowers of Evil" is a 1974 episode of the American police procedural television series Police Woman. The episode features Sgt. Suzanne "Pepper" Anderson going undercover at a nursing home to investigate a murder. She uncovers a trio of lesbians who are robbing and murdering their elderly residents. The episode, the eighth of the first season, originally aired on November 8, 1974.

<i>Suspects</i> (TV series) TV series

Suspects is a British police procedural television series that aired on Channel 5 from 12 February 2014 to 31 August 2016. The series follows members of the Metropolitan Police as they investigate murders, assaults, and other crimes across London.

<i>Career of Evil</i> 2015 crime novel by Robert Galbraith (J. K. Rowling)

Career of Evil is a 2015 crime fiction novel written by Robert Galbraith, a pseudonym for J. K. Rowling. It is the third novel in the Cormoran Strike series of detective novels and is followed by Lethal White in 2018 and Troubled Blood in 2020.

<i>Prime Suspect 1973</i> 2017 detective television series

Prime Suspect 1973 is a British television detective drama series starring Stefanie Martini as the young Jane Tennison. It is a prequel to the long-running Prime Suspect series that had starred Helen Mirren.

Alun Kyte, known as the Midlands Ripper, is an English double murderer, serial rapist, child rapist, paedophile and suspected serial killer. He was convicted in 2000 of the murders of two sex workers, 20-year-old Samo Paull and 30-year-old Tracey Turner, whom he killed in December 1993 and March 1994 respectively. After his conviction, investigators announced their suspicions that Kyte could have been behind a number of other unsolved murders of sex workers across Britain in the 1980s and 1990s. He was apprehended due to the ground-breaking investigations of a wider police enquiry named Operation Enigma, which was launched in 1996 in response to the murders of Paull, Turner and of a large number of other sex workers. Kyte was sentenced to a minimum of 25 years imprisonment for the murders of Paull and Turner.

References

Twitter:@Thursley