McDonald & Dodds | |
---|---|
Genre | Crime drama Mystery |
Created by | Robert Murphy |
Starring |
|
Composer | Blair Mowat |
Country of origin | United Kingdom |
Original language | English |
No. of series | 4 |
No. of episodes | 11 |
Production | |
Executive producers |
|
Producer | Amy Thurgood |
Production locations | Bath, Somerset, England |
Running time | 90 minutes |
Production companies | Mammoth Screen ITV Studios BritBox |
Original release | |
Network | ITV |
Release | 1 March 2020 – present |
McDonald & Dodds is a British television crime drama series created and principally written by screenwriter Robert Murphy. It stars Tala Gouveia as DCI Lauren McDonald, a streetwise former Metropolitan Police investigator who arrives in Bath to head up the Avon and Somerset Police Criminal Investigation Department; and Jason Watkins as DS Dodds, a shy and modest investigator who has not seen street action in over ten years. [1]
Originally commissioned under the working title Invisible, [2] a pair of films were shot during the summer of 2019, which make up the basis of the first series, broadcast in March 2020. Strong viewing figures saw a second series commissioned for 2021 and shown in February 2021. [3] A third series was confirmed later and broadcast in June 2022. [4] In March 2023, ITV announced that the show was renewed for a fourth series, which was scheduled to air in the UK in April 2024 but was delayed due to scheduling conflicts. Series 4 began airing in the UK on 21 July 2024. [5] Series 4 began airing in Denmark on 20 March 2024 and in the United States on 23 May 2024.
The first series featured an ensemble line-up of guest stars including actors Robert Lindsay, [6] Hugh Dennis, [7] Freddie Fox, and Joanna Scanlan. [8] The second series, which began in February 2021, was again headed by an all-star guest cast, led by Rob Brydon, whose role was used to heavily promote the series in the run-up to its broadcast.
The final episode of the second series, The War of the Rose, was made available to watch on BritBox services outside of the UK. By June 2022, the episode had still not been broadcast in the UK, despite having been released on DVD in Germany, Australia, and the United States. [9] Subsequently, it was announced that the episode would instead air as if it were the third episode of Series 3 in the UK. Due to the casting changes between series, running this episode third in Series 3 would have created a continuity problem, so it was decided to reshoot James Murray's scenes with Claire Skinner instead. This means there are two versions of the episode in circulation: the international version with Murray as the Chief Super, and the UK version with Skinner as the Chief Super. [10]
Filming on the third series took place in late 2021, with Skinner joining the cast as Chief Superintendent Mary Ormond, following the departure of Murray. [11] Guest stars announced for this series include Alan Davies, Sian Phillips, Paul McGann, and Kelvin Fletcher. [12]
The fourth series began filming at the end of June 2023 with Bhavik C. Pankhania joining the cast as DC Lee and guest stars announced for this series include Lydia Leonard, Daniel Lapaine, Ace Bhatti, John Gordon Sinclair, Dipo Ola, Toby Stephens and Pixie Lott.
The title sequence for the show features a question mark (which transforms into the title's ampersand), referencing the iconic overhead view of Royal Crescent and The Circus, two listed structures in Bath that are frequently shown on screen. [13]
Series | Episodes | Originally aired | Average viewers (millions) | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
First aired | Last aired | ||||
1 | 2 | 1 March 2020 | 8 March 2020 | 6.09 | |
2 | 2 | 28 February 2021 | 7 March 2021 | 5.63 | |
3 | 4 | 19 June 2022 | 10 July 2022 | 4.49 | |
4 | 3 | 21 July 2024 | 4 August 2024 | 3.50 |
No. overall | No. in series | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date [14] | UK viewers (millions) | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 1 | "The Fall of the House of Crockett" | Richard Senior | Robert Murphy | 1 March 2020 | 6.37 | |
Wealthy entrepreneur Max Crockett (Robert Lindsay) arrives home from a weekend away to find a dead body in his hallway, and a statue worth £200,000 missing. It seems an open and shut case, with evidence pointing to a robbery gone wrong, until the victim is discovered to have a link to the Crockett family. The arrival of DCI McDonald ruffles some feathers amongst the rather sleepy team of Bath detectives. | |||||||
2 | 2 | "A Wilderness of Mirrors" | Laura Scrivano | Robert Murphy | 8 March 2020 | 5.81 | |
When a recent absconder from a local rehab clinic is found dead, all the events point to suicide, but DS Dodds isn't convinced. Setting out to prove his theory, he bumps heads with counsellor Kelly Mulcreevy (Joanna Scanlan). But as the web begins to unweave, the troubled inmates, a corrupt cop working on the inside and Chief Supt. Houseman all prove to be thorns in the detectives' side. Caroline Catz and Hugh Dennis are guest stars. |
No. overall | No. in series | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date [15] | UK viewers (millions) | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
3 | 1 | "The Man Who Wasn't There" | Alex Pillai | Robert Murphy | 28 February 2021 | 5.93 | |
Five friends embark on a hot-air balloon ride over Bath – but only four land together. The other, Frankie Marsh, is found dead having fallen from the balloon some 100 ft. Was it murder, or did the victim jump? McDonald and Dodds delve deep into the history of the former 80s high-flyers and discover more than meets the eye, while Dodds is assisted by Roy Gilbert (Rob Brydon), an aviation accident investigator somehow seemingly connected to the case. Guest stars include Rupert Graves, Cathy Tyson, Martin Kemp and Patsy Kensit. | |||||||
4 | 2 | "We Need To Talk About Doreen" | Rebecca Rycroft | Robert Murphy | 7 March 2021 | 5.32 | |
A girls' weekend in Bath is interrupted by the discovery of a body in the Box railway tunnel – a guest of the party which the female clan attended the previous night. Evidence points towards Angela, the somewhat leader of the group, a forty-something self-proclaimed celebrity who was having an affair with the victim. Dodds thinks he has the case wrapped up, unaware that the dark horse of the group, Doreen (Sharon Rooney), is leading him a merry dance. John Thomson is a guest star. |
No. overall | No. in series | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date [16] | UK viewers (millions) | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
5 | 1 | "Belvedere" | Robert Quinn | Robert Murphy | 19 June 2022 | 4.38 | |
When a young Irishwoman, Elodie Docherty, is found dead in Parade Gardens in the middle of a sunny summer's day, McDonald and Dodds are called in to figure out how and why this seemingly innocent young woman died. Their investigations lead them to a crumbling mansion on the outskirts of Bath, where they try to ascertain how linguistic anthropologist Professor George Gillan (Alan Davies) and his eccentric elderly mother Agnes (Sian Phillips) are involved with the victim. As the investigation progresses, the team discover that their prime suspect, Kate Porter (Catherine Tyldesley), is an NCA mole living under witness protection, and that the mansion may hold some personal tragedy for Dodds. | |||||||
6 | 2 | "A Billion Beats" | Isher Sahota | Rob Drummond | 26 June 2022 | 4.38 | |
McDonald and Dodds are sucked into the fast and furious world of Formula 1, after Bath’s famous motorsport dynasty, the Addingtons, report that their up-and-coming driver has died during a 3.14-second pit stop. As an F1 fan herself, McDonald won’t let patriarch and Team Principal Archie Addington (Paul McGann) run rings around her, but when a significant someone from her past gets dragged into the investigation, she’s thrown off course. But it’s one of Dodds’ specialisms that leads them to uncover the darker side of success and finally unravel the truth. | |||||||
7 | 3 | "The War of Rose" / "The War of the Rose" | Ian Aryeh | Kam Odedra | 3 July 2022 | 4.63 | |
Social media influencer Rose Boleyn (Rosie Day) elects to have plastic surgery at a clinic run by soon to be divorced couple Al (Rhashan Stone) and Mariel (Sarah Parish). After tragedy strikes, McDonald and Dodds are brought in to investigate the clinic and its staff. | |||||||
8 | 4 | "Clouds Across the Moon" | Sasha Ransome | Robert Murphy | 10 July 2022 | 4.57 | |
On the dawn of All Soul's Day, the body of a successful Bath businessman is found in a shallow grave in the shadow of Glastonbury Tor. The detective duo's first suspect is local artist Hector Ingham, although McDonald can't help but be suspicious of the man who found the body, the mysterious Martin Silver - IT consultant by day, medium by night - who claims to be able to speak to the dead. As increasingly cryptic clues come to light, one name keeps reoccurring in paper trails, credit card statement and on the lips of witnesses…that of Dodds himself. |
No. overall | No. in series | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | UK viewers (millions) | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
9 | 1 | "The Rule of Three" | Khurrum M. Sultan | Robert Murphy | 21 July 2024 | 4.01 | |
Investigative journalist Susie Green is murdered during a family party. A witness claims that her stepdaughter, Lola Baker (Pixie Lott), was responsible for the death. Meanwhile, a middle-aged woman is found shot dead in an apartment in central Bath. It is later discovered that the victim, Anne Hegarty, is in fact Anne Holgate, a missing person who disappeared more than thirty eight-years ago whilst out playing with her older brother (Toby Stephens). Dropped into the shady world of organized crime, McDonald and Dodds are shocked to discover a link between Anne's death and the murder of Susie Green, while the case takes a personal turn for Chief Supt. Ormond. | |||||||
10 | 2 | "Jinxy Sings the Blues" | Samantha Harrie | Robert Murphy | 28 July 2024 | 3.22 | |
Local man Ian Andrews (Jared Garfield) boards the local bus heading towards Bath station. Everything appears as usual, a normal day, but when the bus rolls into Bath station, Ian is dead. To solve the mystery of Ian's fate, McDonald and Dodds delve into the early history of blues music and the shady world of art auctions. Guest stars include Hugh Quarshie, Charley Webb, Will Young and Sophia Myles. | |||||||
11 | 3 | "Wedding Fever" | Stephen Gallacher | Rob Drummond & Robert Murphy | 4 August 2024 | 3.26 | |
It's wedding season in Bath, but a string of suspicious deaths is affecting celebrations across the city. Is there a serial killer on the loose who goes after weddings? In a series of cryptic calls to the local radio station, an anonymous person threatens that there is a plan for more murders. It's a case that pushes McDonald and Dodds to the limit. Guest stars include Jason Hughes, Holli Dempsey and Lucinda Dryzek. |
The first three series have been released onto Region 2 DVD in the UK. Further releases have taken place of the first, second and third series in France and Germany.
The first three series are available for streaming in the US and Australia through the BritBox service. The fourth series started streaming weekly in Australia and the US on 23 May 2024. [17]
Coronation Street is a British television soap opera created by Granada Television and shown on ITV since 9 December 1960. The programme centres on a cobbled, terraced street in the fictional town of Weatherfield in Greater Manchester. The location was itself based on Salford, the hometown of the show's first screenwriter and creator.
Emmerdale is a British television soap opera that is broadcast on ITV. The show is set in Emmerdale, a fictional village in the Yorkshire Dales. Created by Kevin Laffan, Emmerdale Farm was first broadcast on 16 October 1972. Interior scenes have been filmed at the Leeds Studios since its inception. Exterior scenes were first filmed in Arncliffe in Littondale, and the series may have taken its name from Amerdale, an ancient name of Littondale. Exterior scenes were later shot at Esholt, but are now shot at a purpose-built set on the Harewood estate.
Midsomer Murders is a British crime drama mystery television series, adapted by Anthony Horowitz and Douglas Watkinson from the novels in the Chief Inspector Barnaby book series created by Caroline Graham. It has been broadcast on the ITV network since its premiere on 23 March 1997. The series focuses on various murder cases that take place within small country villages across the fictional English county of Midsomer, and the efforts of the senior police detective and his partner within the fictional Midsomer Constabulary to solve the crime by determining who the culprit is and the motive for their actions. It differs from other detective dramas in featuring a mixture of lighthearted whimsy and dark humour, as well as a notable soundtrack with a title theme that includes a theremin.
Robert Lindsay Stevenson, known professionally as Robert Lindsay, is an English actor and narrator. He has appeared with the Royal Shakespeare Company and in musical theatre, and is the recipient of a British Academy Television Award, a Tony Award, and two Laurence Olivier Awards.
Catherine Tyson is an English actress. She won the Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in the film Mona Lisa (1986), which also earned her Best Supporting Actress nominations at the Golden Globes and BAFTA Awards. She has starred in The Serpent and the Rainbow (1988), Priest (1994), and Band of Gold (1995–1997). She won the British Academy Television Award for Best Supporting Actress in 2022 for her performance in the film Help.
Bradley Walsh is an English actor, television presenter, comedian, singer, and former professional footballer.
William Mellor is an English actor and singer. He is known for his roles as Jambo Bolton in Hollyoaks, Gaz Wilkinson in Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps, Warren Stamp in EastEnders, DC Spike Tanner in No Offence, Steve Connolly in Broadchurch, Georgie in Barking! and Ollie Curry in White Van Man. He appeared in the ITV soap opera Coronation Street as Harvey Gaskell. In 2024, he appeared as sub-postmaster Lee Castleton in the ITV drama Mr Bates vs The Post Office, about the British Post Office scandal.
An Audience with... is a British entertainment television show produced by London Weekend Television, in which a host, usually a singer or comedian, performs for an invited audience of celebrity guests, interspersed with questions from the audience, in a lighthearted revue/tribute style.
James Murray is an English actor, artist, and river conservationist. He is well known for his work campaigning for British rivers and is a wild salmon advocate. He founded Activist Anglers in 2023.
Katherine Kelly is an English actress. She rose to prominence with her portrayal of Becky McDonald on the ITV soap opera Coronation Street (2006–2012), for which she received multiple awards, including the British Soap Award for Best Actress (2009) and the NTA for Best Serial Drama Performance (2012).
Jason Peter Watkins is an English stage, film and television actor. He played the lead role in the two-part drama The Lost Honour of Christopher Jefferies, for which he won the BAFTA TV Award for Best Actor. He has also played William Herrick in Being Human, Gavin Strong in Trollied, Simon Harwood in W1A, Gordon Shakespeare in the film series Nativity, British Prime Minister Harold Wilson in Season 3 of The Crown and Detective Sergeant Dodds in McDonald & Dodds.
Benidorm is a British sitcom written and created by Derren Litten and produced by Tiger Aspect for ITV that aired for ten series from 1 February 2007 until 2 May 2018. The series features an ensemble cast of holiday makers and staff at the Solana all-inclusive hotel in Benidorm, Spain over the course of a week each year.
Vera is a British crime drama television series based on the Vera Stanhope series of novels by Ann Cleeves. First broadcast on ITV on 1 May 2011, it stars Brenda Blethyn as the principal character, Detective Chief Inspector Vera Stanhope.
Joey Donald Essex is an English television personality. He came to prominence for his appearances on the ITV reality series The Only Way Is Essex (2011–2013). He went on to appear on various reality television shows, including Splash! (2013), I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! (2013), The Jump (2015), Celebs Go Dating, Celebrity Ex on the Beach (2020), Dancing on Ice (2023), and Love Island (2024).
Grantchester is a British ITV detective drama set in the 1950s in the Cambridgeshire village of Grantchester. Its first series was broadcast in 2014. The first three series featured Anglican vicar Sidney Chambers ; subsequent series have featured vicar William Davenport. Each of them develops a sideline in sleuthing with the help of Detective Inspector Geordie Keating, played by Robson Green.
Unforgotten is a British crime drama television series, which initially aired on ITV on 8 October 2015. It was created and written by Chris Lang and directed by Andy Wilson. The programme follows a team of London detectives led by DCI Cassie Stuart, DCI Jessie James and DI Sunny Khan as they solve cold cases of disappearance and murder.
Wild Bill is a British television drama series which premiered on ITV on 12 June 2019. The series stars executive producer Rob Lowe, and six episodes were commissioned in October 2018.
James Lee Williams, known professionally as The Vivienne, is a British drag performer known for being appointed as the UK Drag Ambassador in 2015 for American reality television series RuPaul's Drag Race. She later competed and won the first series of RuPaul's Drag Race UK in 2019, and competed again in the seventh series of RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars in 2022.
Spitting Image is a British satirical television puppet show. It is a revival of the 1984 series of the same name created by Peter Fluck, Roger Law and Martin Lambie-Nairn. Similar to the original, the series features puppet caricatures of contemporary celebrities, such as Adele, James Corden, and Kanye West, as well as public figures, including British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, several Conservative cabinet members such as Michael Gove, Dominic Raab and Priti Patel, and US President Donald Trump.
Hope Street is a Northern Irish crime serial drama television series filmed in Donaghadee, Northern Ireland. The series, broadcast on BBC One Northern Ireland, was created by Paul Marquess and Susanne Farrell. The series is also broadcast on BBC One, once the episodes have been shown in the Northern Ireland region, and as of the third series, full series have been released on BBC iPlayer ahead of broadcast.