Walter (2014 film)

Last updated
Walter
Genre Comedy drama
Written by Kevin Lygo
Directed byDamon Thomas
Starring
ComposerMichael Price
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of episodes1
Production
Producers
  • Catherine Gosling Fuller
  • Gregor Sharp
  • Francis Hopkinson
  • Caroline Leddy [1]
CinematographyPeter Robertson
EditorHelen Chapman
Running time60 minutes
Production company ITV Studios
Release
Original network BBC One
Picture format 16:9 (1080p)
Audio format Stereo
Original release8 August 2014 (2014-08-08)

Walter is a British television crime drama film, written by Kevin Lygo under the pseudonym Ruby Solomon, that first broadcast on BBC One on 8 August 2014. Intended as a "backdoor pilot" for a potential series, [2] [3] Walter stars Adrian Dunbar as the title character, a detective inspector assigned to investigate the unsolved cases of a former colleague who met his death after falling in front of a tube train. Assisted by an eager new recruit, Anne Hopkins (Alexandra Roach) and his dim-yet-trusty sidekick Mike Minorsky (Kayvan Novak), Walter investigates whether his former colleague's death may have in fact been murder.

Contents

Described as a "comedy drama", [4] with comparisons to fellow BBC stablemate New Tricks , [5] the film was met with a number of negative reviews, including the Herald Scotland , whose writer described it as "the worst thing I've seen on TV this year." [2] The film pulled in less than 3.34 million viewers, and was ranked outside the Top 30 programmes for that week. [6]

Cast

Production

The film was commissioned by then BBC director of television Danny Cohen, comedy commissioning controller Shane Allen and BBC One controller Charlotte Moore. [3]

Kevin Lygo scripted the film under the pseudonym Ruby Solomon. He told The Guardian that this was "to avoid any potential conflict of interest, because it was to be made by ITV Studios, and also partly because I'm naturally a bit mischievous". [3] Lygo added that "he wrote it at weekends" and that it was "somewhere between New Tricks and Minder ". His daughter Madison also stars in the film. [3]

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References

  1. ↑ "Walter - BBC1 Comedy Drama". British Comedy Guide. Retrieved 15 December 2018.
  2. 1 2 "TV review: Walter is the worst thing I've seen this year". Herald Scotland. 8 August 2014. Retrieved 15 December 2018.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Top ITV executive writes police drama for the BBC, 'Walter' pilot airs in August". The Mirror. 30 July 2014. Retrieved 15 December 2018.
  4. ↑ "BBC One - Walter". BBC. Retrieved 15 December 2018.
  5. ↑ "Walter: a wry new detective for BBC One". The Telegraph. 8 August 2014. Retrieved 15 December 2018.
  6. ↑ "Weekly Top 30 Programmes". BARB. Retrieved 15 December 2018.
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