#poirot loses a client by agatha christie

[dancingcapybaras]

currently reading Dumb Witness by Agatha Christie! here are my current thoughts in a nutshell:

it’s kind of giving conservative grandma??

like, yeah, this was written in the 30s; pretty self explanatory.

i really like christie’s storytelling, i do. it’s just this book feels like her shading on the younger generation for,, idk, not being traditional or something?? which really does feel like something every younger generation faces (times really don’t change)

for the last 12 chapters i read, im just being constantly reminded about how emily arundell’s niece married a Greek doctor and how dreadful it is. like my bad, sorry this dude isn’t ENGLISH ENOUGH FOR YOU?? yall are just jealous they got good food okay

and let’s not forget there’s a slur in the book💀

literal jumpscare when i opened the table of contents.

but then again, just looking at my older copy of And Then There Were None makes me wonder why i’m surprised

UPDATE: Just finished the book! i’m surprised i got through it that quickly. anyways, here are my thoughts!

i thought the plot was interesting. i thought it was pretty cool how upfront everyone was abt how they wanted emily’s money since it shows that none of them can be completely trusted.

like everyone was after the same thing, for different reasons, but only ONE of them actually committed to it.

and let’s not forget the constant reminder of good old “english-breeding.” it’s not said a lot, but it’s something i notice popping up in the book from time to time.

like goodness gracious woman, please stop. describing others as “well bred” makes them sound like a horse freshly groomed

anyways, i think this is the first time i got introduced to hastings? i didn’t even know he was a reoccurring character and a friend of poirot since i’ve only read Murder on the Orient Express and And Then There Were None.

so you can imagine my confusion when i skimmed through random pages and noticed it was from someone else’s perspective.

but their dynamic is pretty cool! i kind of see it as like poirot doing his usual detective stuff and it going like:

poirot, lying to get some answers:

hastings: you are crazy, y’know that?

poirot: not crazy enough to kill, though!

well that’s how i see it anyways. i do think it’s cool that seeing through the lens of hastings does make things more fun. like this silly guy is as clueless as me

and he kind of vocalizes the audience? kind of? that’s how i saw it during the times he tried convincing poirot that the ball incident was genuine

but yeah it was okay. i might read the first book of the series because i just found out poirot is a refugee or smth?? like i need to know what’s up with that

so yeah, that’s my thoughts!

[my-52-weeks-with-christie]

[frimleyblogger]

Dumb Witness

A review of Dumb Witness by Agatha Christie – 240618 As neither a pet owner nor much of animal lover, I find it hard to relate to the tendency of some to anthropomorphise their pets. In Dumb Witness, the sixteenth in Christie’s Hercule Poirot series, originally published in 1937 and known as Poirot Loses A Client in the States, Bob, Emily Arundell’s dog and modelled on Christie’s own, is far…

[sweetfirebird]

I love when old publishing companies would sexy up a paperback cover for the most unsexy of books

[srta-htinha]

I love you Agatha Christie, I love you 💖💖💖💖💖

[punemy-spotted]

congrats on 400! 📝

this is a silly headcanon, but how do you think any character of your choice would react to you catching them watching their guilty pleasure tv show? (and what would the guilty pleasure show be?)

Thank you, Neptune!! 🥺🥺💖💖💖

I love this headcanon, it's not silly at all! I ended up... going a lottle overboard with it though, so please enjoy headcanons for: Helmut Zemo, Steve Rogers, Bucky Barnes, Sam Wilson, and Andy Barber, all under the cut because it's long and I'm... a lot.

Thank you for the opportunity to think too much about them, and now I wish I was curled up with all of them watching whatever show they want.

Helmut Zemo

Guilty Pleasure Show: Agatha Christie’s Poirot (featuring David Suchet)

He enjoys murder mysteries, things that puzzle the mind, and even though he insists the directors put enough clues into the episodes to help anyone solve them, he’s often frustrated when the twist makes no sense.

Catching him watching Poirot is an interesting experience — he’ll always invite you to watch, happy to let you curl up next to him on the couch even though Suchet’s voice inevitably makes you fall asleep. What will wake you is Helmut muttering curses under his breath at an absurd twist that derails the entire course of the mystery, suddenly pointing to a random element as the murderer instead of the person the show made you suspect all along. He very rarely loses his temper, especially not at a television show, but his disappointment in poor writing is often worse than his anger anyway.

Steve Rogers

Guilty Pleasure Show: Great British Bake-Off and Blown Away

Yes, both of these, because he vacillates between enjoying food shows — Great British Bake-Off is just an example, he’s completely find watching Anthony Bourdain and does not count anything by Alton Brown a guilty pleasure because he still uses those episodes to experiment in the kitchen when he insists on making dinner because he knows you’re too tired — and snickering under his breath at the fact that they call the glass ovens in Blown Away “glory holes” and other in-show innuendos.

He often watches guilty-pleasure shows like these as background noise, when he’s drawing or when he’s just settling down for bed and you’re working too late to join him, but on the occasion that you catch him watching, he’ll usually just flash you that perfect, sheepish smile and offer to change the show. You never agree, because why would you want to take away the thing that brings him joy, even if it’s secret between the both of you? You just offer to let him lay in your lap instead while he watches, so he can relax for once and you can play with his hair while you both watch — and critique the glass-art with all the cruelty of the judges (and sometimes more).

Bucky Barnes

Guilty Pleasure Show: Literally any space documentary and no, it doesn’t have to be recent

Though haunted by his past, Bucky Barnes does try to look towards the future, and there’s something hopeful about documentaries about space and the mysteries of the universe that make him feel… calm. He loves putting them on and just laying down, watching until he falls asleep and Netflix starts questioning whether he’s still paying attention.

Whenever you catch him like this, he’s honestly usually fast asleep. It’s actually adorable, really, how peaceful he looks. You usually just tell Netflix that yes he’s still watching and then proceed to tuck him into bed.

Sam Wilson

Guilty Pleasure Show: Crazy Ex-Girlfriend

He’s not actually guilty about this — he can and will shoehorn Crazy Ex-Girlfriend songs into everyday conversation with you and you will always roll your eyes at him when he does. He’s taken you to at least one Crazy Ex-Girlfriend concert live, and no he’s not sorry. In his defense, it was excellent and you thoroughly enjoyed it.

Usually, you’ll catch him watching the show late at night because he can’t sleep, and it’s always just the highlights of his favorite episodes instead of actually watching for the plot. Sometimes you’ll catch him singing but not always — you just put your headphones in and let your podcasts run when he gets really into it, tucking yourself against him and having a lazy night doing whatever you want. Doesn't matter, as long as the two of you are together.

Andy Barber

Guilty Pleasure Show: Boston Legal (yes, with William Shatner and James Spader)

Look. As a lawyer, I know other lawyers. We love to hate legal dramas because they’re unethical, get the law wrong, and usually result in us getting clients coming in saying, “Well I saw James Spader in Boston Legal and he did…” and they never believe us when we tell them it’s a show and that’s not how things actually work in the courtroom.

But he loves it.

He loves watching all the nonsense they get up to in the show, he loves roasting the bad legal theory — he has an entire notebook dedicated to the bad legal theory, it’s genuinely comical— and if you catch him watching it, he’ll usually just flash you a sheepish grin before inviting you to join in and mock the show with him.

He does slightly admire Spader’s gumption though — and occasionally gets ideas for how he wants to treat you in the office.

[papapiusxiii]

50 Great Thrillers by Women, as recommended by 10 of the UK’s female crime writers

Sophie Hannah:

Summertime by Liz Rigbey. Follows a woman who loses her baby and whose father unexpectedly drowns. When her husband and sister close ranks against her, she begins to suspect they are lying to her.

The Spider’s House by Sarah Diamond. Also published as In the Spider’s House. When Anna Howell discovers that a 1960s child murderess was the previous resident of her old cottage, her marriage, sanity and life come under threat.

Hidden by Katy Gardner. When a young mother’s seven-year-old daughter disappears, she finds herself questioning everything in her life. Then a police officer starts asking about the murder of a woman 14 months earlier …

A Shred of Evidence by Jill McGown. DI Judy Hill and DCI Lloyd investigate the murder of a 15-year-old girl on a patch of open parkland in the centre of town.

Searching for Shona by Margaret Jean Anderson

The wealthy Marjorie Malcolm-Scott trades suitcases, destinations and identities with orphan Shona McInnes, as children are evacuated from Edinburgh at the start of the second world war.

Val McDermid:

The Franchise Affair by Josephine Tey. A teenage war orphan accuses two women of kidnap and abuse, but something about her story doesn’t add up.

Rubbernecker by Belinda Bauer. The Booker-longlisted author of Snap follows it up with the tale of a medical student with Asperger’s who attempts to solve a murder.

The Field of Blood by Denise Mina. The first in the Paddy Meehan series sees the reporter looking into the disappearance of a child from his Glasgow home, with evidence pointing the police towards two young boys.

A Fatal Inversion by Barbara Vine. Writing under her pen name, Ruth Rendell tells of the discovery of a woman and child in the animal cemetery at Wyvis Hall, 10 years after a group of young people spent the summer there.

When Will There Be Good News? by Kate Atkinson. In the third Jackson Brodie book, a man is released from prison 30 years after he butchered the mother and siblings of a six-year-old girl in the Devon countryside.

Ann Cleeves:

Little Deaths by Emma Flint. Inspired by the real case of Alice Crimmins, this tells of a woman whose two children go missing from her apartment in Queens.

The Dry by Jane Harper. During Australia’s worst drought in a century, three members of one family in a small country town are murdered, with the father believed to have killed his wife and son before committing suicide.

Devices and Desires by PD James. Adam Dalgliesh takes on a serial killer terrorising a remote Norfolk community.

The End of the Wasp Season by Denise Mina. Heavily pregnant DS Alex Morrow investigates the violent death of a wealthy woman in Glasgow.

Fire Sale by Sara Paretsky. The inimitable VI Warshawski takes over coaching duties of the girls’ basketball team at her former high school, and investigates the explosion of the flag manufacturing plant where one of the girl’s mothers works.

Sharon Bolton:

Gone by Mo Hayder. In Hayder’s fifth thriller featuring Bristol DI Jack Caffrey, he goes after a car-jacker who is taking vehicles with children in them.

Gentlemen and Players by Joanne Harris. A murderous revenge is being plotted against the boys’ grammar school in the north of England where eccentric Latin master Roy Straitley is contemplating retirement.

The Shining Girls by Lauren Beukes. A time-travelling, murderous war veteran steps through the decades to murder extraordinary women – his “shining girls” – in Chicago, in this high-concept thriller.

The Wicked Girls by Alex Marwood. Two women who were sentenced for murdering a six-year-old when they were children meet again as adults, when one discovers the body of a teenager.

Apple Tree Yard by Louise Doughty. Married scientist Yvonne, who is drawn into a passionate affair with a stranger, is on trial for murder.

Sarah Ward:

A Place of Execution by Val McDermid. Journalist Catherine Heathcote investigates the disappearance of a 13-year-old girl in the Peak District village of Scarsdale in 1963.

The Crossing Places by Elly Griffiths. Forensic archaeologist Dr Ruth Galloway investigates the discovery of a child’s bones near the site of a prehistoric henge on the north Norfolk salt marshes.

The Ice House by Minette Walters. A decade after Phoebe Maybury’s husband inexplicably vanished, a corpse is found and the police become determined to charge her with murder.

The Liar’s Girl by Catherine Ryan Howard. When a body is found in Dublin’s Grand Canal, police turn to the notorious Canal Killer for help. But the imprisoned murderer will only talk to the woman he was dating when he committed his crimes.

This Night’s Foul Work by Fred Vargas (translated by Sian Reynolds). Commissaire Adamsberg investigates whether there is a connection between the escape of a murderous 75-year-old nurse from prison, and the discovery of two men with their throats cut on the outskirts of Paris.

Elly Griffiths: 

R in the Month by Nancy Spain. Sadly out of print, this is an atmospheric story set in a down-at-heel hotel in a postwar seaside town. The period detail is perfect and jokes and murders abound. This is the fourth book featuring the fantastic Miriam Birdseye, actress and rather slapdash sleuth.

The Daughter of Time by Josephine Tey. A gripping crime novel in which the detective never gets out of bed and the murder happened over 500 years ago. Griffith says: “I read this book as a child and was hooked – on Tey, crime fiction and Richard the Third.”

The Detective’s Daughter by Lesley Thomson. Cleaner Stella Darnell finds herself tidying up her detective father’s final, unfinished case, after he dies. It is the first in a series featuring Stella and her sidekick Jack, an underground train driver who can sense murder.

A Place of Execution by Val McDermid. Griffiths says: “I could have chosen any of Val’s novels, but this book, about a journalist revisiting a shocking 1960s murder, is probably my favourite because of its wonderful sense of time and place. It’s also pitch perfect about journalism, police investigation and life in a small community.”

He Said, She Said by Erin Kelly. An account of a rape trial at which nothing is quite as it seems. Griffiths says: “The story centres around a lunar eclipse, which also works wonderfully as a metaphor and image.”

Dreda Say Mitchell: 

Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn. The Gone Girl author’s debut follows journalist Camille’s investigation into the abduction and murder of two girls in her Missouri home town.

Dangerous Lady by Martina Cole. Cole’s first novel sees 17-year-old Maura Ryan taking on the men of London’s gangland.

The Mermaids Singing by Val McDermid. Clinical psychologist Dr Tony Hill is asked to profile a serial killer when four men are found mutilated and tortured.

Indemnity Only by Sara Paretsky. A client tells VI Warshawski he is a prominent banker looking for his son’s missing girlfriend. But VI soon discovers he’s lying, and that the real banker’s son is dead.

The St Cyr series by CS Harris. Mitchell has nominated the whole of this historical mystery series about Sebastian St Cyr, Viscount Devlin – master of disguises, heir to an earldom, and disillusioned army officer. It’s a bit of a cheat but we’ll let her have it.

Erin Kelly:

No Night Is Too Long by Barbara Vine. Tim Cornish thinks he has gotten away with killing his lover in Alaska. But then the letters start to arrive …

Broken Harbour by Tana French. The fourth in French’s sublime Dublin Murder Squad series, this takes place in a ghost estate outside Dublin, where a father and his two children have been found dead, with the mother on her way to intensive care.

Chosen by Lesley Glaister. When Dodie’s mother hangs herself, she has to leave her baby at home and go to bring her brother Jake back from the mysterious Soul Life Centre in New York.

A Savage Hunger by Claire McGowan. Forensic psychologist Paula Maguire investigates the disappearance of a girl, and a holy relic, from a remote religious shrine in the fictional Irish town of Ballyterrin.

The Cry by Helen Fitzgerald. Parents Joanna and Alistair start to turn against each other after their baby goes missing from a remote roadside in Australia.

Sarah Hilary:

The Hours Before Dawn by Celia Fremlin. A sleep-deprived young mother tries to stay sane while her fears grow about the family’s new lodger, in this 1950s lost classic.

Cruel Acts by Jane Casey. Leo Stone, sentenced to life in prison for the murder of two women, is now free and claims he is innocent. DS Maeve Kerrigan and DI Josh Derwen want to put him back in jail, but Maeve begins doubting his guilt – until another woman disappears.

Sex Crimes by Jenefer Shute. A lawyer’s New Year’s Eve pick-up spirals into an erotic obsession which leads to graphic cruelty.

Skin Deep by Liz Nugent. Nugent, whom Ian Rankin has compared to Patricia Highsmith, tells the story of a woman who has been passing herself off as an English socialite on the Riviera for 25 years – until the arrival of someone who knows her from her former life prompts an act of violence.

Cuckoo by Julia Crouch. Rose’s home and family start to fall apart when her best friend Polly comes to stay.

Louise Candlish:

The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie. Christie’s classic – with a legendary twist. The best Hercule Poirot?

The Two Faces of January by Patricia Highsmith. A conman on the run with his wife meets a young American who becomes drawn into the crime they commit.

Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood. The author of The Handmaid’s Tale imagines the life of the real 19th-century Canadian killer Grace Marks.

Little Face by Sophie Hannah. Hannah’s thriller debut is about a young mother who becomes convinced that, after spending two hours away from her baby, the infant is not hers.

Alys, Always by Harriet Lane. Newspaper subeditor Frances is drawn into the lives of the Kyte family when she hears the last words of the victim of a car crash, Alys Kyte.

[tag-cat]

Books and editions

This would be a pretty boring place if we only posted when we had big news or needed more help. Today we’re going to talk a bit about our plans in detail. Keep in mind that this is a work in progress and any details may change over the course of development.

The first thing we need to consider is how to store information about books in our database so that we have something to attach tags to. This is not as simple as it sounds.

When you start thinking about how to identify a book, the title probably comes to mind first. While this would work for most books, with others, it would lead you quite astray. Some novels have different titles in different countries, even when the two share a language and the text remains largely the same. For example, Agatha Christie's "Poirot Loses a Client" became "Dumb Witness" when published in the United States.

Even the author, who usually doesn't change, can be tricky. An author may choose to write under a pen name, but have later editions using their primary name instead of, or in addition to, the original name. Richard Bachman wrote several novels, all of which can now be found attributed to "Stephen King, writing as Richard Bachman." With other texts the original author is unknown or disputed: The “Journal of the First Voyage of Vasco da Gama to India” has been attributed to both Álvaro Velho and João de Sá, with some publishers opting not to credit any author at all.

Other aspects of a book are subject to change between editions, like publishers, translators (for foreign books), editors and illustrators. “Pippi Longstocking” was illustrated by Ingrid Vang Nyman for the first English edition in 1949, but a 2005 edition has pictures by Louis S. Glanzman. Later edits might cut or add substantial parts of the story, not to mention the same story being published in different languages.

With so many potential variations on the same book, it might seem logical to just allow each edition of a book to have its own page on our site. However, some books have dozens or even hundreds of editions. We might end up with wildly different tags on what is essentially the same book, as different people tag different editions. People considering reading the book would need to look through all editions to find the information they're looking for.

With this problem in mind, we are splitting our model of books into "works" and "publications" - the latter being an edition, usually identified by its ISBN, whereas the tags will belong to a work. A work can have multiple associated publications, including translations. This is useful even beyond the idea of different editions of a book. A publication could also contain several works, so that an anthology or collection of short stories can have each story tagged individually.

So, now that we have a solution, how do we apply it to the real world? All of the edition-specific information like author, title and publisher will be displayed separately from the content tags. By default, you’ll see the most recent edition of the book that’s been published in your preferred language, but switching between editions will be easy.

Tags will be split into two groups: “Content tags” and “publication tags.” Content tags belonging to a work are the sorts of things we promised in our introduction: Descriptions of characters, plot points, potential triggers, style, narration, tropes and more. Publication tags belong to a publication and will give you information like author, illustrator, publisher, number of pages and medium (like audiobook, ebook, hardcover). All of these pieces of information will be searchable and related tags will be linked together, like "Author: Maurice Sendak" and "Illustrator: Maurice Sendak," or “Breaking & Entering” and “Burglary.” But that’s a topic for a different post.

While we design, program and refine our goals, things will probably change quite a bit, so everything you read here should be considered to be a work in progress. That said, here’s a mock-up of how choosing an edition of the book might work. Tell us what you think! If you have any concerns or suggestions, we invite you to get in touch.

[camploah]

We’ve been keeping our eye on Ms. Mosaku, noting her small but powerful turns in ITV’s Law and Order: UK (2010), Vera (2011), BBC’s Dancing on The Edge (2013), Channel 4’s Capital (2015), BBC’s Damilola: Our Loved Boy (2016), Netflix’s Black Mirror (2016) and Sky Atlantic’s Guerilla (2017). She has also been popping up as a lead in movies like I Am Slave (2010, still on Netflix), and smaller parts in Batman vs Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016) and Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them (2016). We jumped at the chance to see her in her latest drama, ITV’s latest essential viewing, Fearless.

Fearless will be the test of Mosaku’s true talent, if she’s able to hold her own in a lead role with heavyweight principal star Helen McCrory (Cherie Blair in The Queen, 2006, and The Special Relationship, 2010) and the third strong female lead, the Emmy-nominated American actress Robin Weigert (Deadwood, 2004-06, Jessica Jones, 2015).

The story is – Emma Banville (McCrory) is a human rights lawyer providing a roof over the head of the wife Miriam (Katrina McAdams) and son of her latest client, missing Syrian doctor Youssef Attar (Dhafer L’Abidine). She has an eye for detail and a reputation for the relentless pursuit of it, regularly braving the censure of the police, and the eye-rolls of her colleagues. She has the total support of lover and ex-paparazzo, Steve Livesy (John Bishop). When she receives an email from a married woman on her son’s 14th birthday, pleading the case of her ex-husband (and said child’s father), Banville is left impressed.

Kevin Russell (Sam Swainsbury) has been serving life, for the torture and murder of a teenage girl, which he insists he’s innocent of. His ex-wife, Annie Peterson (Rebecca Callard), has always believed him and at the end of a difficult interview with Russell, Banville is spurred into action. So begins her review of the original interview, confession tapes and transcripts, resulting her getting the conviction overturned and Russell released. Only then to be faced with a re-trial after damning new evidence emerges.

Mosaku’s Detective Chief Superintendent Olivia Greenwood of SO15 Counter-Intelligence, livid at developments, involves herself as Russell’s confession and subsequent conviction were the springboard of her stellar career. Cue mysterious transatlantic calls from a worried Sir Alistair McKinnon (Michael Gambon) to exasperated working mum Heather (Robin Weigert), morally shocking twists and turns, and a string of showdowns between our fabulous females. All of this, plus several absorbing parallel storylines which subtly speak to the times in which we live.

The press-filled audience was utterly silent during the screening, and collectively heaved a huge intake of breath after the series trailer ended. An enthusiastic, warm applause followed, once oxygen was allowed to circulate! I have the feeling that leading independent programme makers, Mammoth Screen has another hit on their hands for ITV. As Banville says, not devoid of feeling, “There’s nothing like a dead, white schoolgirl to advance a few careers...”

Mammoth gathered a great production team for this. Writer-producer Patrick Harbinson’s best known work has always shown the gritty realism of the world with the flair and polish of stylish US production. In espionage thriller 24 (2001-10), he wrote realistically in real-time for 7/24 episodes with a cast including a female president during his tenure, and superior African-American actors Dennis Haysbert as President David Palmer (2001-07), Penny Johnson Jerald as Sherry Palmer (2001-04) and DB Woodside as President Wayne Palmer (2003-07) before his time! The popularity and engagement with 24 may have seeped into the American consciousness enough to have contributed to making the Obamas possible.

With Homeland (2011-19), Harbinson humanised the plight of those caught in the complex, dysfunctional relationship between America and the Middle East in 10/48 episodes (2013-2017). With Fearless, he has managed to bring much of his experience to this uniquely British-feeling thriller, which combines politico-legal drama with the tease of conspiracy and terrorism balanced with relatable human stories.

Contrary to 24, Harbison has written a tightly plotted script which, although economical, avoids lazy plot holes and unbelievable leaps of intuition and coincidence, at least in the pilot. He has made Banville a razor-sharp intellect, devoid of showmanship or hubris, because she fundamentally understands that lives are at stake. McCrory makes us believe it. “She is old school,” McCrory said at the post-screening Q&A of the habits Banville indulges in and the car she drives, “She solves things in real time.” As unfashionable as they might now be, they have not been used as a weak attempt to allow her to ‘compete with the boys’ as other strong female leads have endured.

Director Pete Travis (City of Tiny Lights [1], 2016, Legacy TV movie 2013), also present at the Q&A, gelled perfectly with Harbinson’s storytelling, and kept his direction equally tight. His use of the many close-ups, he said, was an easy choice when supplied with the extraordinary faces and underlying accomplished talent with which he had to work. “It was really important not to have stereotypes wherever we were – not that we had any at the beginning [post-Brexit, pre-Trump], but [post-Trump], we realised we wanted each character to have a rich history… the complex nature of what it would be like to be… living in London and the way you could be targeted, whether you’re innocent or not …” Combined, the writing and directing team of Harbinson and Travis gives a master class in the much-quoted ‘show, don’t tell’. Combined with cinematographer Rasmus Arrildt, Travis has managed to change the scope of the revelations from the intimate to the wide-reaching with the use of just 2 cameras, and at least one hand-held! “I think it’s really important to let the camera facilitate the story,” he said. I think he felt a certain empathy with Banville, realised or not, and the end-product is the better for it.

Executive Producer Damien Timmer could be one of the most qualified producers in the country to have pulled this off to the promised standard. His CV includes NW, 2017, Poldark, 2016-17, Endeavour 2012-17, Victoria, 2016, Tripped, 2016, Agatha Christie’s Marple, 2004-13, Lewis, 2006-13, and Agatha Christie’s Poirot, 2003-13. These are all quintessentially British from different periods with different societal focuses. Here again, is another in Fearless. He is a quiet man who gives the impression of a huge passion for his work. In his more modern productions after his long and successful history with period pieces – Lewis, Tripped and NW, he has shown a willingness to move with the times.

In Lewis, he oversaw the casting of Angela Griffin as a DS in 12 episodes, Babou Ceesay as a DC in 2, Kemi-bo Jacobs as a WPC/DC in 2, and Steve Toussaint as a Chief Superintendent in 6, along with Ariyon Bakare (2), Richie Campbell (2), Joe Dixon (2), Peter de Jersey (2), Wil Johnson (2), Tosin Cole (2), and Pippa Bennet-Warner as a reporter (2), to name a few. In the uniquely British sci fi comedy series Tripped, Georgina Campbell handled multiple personas as part of the excellent, time travelling central cast. He took on Zadie Smith’s well-loved best-seller NW, a story written from multiple aspects of the black British perspective, and secured a strong cast in the fantastic Nikki Amuka-Bird [2] as principal, supported by central cast mates Richie Campbell, OT Fagbenle and Cyril Gueï.

Now, Timmer has given us possibly the first black female DCS on UK TV in Mosaku’s Olivia Greenwood – a policewoman at the top of her game, a complex character who doesn’t need to be liked to do her job in pursuing the truth, but who is reticent about her private life. Her ethnic origin is incidental, so Mosaku can really stretch her acting mettle without the usual racial restraints. There is no ‘Angry Black Woman’ here. Greenwood is so much more and allowed to show it. During the Q&A, Mosaku admitted to it being a new experience for her, though she has previously played a hapless detective constable in Vera and a traffic warden in Capital. This is a truly meaty role to which, if the pilot is anything to go by, she more than rises to meet. Greenwood’s cool, determined manner, as one who might have a lot to lose should Banville succeed, adds to the uncertainty of who is good, who is bad and whether the case of the tragic schoolgirl can possibly have any grey areas.

To my question on how the finished product made them each feel, Timmer said, “Really, really proud of making a grown up, contemporary piece for ITV… for a commercial network.”

McCrory said, “Playing Emma, who’s really quite an introverted character, I liked the fact that she doesn’t explain herself all the time… I’m genuinely very excited. I don’t like watching myself, and I don’t… I watch the drama around me, and that’s down the skill of this man [Timmer] and this man [Travis], Patrick and the rest of the cast. I really want to unleash Emma onto the world, on lots of cases! I hope the audience like her.”

Travis said, “[It’s] pretty much a dream job for me really. I’ve always wanted to do things that were about politics, but not overtly political… I think we do live is scary, dark times, and it’s nice to tell the story of a character that’ll hold a candle up and says,’ there’s a light here, it doesn’t have to be this bad’, I find that quite exciting.”

Mosaku said, “I really enjoyed watching it, it’s dead exciting… I really can’t wait to see the rest!”

Fearless also stars Sir Michael Gambon (The Viceroy’s House, 2017, Fortitude, 2015, 6/8 Harry Potters, 2004-11, Maigret 1992-93, The Singing Detective, 1986), Jamie Bamber (Battlestar Galactica, 2004-09, series 1-3 Law and Order: UK, 2009-12, Marcella, 2011) and comedian John Bishop (Accused, 2012, Skins, 2009-10).

[my-52-weeks-with-christie]

[my-52-weeks-with-christie]

[my-52-weeks-with-christie]

[my-52-weeks-with-christie]

[my-52-weeks-with-christie]