An anthology drama series in which each episode follows a different individual facing a criminal charge.
This legal drama series adopts an anthology format, with each self-contained episode centering on a different person charged with a crime. A recurring team of legal professionals includes defence solicitors Liz Walton (Beverley Hills) and Gerry Harrison (David Telfer). They are frequently seen in opposition to Crown Prosecutor Dan Chapman (Geoffrey Hutchings) and his junior, Paul Harper (Lloyd Johnston). The police investigation is often handled by DCI Derek Gravett (Davyd Harries). Each instalment, titled with the defendant’s first name, presents a new case for this regular cast of characters to process.
The series was constructed around a rigid and economical format. This structure allowed the production to function as a procedural conveyor belt, efficiently examining a different facet of the criminal justice system each week. The drama was generated not from a complex, continuing narrative, but from the cumulative effect of these individual stories of human fallibility and the methodical work of the lawyers and police officers involved. Its focus remained squarely on the case-of-the-week, a formula that kept the storytelling direct and self-contained. Jimmy McGovern would use a similar construct for his 2010 BBC series of the same name.
Broadcast: BBC One, 8 Episodes, 3 November – 22 December 1996
Writers: Christopher Reason, Carolyn Sally Jones, Allan Swift, Andrew Bernhardt, Maurice Bessman
Directors: Rob Evans, Indra Bhose, Jo Johnson, Gwennan Sage
Executive Producer: Caroline Oulton
Producer: Diana Kyle
Main Cast: Beverley Hills (Liz Walton), David Telfer (Gerry Harrison), Nicholas Bailey (Jack Vincent), Frances Grey (Jenny Roach), Davyd Harries (Derek Gravett), Marlene Sidaway (Dee Yearwood), Geoffrey Hutchings (Dan Chapman), Lloyd Johnston (Paul Harper)
