Above Suspicion (TV drama)
Encyclopedia
Above Suspicion is a TV series based on Lynda La Plante
Lynda La Plante
Lynda La Plante, CBE is an English author, screenwriter and former actress, best known for writing the Prime Suspect television crime series....

's novels Above Suspicion, The Red Dahlia, Deadly Intent and Silent Scream. It stars Kelly Reilly and Ciarán Hinds
Ciarán Hinds
Ciarán Hinds is an Irish film, television and stage actor. He has built up a reputation as a versatile character actor appearing in such high profile films as Road to Perdition, The Phantom of the Opera, Munich, There Will Be Blood and Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy. His television roles include...

. It features the career of La Plante's latest heroine DC Anna Travis.

The first series, Above Suspicion, was shown on the fourth and fifth of January 2009; the second series, Above Suspicion: The Red Dahlia, was shown on the fourth, fifth and sixth of January 2010. The third series, Above Suspicion: Deadly Intent, was shown on the third, fourth and fifth of January 2011.

A fourth series has been commissioned by ITV.

Above Suspicion

This two-part series follows rookie DC Anna Travis. Anna is assigned to her first homicide case; a string of grisly murders that have gone unsolved for the past eight years. The discovery of a new victim, who doesn't fit the usual profile of prostitute or drug user, causes concern that the killer may be indiscriminately targeting his victims. Eager to prove herself, Travis uncovers a vital piece of evidence linking one man to all the killings. But things get complicated when she finds herself attracted to the prime suspect...

Cast

  • Kelly Reilly as DC Anna Travis
  • Daniel Caltagirone as DS Paul Barolli
  • Shaun Dingwall
    Shaun Dingwall
    Shaun Dingwall is a British actor and is known for his roles on British television.-Early life:Shaun Dingwall was born in 1972 and attended Ilford County High School for boys. His initial ambition was to become a photographer and for several years he worked as an assistant photographer within the...

     as DI Mike Lewis
  • Jason Durr
    Jason Durr
    Jason Durr is an English actor, best known for his portrayal of PC/DC MichaelMike Bradley in the British Series Heartbeat from 1997 to 2003....

     as Alan Daniels
  • Martin Herdman
    Martin Herdman
    Martin Herdman is an actor, boxer and karate student of the 1970s and '80s, and professional rugby league footballer of the 1980s who at representative level has played rugby league for Wales, and at club level for Fulham RLFC, playing at , i.e...

     as DCI Hudson
  • Ciarán Hinds
    Ciarán Hinds
    Ciarán Hinds is an Irish film, television and stage actor. He has built up a reputation as a versatile character actor appearing in such high profile films as Road to Perdition, The Phantom of the Opera, Munich, There Will Be Blood and Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy. His television roles include...

     as DCI James Langton
  • Michelle Holmes
    Michelle Holmes
    Michelle Holmes , born Corinne Michelle Cunliffe, is an English actress who has appeared in several television serials.Born in Rochdale, Lancashire, she performed in a pop band called The Dunky Dobbers....

     as DC Barbara Maddox
  • Amanda Lawrence as Joan Faulkland
  • Emma Pollard as Melissa Stephens
  • Malcolm Storry as John McDowell
  • Nadia Cameron-Blakey as Commander Jane Leigh

Reception

The first part attracted high audience figures of 6.8 million viewers. The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph is a daily morning broadsheet newspaper distributed throughout the United Kingdom and internationally. The newspaper was founded by Arthur B...

called the show "Lynda La Plante's younger, sassier successor to Prime Suspect." Audience viewership figures increased to 7.3 million in the second and concluding installment.

Above Suspicion: The Red Dahlia

A young girls body is dumped, horrifically mutilated and drained of blood. Her death is an ominous mirror image of an unsolved 1940s case in Los Angeles known as "The Black Dahlia". Detective Constable Anna Travis must race against time to catch this copycat killer, dubbed "The Red Dahlia" from the flower his victim wore in her hair. But there are no suspects and a media frenzy is spiralling out of control.

Cast

  • Kelly Reilly as DC Anna Travis
  • Ciarán Hinds
    Ciarán Hinds
    Ciarán Hinds is an Irish film, television and stage actor. He has built up a reputation as a versatile character actor appearing in such high profile films as Road to Perdition, The Phantom of the Opera, Munich, There Will Be Blood and Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy. His television roles include...

     as DCI James Langton
  • Ty Glaser as Louise Pennel
  • Nadia Cameron-Blakey as Commander Jane Leigh
  • Shaun Dingwall
    Shaun Dingwall
    Shaun Dingwall is a British actor and is known for his roles on British television.-Early life:Shaun Dingwall was born in 1972 and attended Ilford County High School for boys. His initial ambition was to become a photographer and for several years he worked as an assistant photographer within the...

     as DI Mike Lewis
  • Michelle Holmes
    Michelle Holmes
    Michelle Holmes , born Corinne Michelle Cunliffe, is an English actress who has appeared in several television serials.Born in Rochdale, Lancashire, she performed in a pop band called The Dunky Dobbers....

     as DC Barbara Maddox
  • Celyn Jones as DS Paul Barolli
  • Amanda Lawrence as DC Joan Faukland
  • Edward MacLiam
    Edward MacLiam
    Edward MacLiam is an Irish actor. He graduated from RADA in 2001 and is currently playing Greg Douglas in medical drama series Holby City. In 2010 he appeared in the BBC Medical drama series Holby City as Greg/Cal Douglas....

     as Richard Reynolds
  • Sylvia Syms
    Sylvia Syms
    Sylvia M. L. Syms OBE is a British actress. She is probably best known for her roles in the films Woman in a Dressing Gown , Ice-Cold in Alex , No Trees in the Street , Victim and The Tamarind Seed...

     as Mrs. Hedges
  • Simon Williams
    Simon Williams (actor)
    Simon Williams is an English actor known for playing James Bellamy in the period drama Upstairs, Downstairs. Frequently playing upper-class roles, he is also known for playing Dr...

     as Charles Wickenham
  • Stuart Organ
    Stuart Organ
    Stuart Organ is a British actor.He is best known for his portrayal of the character Mr. Robson in the children's television drama Grange Hill. Stuart portrayed the series' longest-serving teacher, arriving in 1988 as the new head of PE...

     as DCI Morgan

Production

This series was based on a copycat
Copycat crimes
A copycat crime is a criminal act that is modelled or inspired by a previous crime that has been reported in the media or described in fiction.-Copycat effect:...

 murderer re-enacting the Black Dahlia
Black Dahlia
"The Black Dahlia" was a nickname given to Elizabeth Short is an American woman and the victim of a gruesome and much-publicized murder. She acquired the moniker posthumously by newspapers in the habit of nicknaming crimes they found particularly colorful...

 murder. Lynda La Plante adapted this from her own novel The Red Dahlia.

Reception

The first episode was watched by 6.7 million viewers (26% of all viewers), taking the 9pm slot from its main rival, the return of the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...

 series Hustle
Hustle (TV series)
Hustle is a British television drama series made by Kudos Film and Television for BBC One in the United Kingdom. Created by Tony Jordan and first broadcast in 2004, the series follows a group of con artists who specialise in "long cons" – extended deceptions which require greater commitment, but...

. The program was reviewed favourably by The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph is a daily morning broadsheet newspaper distributed throughout the United Kingdom and internationally. The newspaper was founded by Arthur B...

, with a request for "More please."

Above Suspicion: Deadly Intent

A man kills the surgeon who has just changed his face. The team investigates a shooting at a drug dealer's den on a seedy estate, which soon links in to one of the "FBI Most Wanted", a drug dealer who disappeared over ten years ago....
Kelly Reilly, Ciarán Hinds, Celyn Jones, Amanda Lawrence and Shaun Dingwall all reprise their respective roles, with Ray Fearon
Ray Fearon
Fitzroy Raymond "Ray" Fearon is a British actor who has worked extensively in theatre, and is known for playing garage mechanic Nathan Harding on ITV's long-running soap opera Coronation Street.-Early life:...

, Robbie Gee
Robbie Gee
Robbie Gee is a British actor, best known for his Desmond's character "Lee Stanley", and for appearing in Guy Ritchie's crime caper Snatch. He also appeared in the movie Mean Machine playing "Trojan".-Hosting:...

 and Andrew Woodall
Andrew Woodall
Andrew Woodall is an English actor of the stage and screen. Among his theatre credits are The Voysey Inheritance, The Life of Galileo, King Lear and As You Like It. He has also appeared in British television shows such as Prime Suspect, Kavanagh QC, Dalziel and Pascoe and Gimme, Gimme, Gimme [BBC...

 also starring.

Cast

  • Kelly Reilly as DI Anna Travis
  • Ciarán Hinds
    Ciarán Hinds
    Ciarán Hinds is an Irish film, television and stage actor. He has built up a reputation as a versatile character actor appearing in such high profile films as Road to Perdition, The Phantom of the Opera, Munich, There Will Be Blood and Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy. His television roles include...

     as DCS James Langton
  • Shaun Dingwall
    Shaun Dingwall
    Shaun Dingwall is a British actor and is known for his roles on British television.-Early life:Shaun Dingwall was born in 1972 and attended Ilford County High School for boys. His initial ambition was to become a photographer and for several years he worked as an assistant photographer within the...

     as DCI Mike Lewis
  • Celyn Jones as DS Paul Barolli
  • Amanda Lawrence as DC Joan Faukland
  • Ray Fearon
    Ray Fearon
    Fitzroy Raymond "Ray" Fearon is a British actor who has worked extensively in theatre, and is known for playing garage mechanic Nathan Harding on ITV's long-running soap opera Coronation Street.-Early life:...

     as DCI Sam Power
  • Robbie Gee
    Robbie Gee
    Robbie Gee is a British actor, best known for his Desmond's character "Lee Stanley", and for appearing in Guy Ritchie's crime caper Snatch. He also appeared in the movie Mean Machine playing "Trojan".-Hosting:...

     as Silas Roach
  • Andrew Woodall
    Andrew Woodall
    Andrew Woodall is an English actor of the stage and screen. Among his theatre credits are The Voysey Inheritance, The Life of Galileo, King Lear and As You Like It. He has also appeared in British television shows such as Prime Suspect, Kavanagh QC, Dalziel and Pascoe and Gimme, Gimme, Gimme [BBC...

     as David Rushton

Reception

The first episode opened with 5.495 million viewers on ITV1, a 19.5% share, with another 326,000 on ITV1 HD. It was narrowly beaten by BBC One's new series of Silent Witness
Silent Witness
Silent Witness is a BBC crime thriller series focusing on a team of forensic pathology experts and their investigations into various crimes. First broadcast in February 1996, the series is still airing to the present day, with a fifteenth series expected to air in January 2012. The series was...

which, with 5.877 million viewers, had a 20.9% share of the 9-10pm audience.

Series 4

A fourth series has been commissioned by ITV, to be based on the novel Silent Scream by Lynda La Plante.

Kelly Reilly and Ciaran Hinds will reprise their respective roles for this three-part drama.

External links

  • Suspicion Season 1 - Ciarán Hinds' website
  • Dahlia Season 2 - Ciarán Hinds' website
  • Intent Season 3 - Ciarán Hinds' website
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