Juliet Stevenson
Lee Ingleby
and Greg Wise
star in
PLACE OF EXECUTION
A TENSE THREE-PART THRILLER
WHERE THE PAST COLLIDES WITH THE PRESENT
BASED ON THE NOVEL BY VAL McDERMID
TRANSMISSION: SEPTEMBER PRIMETIME ITV1
For further information please contact:
Shelagh Pymm
0208 892 1292, 07831 665023
shelaghpymm@blueyonder.co.uk
For pictures please contact:
John.manthorpe@itv.com
www.itvpictures.com
For viewing tapes please contact:
shelaghpymmtapes@hotmail.com
PLACE OF EXECUTION
‘You shall be taken to the place from whence you came, and thence to a place of lawful
execution, and there you shall be hanged by the neck until you be dead, and afterwards your
body shall be buried in a common grave within the precincts of the prison wherein you were
last confined before your execution; and may the Lord have mercy on your soul’
The formal death sentence of the English legal system.
Introduction ..................................................................................................... Page 1
Characters ....................................................................................................... Page 2
Locations ......................................................................................................... Page 3
Foreword
Robson Green .................................................................................................. Page 4
Production Notes
Author – Val McDermid .................................................................................
Executive Producer – Sandra Jobling .............................................................
Producer – Philip Leach ..................................................................................
Director – Daniel Percival ..............................................................................
Screenwriter – Patrick Harbinson ...................................................................
Page 6
Page 8
Page 10
Page 12
Page 14
Interviews with the Cast
Juliet Stevenson plays Catherine Heathcote ...................................................
Lee Ingleby plays DI George Bennett ............................................................
Greg Wise plays Philip Hawkin ......................................................................
Tony Maudsley plays Tommy Clough ...........................................................
Philip Jackson plays Older George .................................................................
Dave Hill plays Older Tommy ........................................................................
Emma Cunniffe plays Ruth Hawkin ...............................................................
Joy Blakeman plays Kathy Lomas ..................................................................
Sheila Reid plays Ma Lomas ..........................................................................
Elizabeth Day plays Sasha ..............................................................................
Zoe Telford plays Nicola ................................................................................
Danny Sapani plays Keith ...............................................................................
Peter Cartwright plays Judge Sampson ...........................................................
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Episode Synopses ............................................................................................ Page 34
Cast List and Production Credits .................................................................... Page 37
PLACE OF EXECUTION
On a freezing December night in 1963, the worst kind of fear strikes the secluded
Northumberland hamlet of Scardale. A 13-year-old girl has vanished without a trace.
Against all their instincts, the tight-knit residents must ask the outside world for help.
More than 40 years later, the dramatic events surrounding the girl’s disappearance and
the hunt for her killer resurface when a high-flying TV journalist makes a documentary
about the case. But what she finds will shatter the past – and the lives of everyone
involved.
Juliet Stevenson, Lee Ingleby and Greg Wise star in Place of Execution, a taut
psychological thriller from Coastal Productions, makers of Wire in the Blood. Adapted
by acclaimed scriptwriter Patrick Harbinson from the best-selling novel by Val
McDermid, the three-part drama is set in the present day with flashbacks to the 1960s. It
co-stars Tony Maudsley, Philip Jackson, Emma Cunniffe and Sheila Reid.
Catherine Heathcote (Juliet Stevenson) is putting the finishing touches to a documentary
about schoolgirl Alison Carter, who walked out of her home on an ordinary afternoon in
1963 and was never seen again.
Her film focuses on George Bennett (Lee Ingleby), a young Detective Inspector who
made his name on the investigation – a case that gripped the country. It also delves into
the secretive lives of Alison’s mother Ruth (Emma Cunniffe), stepfather Hawkin (Greg
Wise) and the residents of the tight-knit village of Scardale.
Catherine’s story seems simple – courageous George stood up to a hostile village as he
pieced together every clue and interrogated every suspect to bring Alison’s killer to
justice. But the straightforward case of crime and punishment soon becomes a mystery in
which nothing is certain. With no sign of Alison or her body, can it ever be fully
resolved?
As the film is edited, George (Philip Jackson), now retired but still haunted by the case,
decides to withdraw his co-operation without explanation. Determined to get some
answers, Catherine, accompanied by her rebellious 14-year-old daughter Sasha (Elizabeth
Day), heads north to confront him.
However, as Catherine retraces Alison’s final steps in Scardale, nothing can prepare her
for the shocking revelations kept hidden for years about the missing girl and the
subsequent execution. Amid terror and suspicion, broken families and mounting pressure
for answers, was George really the hero of the hour?
Place of Execution is produced by Philip Leach and directed by Daniel Percival. The
executive producer is Sandra Jobling and the drama is a Coastal Production in association
with Ingenious Broadcasting 2LLP for ITV1.
PLACE OF EXECUTION
-2Characters
Catherine Heathcote – Juliet Stevenson
Catherine is a high profile documentary maker, who made her name in war zones and
refugee camps. Now back home after a painful divorce, she’s turned her attention to the
disappearance of teenager Alison Carter, a crime that rocked the rural community of
Scardale in Northumberland in the 1960s. Catherine herself spent childhood summers
there with her mother, a writer. But as the film nears completion, problems start to
emerge and the single-minded journalist makes some shocking discoveries. Catherine
suspects that the true story may be very different from the one she thought she was
telling. Meanwhile, her 14-year-old daughter Sasha has been arrested and expelled from
school in a bout of rebelliousness brought on by parental discord and maternal neglect.
DI George Bennett – Lee Ingleby and Philip Jackson
George is a law graduate who has fast-tracked his career to be Detective Inspector
following a stint with the Vice Squad in Manchester. Ambitious, honest, hard working
and compassionate, the young policeman approaches his job with both intelligence and
dedication. The disappearance of Alison Carter in 1963 is George’s first chance to show
his new bosses what he’s made of, and it launches him on a stellar career. From the
outset, he is sure that there is more to the investigation than a simple teenage runaway,
and that the villagers of Scardale are not telling him all they know. More than 40 years
on, the case continues to haunt him.
Sergeant Tommy Clough – Tony Maudsley and Dave Hill
Tommy is George’s right hand man on the case. Experienced and tough, he’s worked his
way up through the ranks, thanks to his keen eye for catching criminals. Cheerful but
predatory when it comes to suspects, he is not sure what to make of George but soon
develops a respect for his young boss. Like George, Tommy is deeply affected by
Alison’s disappearance and vows to do what he can to find her, or her killer. However, he
has reservations about the way the investigation proceeds.
Ruth Hawkin – Emma Cunniffe
Ruth is devastated when her 13-year-old daughter Alison goes missing after taking her
dog for a walk on the moors near Scardale. The loss of her daughter takes its toll on Ruth
as she fears the worst. Ruth’s first husband died when Alison was a child and she now
lives in grandeur at the Manor House with her second husband Philip Hawkin. Still
beautiful, Ruth rarely emerges from her husband’s shadow and hides painful secrets from
her childhood.
PLACE OF EXECUTION
-3-
Characters (cont)
Philip Hawkin – Greg Wise
Philip Hawkin inherited the title of Lord of the Manor in Scardale and doesn’t hide his
contempt for the villagers. Handsome and unflappable, he also treats his wife Ruth as
beneath him. When Alison disappears, Hawkin appears distant. His odd behaviour and
the numerous photographs he has taken of his stepdaughter makes the police view him
with suspicion.
Charlie Lomas – Mikey North
Alison’s cousin Charlie lives with Ma Lomas, his grandmother, and his mother Kathy.
Charlie is very worried for Alison’s safety and, as the police make enquiries, it transpires
that Charlie’s devotion to his cousin runs very deep. As the investigation continues,
Charlie’s help is invaluable.
Ma Lomas – Sheila Reid
Ma Lomas is the matriarchal figurehead in Scardale and knows everything. However,
much to George’s annoyance, Ma isn’t very forthcoming with outsiders about what she
knows and views him with a suspicion bordering on hostility. She also dislikes ‘Squire’
Hawkin but won’t speak out against him in public for fear of losing her home.
Locations
PLACE OF EXECUTION was filmed in Northumberland in April and May 2008. The
locations include:
Simonburn – the rectory and village of Scardale including the Manor House exterior, Ma
Lomas’s house and the churchyard.
Hunstanworth – the village hall.
The Moors, Hunstanworth – Scardale Moors
Moot Hall – Derby Courtroom
Prudoe Hall – Morton Police Station
Nenthead Mines – Scardale lead mines
Haughton Castle – Manor House interior, Hawkin’s dark room
Lownewton by the Sea – older Tommy’s house
PLACE OF EXECUTION
-4Foreword
Executive Producer – Robson Green
Robson Green believes that PLACE OF EXECUTION is the best drama that Coastal
Productions has made to date.
“Twelve years ago, my business partner Sandra Jobling and I had an ambition to produce
quality drama in the north east of England that would sell internationally. Our dream was
to realise that ambition. It would take a lot of investment and personnel who would share
that ambition and be pro-active in making it happen.
“During those years and the hundreds of hours of drama that we have made with Coastal,
PLACE OF EXECUTION is, in my opinion, the finest production to have come out of
the company. I am proud to say that, and I get a real kick that Val McDermid has come
to a small company like Coastal and allowed us to adapt her work.
“I also recognise that one of the reasons why Coastal has been so successful and managed
to survive in an incredibly competitive market is Sandra’s pro-activity, business acumen
and creative flair, and her recognition of good writing and storytelling. We are a good
double act.”
It took Robson and Sandra six years to bring Val’s book A Place of Execution to the
screen.
“The amount of time has been costly financially and emotionally and sometimes the
horizon looked bleak. Getting the right cast was very difficult and balancing the finances
of a small company is very difficult in a competitive market. But we always maintained
that if the book was adapted in the correct way, it would always work. That kept us
going.”
Seeing the finished three-part drama made all the effort worthwhile.
Says Robson: “It’s difficult to articulate the sense of achievement one feels. I had no
concerns when I first watched it because I knew the story would work – but even
knowing all that, my emotions definitely took over when the final scene ended.”
PLACE OF EXECUTION is the first Coastal drama to have Robson behind the scenes as
co-executive producer rather than star.
“It’s been a real learning process, finding out what goes on at the other side of the lens,
getting the right director and the right writer as well as a great cast. I wasn’t nervous
because I knew Val’s book was a superb story and Patrick Harbinson is one of the finest
writers in Europe, and because of the cast that Sandra had assembled.
PLACE OF EXECUTION
-5-
Executive Producer – Robson Green (cont)
“I was never outside my comfort zone because of the people I was surrounded by. I
guess I was only nervous when I was on set and spoke when they were doing a take. I
kept quiet after that!”
Robson enjoyed watching the other actors at work.
“I looked at each performance, especially the men, and I was pleased it wasn’t me doing
the parts. They were far superior to what I could have come up with, particularly Greg
Wise, and they were all so perfect for their individual roles. I was in awe of them.
“Juliet Stevenson is such a fine actress and she was portraying a woman who has
suppressed her past. How do you portray that physically and emotionally and with subtle
detail? She is brilliant.
“The most difficult part for an actor is keeping the audience guessing. When I read the
story, I thought every single person is a suspect, except Juliet’s character. That includes
the police. And if the actors get it right, they will hold the audience right until the end.”
He admits it was sometimes strange not to be in front of the camera.
“An actor has a Winnebago, he is looked after, and sometimes asked how many sugars he
would like in his tea by a 3rd assistant director. As an exec producer, you have no-one to
look after you, you are working 18 hours a day and sometimes the decisions you make
will come back to haunt you. Very few of the audience will recognise the exec producer
and that might be traumatising for me as an actor this time around!”
Adds Robson: “It’s good that we can make dramas without me in it - it’s about getting
the balance right. Likewise I can balance being behind the lens with being in front of it.
I enjoy doing both.”
Robson is one of British TV’s best-loved actors with starring roles in four of the most
celebrated dramas of recent times - Soldier Soldier, Touching Evil, Reckless and Wire in
the Blood. His other credits include Casualty, Unconditional Love, Trust, Close and
True, Grafters and Rocket Man.
As well as a new series of Wire in the Blood, to be screened on ITV1 this autumn, he costars with Mark Benton in forthcoming Christmas special Clash of the Santas, which
takes the characters from Northern Lights and City Lights to a Santa convention in
Lithuania. Robson is also making his first move into documentaries by presenting
Extreme Fishing for Five.
PLACE OF EXECUTION
-6–
Production Notes
Author – Val McDermid
Val McDermid is delighted with the way her novel A Place of Execution has transformed
to the screen.
“Sandra Jobling, the executive producer, and I had been talking for a long time about
how we could bring the book to television. It was important that we found the right
person who could write the adaptation and screenplay. Right from the beginning we
thought that Patrick Harbinson would be the best person for the job.
“One of the joys for me is being able to work with Coastal Productions as I feel they
really understand my books and get excited about them. You can feel that excitement and
passion when you meet with them. Sandra involves me from the start and it makes it a
much happier experience.”
Val accepted that changes had to be made to her original story.
“A lot of what goes on in a book happens in the heads of your characters, which doesn’t
really make good television, so you have to develop a way of getting out of the
character’s head. It’s interesting to find the visual characteristics of the people in the
book and bring them to life.
“Catherine is a print journalist, but that doesn’t work as well on screen so she became a
documentary maker. In order to make the book work, I had to develop a narrator, which
is Catherine, who becomes the reader’s guide and takes them through the story from her
perspective. For the TV adaptation, Patrick came up with the backwards and forwards
aspect of the story and slowly the viewer will be able to piece bits to together.”
Val came up with the idea for her book when she was living in north Derbyshire.
“When I lived in Buxton in 1979 I just fell in love with the landscape and I wanted to
write a book which captured its essence. Eventually I realised that it would have to be an
organic story, a story which only happened in the area, but I had no idea what that story
was going to be.
“Another seed came when I was doing an event in Hull with a true crime writer called
Douglas Wynn. One aspect of his book was about murder trials where there was no body.
It got me thinking as to what it must be like to be involved in an investigation where the
body didn’t turn up, or was so decomposed it couldn’t be identified, but you knew a
murder had taken place. You start to develop theories that are almost impossible to prove
without a body.”
PLACE OF EXECUTION
-7-
Author – Val McDermid (cont)
The book required a lot of background research.
Says Val: “A large part of writing and developing characters is watching people and
trying to find out their story. For A Place of Execution I had to research the 1960s, as I
was only young in that era. I mainly did it by submersing myself in newspapers from the
time. As well as the articles, the advertisements also tell you how much a pint of lager
was and what jobs were available, so you get a sense of the economic situation.
“I was also lucky as one of my neighbours had been a copper in the Lancashire force in
the 60s. We sat down with a bottle of whisky and he was able to tell me exactly what the
job was like, the rules and regulations, and what the relationships were like across the
ranks.”
Val became interested in crime writing during school holidays spent with her
grandparents.
“I used to go armed with a pile of library books and whenever I ran out I found their copy
of Agatha Christie’s The Murder at the Vicarage. Christie is the perfect way into crime
for a child because the language is very simple and clear. I loved the mystery and found
the stories fascinating so I started to read more crime fiction like Conan Doyle. I didn’t
begin writing until the 1980s, after trying my hand at other things and not having much
success.”
She is now one of the country’s most popular and prolific authors of crime fiction, with
more than 20 novels and collections of short stories to her name including The Wire in
the Blood, adapted by Coastal into a top-rating series, Killing the Shadows, The
Mermaids Singing and The Grave Tattoo. Her latest book, A Darker Domain, is
published in September.
Val admits that occasionally her books take over her life.
“Towards the end of a book it’s almost all I can think about. It’s difficult to conduct
normal relationships because I’ll be halfway through a sentence and my mind will
suddenly be on the next scene. That period can be hard for people around me.
“When I’m going to sleep I’ll be mulling over how I’m going to develop a character or
make the transition between different scenes. Very often the next morning the answer
will be there. The subconscious is great – I get paid to work whilst I sleep!”
PLACE OF EXECUTION
-8-
Executive Producer – Sandra Jobling
Sandra Jobling admits that filming the hanging scene in PLACE OF EXECUTION was
her favourite moment.
“I know it sounds terrible but it was the best bit. It’s a moral show and the title has
always fascinated me. Hearing someone delivering a death sentence is the most
bloodcurdling experience. It makes your heart sink, the tension of the long walk to the
gallows, and filming that scene made the hairs at the back of my neck go up.
“I want people who watch the drama to come away from it with something to talk about.
You can form your own opinion at the end as to whether justice was done. What is the
right punishment for the crime? It’s an age old decision.”
Sandra’s desire to bring Val McDermid’s novels to the screen dates back 10 years.
“It started when my husband Ken first read Val’s books and we originally looked into
Robson playing a villain in The Mermaids Singing. Then ITV asked for him to play Dr
Tony Hill instead and commissioned a series, which became Wire in the Blood.
“A Place of Execution is probably Val’s most acclaimed book and I was intrigued by the
storytelling, spanning the 60s to the present day. I optioned it six years ago and I always
believed that we would get it made one day. It’s a Greek tragedy for the modern age.
“We are fortuitous to have a seven-year relationship with the writer Patrick Harbinson
who adapted the very first Tony Hill novel for us. He read A Place of Execution and
wrote to thank Val for giving him a gift of a book to adapt. In October last year I finally
got a call to say ITV had commissioned a three-part series, much to my delight.”
Sandra started filming straight after completing a sixth series of Wire in the Blood. “We
were worried about shooting in April as PLACE OF EXECUTION always felt like it
should be filmed in winter, but on the first day the snow fell so we had no worries.
Sitting in Simonburn Village Hall surrounded by extras in 60s clothes, your heart just
sings – you realise it’s all working well.”
Filming a brand new drama in Northumberland was an exciting development for Sandra,
coming 12 years after she set up Coastal Productions with Robson Green.
“Simonburn, which is our Scardale, is very familiar to me and my family, as well as
Robson’s family, who all come from the area. Hexham and Nenthead Mines are places
from our past. When we took over the village, the residents were very accommodating
and it was great seeing the trucks roll down the tiny lanes with the mist coming up over
the moors.
PLACE OF EXECUTION
-9-
Executive Producer – Sandra Jobling (cont)
“After six years I had never given up and filming PLACE OF EXECUTION in the north
east was another dream come true. This year we will have 11 hours of primetime drama
shot in Northumberland, Newcastle and Durham. It’s a testament to the crew here, the
quality of their work and the quality of the landscape.”
Sandra says of Robson shadowing her: “I think he really enjoyed seeing the other side of
the camera after being in the business for 20 years. He came down on set but then he was
off on another of his projects as he’s been doing Clash of the Santas and Extreme
Fishing. But I kept him informed and he’s very proud of the end result. He was able to
come down to set, attend the read through and be at the launch.”
Adds Sandra: “It’s always an honour to work with Val McDermid - we are great mates.
I think she trusts us by now to do the right thing and she gets so excited when she comes
on set. Val has no airs and graces and she and Robson get on like a house on fire.”
Sandra is proud of attracting such a high calibre cast to the project.
“Our cast were perfect and I would like to pay tribute to all of them. Juliet Stevenson
bringing Catherine alive was so true, while Lee Ingleby and Tony Maudsley as George
and Tommy had a fantastic off-screen chemistry that became the same on-screen. You
felt they had inhabited the shoes of these two men before. Emma Cunniffe played Ruth
with aplomb. And in the book Ma Lomas is a battleaxe and a big woman and we got her
character in spades with the tiny Sheila Reid.
“Getting the right director for PLACE OF EXECUTION was paramount in my mind. I
have admired Daniel’s work for sometime and his background in documentaries made
him the ideal choice for the show.”
Adds Sandra: “Everyone felt they were part of something special so there was wonderful
warmth on set. We couldn’t have asked for anything more.”
Since Coastal was formed, Sandra has co-executive produced over 30 hours of primetime
drama such as Grafters, Close and True, and Touching Evil 3, all of which were shot in
Newcastle. She has solely executive produced over 50 hours of primetime drama
including Rocket Man for BBC1 and six series of Wire in the Blood, originally based on
another Val McDermid novel.
Sandra was responsible, alongside Robson, for the creation of a Youth Theatre at the Live
Theatre in Newcastle and has raised funding of £250,000 to date. Coastal is self-funded
and Sandra has strongly resisted any suggestions to move the company to London.
Sandra received the Royal Television Society Centre Award from RTS Northeast &
Borders in 2003 in recognition of her contribution to television production in the region.
PLACE OF EXECUTION
- 10 Producer – Philip Leach
The biggest challenge facing PLACE OF EXECUTION producer Philip Leach was
making three films in one.
“We had to make the period film of the original case from the 1960s, the contemporary
film set in the present time and Catherine’s documentary about the case.
“Doing three films within one drama needed careful scheduling. The documentary is just
a snapshot in the script but it needed to have a life of its own so ended up being a much
larger thing than what appeared on the page. Daniel Percival, the director, shot each
element separately and then he and his editor, David Thrasher sewed it all up in the edit.”
The drama shifts backwards and forwards between Catherine’s (Juliet Stevenson) quest
for the truth about the disappearance of schoolgirl Alison Carter (Poppy Goodburn) and
the original 1963 police investigation.
“We didn’t want to just do a period whodunit. Patrick Harbinson’s script gave us a
fantastic combination of past and present. We switch and change between the two periods
of time but they meld together seamlessly. At the start of Patrick’s script he used a
number of “time-traveling “mechanisms, for example cutting between an old phone and a
new phone to ensure the audience is clear which element of the drama they are in. But as
the story progresses they became less necessary and the signposts fell by the wayside.”
Finding a village to double as the fictional Scardale proved easier than Philip thought.
“Our location needed to fit in with Val’s book – an isolated small rural community where
a police car arriving would have been the event of the month. The place has its own rules
and the people are a law unto themselves.”
“Gareth Williams, our location manager saw Simonburn first and then he tramped around
the whole area and saw lots of other villages. He always came back to Simonburn. The
setting of the manor house up a long yew tree walk is just perfect. It is slightly cut off
and not really a place you would stop at.”
Philip was delighted to work with director Daniel Percival, and production designer
Claire Kenny. “Daniel was someone whose previous work really interested us. He had
come to drama through documentary film-making, writing and editing; and whilst his
work clearly demonstrated a great ability to tell powerful stories, what was also apparent
was that he could step from behind the camera to draw out vivid performances from his
actors. When we met him he was so incredibly articulate and everything he said about
the script and how he was going to direct it excited me immensely, so of course we asked
him to direct the film!”
PLACE OF EXECUTION
- 11 -
Producer – Philip Leach (cont)
“Claire engaged with our script right away and did all the 60s research, so it was
completely spot on. Because we see the village of Scardale in the past and the present it
had to feel like it had hardly changed. Claire muddied up the roads and farms, took down
lots of signage and dirtied down the pristine white cottages. The changes were subtle but
worked beautifully.”
“We shot the period scenes first and the lion’s share of it felt wintry and isolated. When
we came to do the contemporary stuff the sun came out and it felt like a very different
time. For once the weather was on our side. Scenes by the sea with the older Tommy
and Catherine walking down the beach were shot on a gorgeous day and made a fantastic
contrast to the period material.”
Juliet Stevenson was the first choice to play Catherine.
“She was at the top of our shortlist, and we all thought she would be perfect. She has
brought a gravitas to the role so you believe utterly that she is a high-flying documentary
filmmaker. Her voice is just wonderful with a perfect cadence for the voiceovers in the
documentary. She is a class performer.”
Several of the other characters are played by two actors, representing the different time
periods.
“We wondered initially if we should age the cast by prosthetics, but I think viewers will
buy the fact that different actors take the older roles. The older actors came down to see
the younger actors to check on their mannerisms and it worked well. The only person we
aged with prosthetics was Joy Blakeman, who plays Kathy Lomas.”
Philip has worked closely with executive producer Sandra Jobling for many years but he
also had a new co-executive producer to deal with – Robson Green.
“It was different working with Robson as co-executive producer rather than leading man
but of course he trusts me now as we’ve worked together since 1996 so he lets me get on
with it. In television terms, he is a pretty relaxed executive producer!”
Philip has produced all series of the award winning Wire in the Blood for ITV1, in
addition to co-executive producing the show’s special episode, shot in Texas, Prayer of
the Bone.
His other programmes include the final series of the RTS award-winning and Bafta
nominated drama Touching Evil and The Knock.
PLACE OF EXECUTION
- 12 Director – Daniel Percival
Daniel Percival was drawn immediately to PLACE OF EXECUTION, thanks to his close
understanding of the central character of Catherine.
“I have been an investigative documentary maker and I really connected with the
compulsion that Catherine had to make her film. I was committed to the project from
reading the first draft of the first episode and I was desperate to know how it ended.
“There are some very personal crossovers for me. I have made films about suicide and
bereavement, including one about my mother who killed herself. Making that was a very
dark journey and I had to search deep inside myself.
“As Catherine digs into the story of Alison’s disappearance, she knows she could find
something darker and that subconsciously it’s all about herself. But she is driven to keep
going and everything else falls away. How do you tell that story? But I knew I wanted to
do it because, through my own life experience and filmmaking, I understand Catherine
and what is driving her.”
The setting of PLACE OF EXECUTION in a remote hamlet also rang true with Daniel.
“I grew up in a small rural village in Somerset and I have an understanding of the
community feeling. It’s not always the idyllic notion - as Arthur Conan Doyle wrote in
The Hound of the Baskervilles, darker things happen in the countryside. Our community
in Scardale has a claustrophobic feeling – a sense of closing down amongst themselves.
“The dramatic landscape where we filmed certainly helped. By sheer good fortune we
had appalling weather in April. In the script there is a great fear that no one can survive
in this hostile landscape.
“I am not familiar with Northumberland, but Gareth Williams our location manager was
brilliant; he embraced our vision for the film and took us to very hidden and remote
locations. Some of the fells we filmed at were as high as 3000ft and it was minus 10
degrees. It was very hard for the actors to be out till 2am in the freezing snow but it
looks great on camera!”
Daniel is full of praise for the cast.
“Juliet Stevenson was top of our target list – once I got her on the phone she had many
questions and it was a long and rather wonderful persuasion. For the other roles we cast
our net wide and when Lee Ingleby came in he brought a whole new personality to the
role of George and we were all excited by it.
PLACE OF EXECUTION
- 13 -
Director – Daniel Percival (cont)
“Greg Wise makes Hawkin incredibly empathetic. You want to have sympathy for the
devil and there is always room for doubt with his character. The casting of Alison was
particularly difficult – she is such an enormous presence throughout the film and has to
be this creature of obsession, of innocence and of suspicion. Poppy Goodburn is a young
girl but she photographs with a disturbing authority.”
Creating the still images of Hawkin allegedly abusing Alison was one of the most
difficult challenges.
“When you are working with children you have to suggest something appalling without
showing anything appalling. You have to be terrified at these photographs and you use
other people’s reactions to tell the story. I have made many documentaries about dark
and terrible subjects and you learn that when a child has been abused they have a
maturity beyond their years.
“At the same time I had to suggest the possibility that the images could have been faked.
The challenge for me was to make this part of the story come to life and be utterly
convincing.”
Adds Daniel: “I choose actors who are not frightened to be very small and very real in
their performances. You have to encourage the actor to find the space and give them as
much or as little help as they need. In PLACE OF EXECUTION so much is hidden and
guarded, you are never just playing the moment.
“It was lovely to work with Juliet because she is an actress who has to feel it to believe it.
There is a scene where Catherine sees the Manor House and walks up a long tunnel of
yew trees towards it, getting ever closer to her Pandora’s box. Juliet was wearing a radio
mike and I could hear her heartbeat. As she got nearer, her fear and adrenalin increased
and her heartbeat was racing.”
Daniel and director of photography Steven Lawes chose to use texture and lighting to
contrast the past and present sequences of the drama. Says Daniel: “Our modern world
is full of reflective surfaces – glass, steel, strong washes of colour, neon and electric,
clean and shiny. In the past, everything is more textile-based, with fabrics and papers and
even the photographs have a quality and weight to them. It’s either underlit or strikingly
lit with daylight or torchlight.
“As soon as I saw Steven Lawes’ showreel I knew he was the right DOP for this serial.
His bold lighting camerawork creates an intense atmosphere, enhancing the drama
without ever swamping performance or story.”
PLACE OF EXECUTION
- 14 -
Director – Daniel Percival (cont)
The drama has many layers, according to Daniel.
“What I love about PLACE OF EXECUTION is that it is as much a morality play as a
murder mystery. As a viewer you are forced to question your own prejudices and sense
of morality and justice. It leaves you with uncomfortable questions, like the characters
who have to live with the consequences of decisions and secrets from over 40 years ago.”
Daniel trained as a film editor before becoming a director of documentaries, gaining
awards and critical acclaim for many of his films, including the very personal You’re
Better Off Without Me, which explored the suicide of his mother, and the groundbreaking
Smallpox 2002.
In 2004 Daniel wrote and directed his first feature length drama, Dirty War, which won
him a BAFTA. His credits since include directing Ghost Squad and co-writing (with
Lizzie Mickery) and directing The State Within, which was nominated for two Golden
Globes.
He has recently written a screenplay for HBO, The Dragon, which he is due to direct next
year, and he’s also directed Waking The Dead and Sincerely Huey. His current work
includes a screenplay for the movie adaptation of The State Within for Universal Pictures.
Writer - Patrick Harbinson
Patrick Harbinson began his career as a story editor before becoming a successful writer
and producer on both sides of the Atlantic. His writing credits include Sharpe’s Justice,
Hornblower, Red Cap and Steel River Blues. He is an executive producer of Law &
Order: Special Victims Unit, a series he has also written several episodes for, and he
wrote and produced ER, Millennium and Dark Angel.
Patrick has written four episodes of Wire in the Blood as well as last year’s special
episode shot in the USA, Prayer of the Bone.
PLACE OF EXECUTION
- 15 Interviews with the Cast
Juliet Stevenson plays Catherine Heathcote
Juliet Stevenson found it easy to identify with her character’s all-consuming urge to find
the truth about a missing schoolgirl in PLACE OF EXECUTION.
“It’s a very dark thriller. I play a documentary filmmaker who gets obsessed with a
murder case about a child who disappeared on the moors in the 1960s and was never seen
again. Catherine finds herself very drawn to the story; it’s like an itch she can’t scratch.
“Even after more than 40 years, the case can’t rest until the body is found. I have always
been haunted by the Suzy Lamplugh case – that girl was never found. How do families
and parents of loved ones cope without the lack of closure? Also the McCanns whose
situation has been so prominent for so long – all parents have been identifying very
strongly with that case. So our story is very current.”
The script was just one of the appeals of the drama for Juliet.
“I thought it was an exciting story and the role was intriguing because, like all interesting
roles, there was a lot going on sub-textually. Catherine is pursuing buried secrets from
the past which have never been resolved but she also has secrets in her own life. The
narrative drive and her internal life make for an interesting combination. I liked the
whole package.
“I read the book, as I always like to, but my character differs a lot because in the book
she doesn’t have a teenage daughter and that is a big part of the film. The very first script
didn’t have a daughter either and I loved it when I read the second draft and discovered
she is a struggling single parent, going through a difficult time. Her personal life is
unravelling as the story unravels.”
Catherine is forced to confront her problems with her daughter Sasha (Elizabeth Day)
when she accompanies her to Northumberland to investigate the story of missing
schoolgirl Alison Carter (Poppy Goodburn).
Explains Juliet: “Catherine is a workaholic. She’s passionate about her work; she’s very
direct, full of energy and a perfectionist. Although she’s a strong woman she knows
she’s probably not the best parent. She found parenthood difficult to plait into her
working life, her marriage has fallen apart and she and her daughter are locked in mutual
frustration, misunderstanding and anger.
“Her own relationship with her mother is difficult and fractured too but I don’t think she
realises it. She is a woman of her time.”
PLACE OF EXECUTION
- 16 -
Juliet Stevenson plays Catherine Heathcote (cont)
Juliet understands the pressures facing mothers to juggle family life and work.
“I have a very busy life with two children and two stepchildren so I don’t have that much
spare time and I work a lot. I have a son Gabriel and daughter Rosalind. I am a hands-on
mum – it’s hard work and means a lot of organisation and running around, but I really
enjoy it. I enjoy my children and they really make me laugh.
“I try not to work away but PLACE OF EXECUTION was very good because it was
condensed with an intense filming schedule, but I could get away home for the weekend
on the last train home, and the next working day shoot back up again. It was always
worth it, just to get home for a short time. My husband is an anthropologist and does go
off for stretches at a time, but he is home more than he is away.”
The drama, set in the present day with flashbacks to the 1960s, was filmed in
Northumberland in two distinct parts.
“We never saw the 1960s cast, so my scenes are with Dave Hill and Philip Jackson in the
present day. I didn’t get to see Lee Ingleby, Tony Maudsley and Greg Wise. The only
actor who covers both eras is Joy Blakeman who plays Kathy Lomas. She is aged by
prosthetics to go from her thirties to her seventies.
“The 60s section was filmed first and then us, almost like two different films. As we
arrived all the other characters were saying fond farewells. We felt like the new kids on
the block. It’s a strange feeling, almost as if the house belongs to someone else and you
are walking into someone else’s bathroom. Lots of relationships have been established
there. But of course in only a matter of days you take over the house – to flog the
metaphor.
“We all stayed in the same hotel in Northumberland so we could sometimes all meet up
in the evening. I loved filming it as I love the north east and my family also came up to
see me.”
Juliet began her career in another drama set in the north east, The Mallens, and received
huge acclaim for her starring role in the multi award-winning Truly Madly Deeply. Her
other many credits include The Politician’s Wife, Cider with Rosie, Trial by Fire, A
Doll’s House, The Snow Queen, Marple: Ordeal by Innocence and The Last Hangman
(aka Pierrepoint) on television, and the films Bend it Like Beckham, Nicholas Nickleby,
Drowning by Numbers and Mona Lisa Smile.
New work includes the forthcoming films Desert Flower, based on the international bestselling book by Waris Dirie, The Secret of Moonacre, starring Ioan Grufford and Dakota
Blue Richards, and Triage, starring Colin Farrell and Christopher Lee.
PLACE OF EXECUTION
- 17 -
Lee Ingleby plays DI George Bennett
Lee Ingleby describes George Bennett as a man who longs to be a knight in shining
armour.
“George is quite old-fashioned. It’s important that he looks professional and acts
professionally and that he is courteous and good mannered. He’s young and he’s climbed
the ranks quite quickly because he’s focused, very serious and works hard. I really liked
the character of George – the quiet side of him, yet he also wants to be the knight in
shining armour.”
George is the new kid in town but he’s handed a major challenge when schoolgirl Alison
Carter (Poppy Goodburn) vanishes from the village of Scardale.
“You get hints that he’s only been in the area for a few months and he’s still fitting in.
He went to university and a lot of his colleagues think he’s a bit la-di-dah and above his
station. But he’s seen a lot in his short career having spent a year in the Vice Squad in
Manchester.
“The investigation into Alison’s disappearance is the biggest case of his life because it’s
his first as the lead Detective Inspector and the pressure is on to get a result. The result
George wants is to find the missing girl, Alison, but the longer the case goes on the more
unlikely that looks. It’s a race against time for the police to start searching and get all the
information.
“George doesn’t know if Alison has run away or if she’s been kidnapped, or worse. It
may be that Alison has gone out walking the dog for longer than usual or she’s out with a
boyfriend. George is slightly over-cautious which could be a result of what he has already
seen in his career. At the same time the villagers view him with suspicion, mainly
because of his age and the fact that he’s not from the area. But over time he starts to gain
a bit of respect.”
Adds Lee: “George is very good at reading people and senses when something is wrong
but will keep it to himself and investigate further. He’ll keep everything ticking over in
his head. But I think his inexperience and vulnerability takes its toll. He becomes
slightly obsessed with finding Alison.
“He wants to save her yet there’s something about the case which he can’t quite put his
finger on. There’s something about the whole situation which doesn’t sit right and he
wants to get to the bottom of it. There are a lot of layers and it does trouble him.”
Lee enjoyed filming a drama set in the early 60s.
PLACE OF EXECUTION
- 18 -
Lee Ingleby plays DI George Bennett (cont)
“I’ve certainly enjoyed filming in the 60s, I wasn’t there the first time round so it’s fun to
go back and experience it. The music and attitudes from the early 60s to the late 60s
changed a lot.
“It’s funny playing a character who chain smokes because you’re not used to it now. It
makes dramas look period now, especially as you see people smoking in cinemas and
restaurants. It’s amazing how quickly people’s attitudes to smoking have changed. We
have herbal cigarettes on set, though, so it’s not the real deal.
“In the grand scheme of things the period isn’t that long ago. But the police methods and
forensics have moved on a lot since then. By today’s standards they are very primitive.
At the time when our story is set, forensic science was just coming to the forefront of
police work and finding its way. And the death penalty is there hanging over George like
a cloud - he knows that’s the way it may go.”
Lee read Val McDermid’s book A Place of Execution as part of his research.
“I read the original book and that delves into a lot of the period. The case is overshadowed by the Moors Murders, which happened at the same time. I think the difference
with the Moors Murders was the heightened interest and outrage because a woman was
involved in it. That case is still prevalent in people’s minds.”
Despite the drama’s harrowing storyline, Lee enjoyed the filming experience.
“We had a great time and a lot of fun, considering it’s a dark piece. It’s quite a morality
tale and it was hard work with lots of questions to deal with, but we were able to have a
laugh as well. We all wanted to make it as good as we could – there’s definitely
something special about it.
“Another great thing about PLACE OF EXECUTION is that there’s another cast filming
in a different century. It’s interesting to think that their side of the story is based around
what we were filming. I’m looking forward to seeing that part, and how it works with
what we have done to create the piece.”
Lee is a popular actor in film and television, where his credits include George Gently,
The Wind in the Willows, The Street, Nature Boy, Nicholas Nickleby, Clocking Off,
Rapunzel, The Worst Journey in the World, Miss Marple: Nemesis, Life on Mars and
Early Doors. His films include The Last Legion, The Henchman’s Tale, Harry Potter and
The Prisoner of Azkaban, Master and Commander: Far Side of the World and Borstal
Boy and he also appears in Lee Hall’s new film Hippie Hippie Shake, co-starring Cillian
Murphy and Sienna Miller.
PLACE OF EXECUTION
- 19 Greg Wise plays Philip Hawkin
Greg Wise was attracted to the role of village squire Philip Hawkin because of his
enigmatic character.
“I’m generally attracted to roles which can’t easily be explained, those which may not
necessarily be the good or bad guy. They tend to have more depth, and because I’m so
lovely in real life, it’s interesting to play someone a bit darker!
“A lot of the characters I play are the opposite of me and I think one of the interesting
things about acting is that you can explore something which you wouldn’t necessarily do
in real life. I’m not like Hawkin at all, which made the role appealing,” he says.
Hawkin lives at the Manor House in Scardale with his wife Ruth (Emma Cunniffe) and
stepdaughter Alison (Poppy Goodburn).
“Scardale is still frugal and closed from the outer community and Hawkin is considered
with some suspicion by the locals because he’s the Squire and someone upon who their
lives and livelihoods depend. The wealth, house and land were inherited and he really
owns the village and the surrounding land.”
Hawkin’s secluded world is turned upside down when Alison vanishes after going out to
walk her dog on the moors.
Explains Greg: “He still believes that Alison is out walking the dog when the police
arrive and start their investigation. He’s tremendously concerned for the girl, but he
doesn’t get the opportunity to express his feelings and that’s why suspicion is put on him.
The police come into a very small, close-knit community and there is an understanding
that there is something amiss, yet they can’t quite put their finger on it. I think because of
his calm behaviour compared to Alison’s mother, it seems like he doesn’t care for the
girl, yet he does.
“He has an interest in photography and is interested in the aesthetic. He’s quite vain and
you get the feeling of narcissism within him. He’s a cool character which is why
suspicion is placed on him, but there are a few people in the frame for the disappearance
of Alison.”
DI George Bennett (Lee Ingleby) notices tension between Hawkin and Ruth.
“He’s fairly cold towards his wife in some sense. It’s her second marriage and Alison is
her daughter from her first marriage. Time has worn Ruth down and Hawkin isn’t a very
passionate man towards her.”
Greg was delighted to return to Northumberland to film the drama.
PLACE OF EXECUTION
- 20 -
Greg Wise plays Philip Hawkin (cont)
“We filmed in an area called Hexham and I’m actually originally from the north east so
it’s been lovely being back. I was born in Newcastle so I’m a Geordie and my dad still
lives there. I left when I was quite young but the accent is still there and I actually used it
in a film I did last year called The Departed. It’s wonderful to be able to come back to
the area of my birth.
“I think whenever you go back to where you grew up, it brings back memories and
resonates feelings within you. I spend a lot more time in Scotland now, but it doesn’t
have that grip of the place where I grew up. We’ve got a lovely cottage and hopefully
my little girl will have the same feelings for Scotland as I do for the northeast.
“I spend a lot of time in London but I’m quite a country boy at heart. I love working and
being in the city, but I don’t want to work all the time and I love being at home - it’s all
about being able to find that balance. I think if you’re lucky enough to do that it makes it
all worth it.”
A father himself to eight-year-old Gaia, Greg doesn’t take his work home, despite the
harrowing storyline of PLACE OF EXECUTION and real-life cases of missing children.
“I don’t really watch television or read many papers. I listen to the radio and get a
reasonably balanced view from there. My daughter doesn’t watch either parent in the
programmes we’ve filmed, as it’s hard for her to see her mum or dad being someone else.
There are plenty of things for us to do as a family which doesn’t include watching
television.”
Greg was told that the Manor House used for filming his scenes was haunted.
“I didn’t feel anything but I’m open to it. Whilst I was house hunting in Glasgow one
evening I came across a flat and as I stepped over the threshold I felt as if I’d been there
before and had to have it. We were very happy there as well.
“I think you can tell if a place is shrouded in sadness and it’s fascinating stuff. I went to
a clairvoyant many years ago and it was amazing. Rather than gaining closure it was
more about reassurance; I can’t explain any of it but I do think it’s very clever that some
people have a gift.”
Greg is married to the actress Emma Thompson and his credits include Cranford, The
Commander, Miss Marple: Towards Zero, Trial and Retribution, According to Bex,
Hornblower, Sirens and Wonderful You on TV, and the films Morris: A Life with Bells
On, A Cock and Bull Story, Greyfriars Bobby, Johnny English, The Discovery of Heaven,
Mad Cows, Judas Kiss and Sense and Sensibility.
PLACE OF EXECUTION
- 21 -
Tony Maudsley plays Tommy Clough
Tony Maudsley loved going back to the 1960s to film PLACE OF EXECUTION –
especially driving Tommy’s police car.
“I really loved driving the period car. You forget now that we have power steering and
you needed arms like Popeye to drive it. It was hard to steer and I got it stuck in the mud
a few times on the moors as we bounced along.
“One day Lee Ingleby and I asked if we could drive the car back to the unit base, so we
flew through Cumbria with the sirens going. It sounded like an old-fashioned telephone
bell and we woke up the countryside! Obviously we weren’t allowed to do it again as
they are classic cars that have to be respected.
“The suits were great too and really important for the role, they definitely take you out of
that modern laziness. Once you get back into the old woollen suits and coats you feel
different – it gives you self-respect and makes you stand up. My hair was slicked to the
side in that 60s way, and with a flat cap, I looked 10 years older.”
Tommy, a sergeant, is right hand man to DI George Bennett (Lee Ingleby). Together
they investigate the disappearance of schoolgirl Alison Carter (Poppy Goodburn).
“He is a hard-working copper, a nice bloke and really respected within his community.
He’s got to where he is through sheer hard work and determination. He has dedicated
himself to his career but he also likes painting and wildlife, as well as playing rugby. He
is well liked as a big guy and it was useful for me to know what kind of a soul he was. I
also enjoyed playing a good guy for a change,” says Tony.
“When Tommy meets George for the first time he wrongly assumes that he has been fasttracked because of his university education. But it doesn’t take him long to realise that
George knows his stuff.
“They work well as a team – George always wants to go the extra yard and Tommy
knows the area really well. At the beginning, Tommy guides George through because
Scardale is a closed-off community not used to dealing with police or outsiders. They are
reluctant to deal with George, so Tommy becomes the go-between.
“They find a mutual admiration and respect for each other. It is unspoken because they
are too proud to say what they think of each other, but there is a definite bond for them
both.”
The close bond between the two detectives was reflected off-screen with Tony and Lee
becoming firm friends.
PLACE OF EXECUTION
- 22 -
Tony Maudsley plays Tommy Clough (cont)
“I’d met Lee before on George Gently and The Street, but we only got to know each other
on PLACE OF EXECUTION and we really hit it off. We have a similar sense of
humour, which can cause a few problems on set.
“After filming finished, we missed each other, and met for lunch. We’ve both done
scuba diving courses and within three days we had booked a diving holiday in Egypt.
The Red Sea was so warm we didn’t have to wear a wetsuit. We were laughing so much
we used up all the oxygen in the tanks! We’re friends for life now and next year we’re
going to the Caribbean together.”
Tony’s next project for ITV drama is Law & Order, a new Kudos production based on
the successful American TV series. In contrast to Tommy Clough, he’ll be back on the
wrong side of the law, playing Mike Turner. Adds Tony: “On the surface, Mike is a
friendly, affable bloke, one of the lads - but underneath, he's a bully, but a clever
manipulative one and a master of intimidation.”
Tony’s other TV credits include A Life for a Life, In Extreme Danger, Queer As Folk, In
a Land of Plenty, Nice Guy Eddie, Eyes Down, My Beautiful Son, My Uncle Silas,
Foyle’s War, The Ruby in the Smoke and Waking the Dead. His film work includes
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Bright Young Things, Vanity Fair, Sleepy
Hollow and Plunkett and Macleane.
Philip Jackson plays Older George
Philip Jackson describes George Bennett as ‘one of the good guys’.
“George lives for his work. He doesn’t have a relationship or a family and that’s what
drove him to live for his job. When he started work in the 1960s, people were suspicious
of graduate police and the more he went on, the more he became a loner.
“He’s an old-fashioned copper, quite eccentric but he’s one of the good guys. He has a
lot of integrity, but keeps himself to himself. You don’t see him at the height of his
success, but before and after.”
Philip plays George when he is forced to confront the decisions he made 40 years ago,
when journalist Catherine Heathcote (Juliet Stevenson) makes a documentary about a
missing schoolgirl, one of his cases from the 60s.
PLACE OF EXECUTION
- 23 -
Philip Jackson plays Older George (cont)
“The case has haunted him all these years. He never married and from the moment he
started investigating the murder he says he couldn’t run the risk of a child of his getting
involved in a similar situation. He has a good relationship with Catherine at first and his
protection is an early warning sign for her.”
Philip studied footage of Lee Ingleby, playing George in flashback sequences, before he
filmed his own scenes.
“I wanted to look at him and see if I could approximate him. I saw assemblies of him
before I shot my scenes, so in some kind of subtle fashion I tried to follow his tics, such
as fiddling with his face. But obviously people don’t do the same things, forty years on.”
Many of Philip’s scenes appear in the documentary that Catherine is making.
“The main interview with Catherine was mainly improvised. Because the director Daniel
Percival has a lot of experience with documentaries, he knew how to set that up. The
camera was on me in the morning and Daniel briefed me while the crew hung around,
and I improvised it.
“It was quite a challenge, but I really enjoyed it as it comes across as very real. Juliet
was there asking the questions but she is unseen. It was a bit scary but a good
experience.”
Adds Philip: “I’ve done a Mike Leigh film before but they are improvised during
rehearsals so it’s a bit different. For PLACE OF EXECUTION, I just needed the
information for the scene. Daniel briefed me on what he wanted to come out and I did it.
“I enjoyed the whole filming experience and it was a complete surprise to see the ending
and I hope it will be for the audience too.”
Philip played Thatcher’s father in Margaret Thatcher – The Long Walk to Finchley and
appears as Bernard Ingham in forthcoming BBC2 drama Margaret. His other credits
include Fanny Hill, Foyle’s War, Funland, Von Trapped, Hustle, Agatha Christie’s
Poirot, Crime and Punishment and The Sins. His films include Brassed Off, Little Voice,
Mike Bassett – England Manager and Scum.
PLACE OF EXECUTION
- 24 Dave Hill plays Older Tommy
Dave Hill was convinced that PLACE OF EXECUTION must be based on a real case.
“I thought it was so well written and I was about two-thirds of the way through when I
realised it wasn’t based on a real case. It kept ringing bells with me because I felt it could
easily be real.”
Dave plays Tommy in his later years - a former sergeant who left the force soon after the
Alison Carter court case.
“Tommy is quite a simple and honest man; he has given up being a policeman because he
wasn’t sure if it was really justice. That got to him and he decided to retrain and become
a teacher. He is an honourable decent guy and had good intentions, but didn’t like the
modern way of policing.”
Dave discussed the character with Tony Maudsley, who portrays a younger Tommy in
the 1960s.
“We met before filming to make sure we were both coming from the same place. Even
though it is 40 years apart, he is still the same person. We talked about how we would
put our hat on, and how to stand and walk – the habits that get into you and stay with you.
“We also decided on an amalgam accent between the pair of us and worked on it
together. Tony comes from Liverpool and I’m from Skipton, so Tommy has a northern
accent but not too strong. It has echoes of both of us.”
Dave also enjoyed working closely with Juliet Stevenson, who plays documentary-maker
Catherine.
“It was wonderful working with Juliet; we spent a lot of time off the script together, to
work out our relationship. We both felt I think that I became a father figure – that feeling
overspilled off-set and I did feel very protective to her both as a character and a person.
We were all away from home and could talk about the scripts in the evening and
hopefully that is imbued in the film.”
The drama also reunited Dave with Philip Jackson, who plays Older George.
“I went to Philip’s wedding and we were quite friendly, but we’d lost touch for a bit so
we picked up our friendship again in Newcastle. It rejoined us and I went to his 60th. It’s
a bit like the script, where George and Tommy are reunited and so were we. That’s
what’s wonderful about this job.”
PLACE OF EXECUTION
- 25 -
Dave’s many TV credits include EastEnders, Rocket Man, Foyle’s War, Doctors, Linda
Green, The Ice House, Chef, Grange Hill and The Monocled Mutineer. Films include
The Full Monty, The Raggedy Rawney and When Saturday Comes.
He is married to the actress Jane Wood and his daughter Polly works in commissioning
for BBC drama.
Emma Cunniffe plays Ruth Hawkin
Playing grieving mother Ruth in PLACE OF EXECUTION was a change of character for
actress Emma Cunniffe.
“Ruth is self-contained and controlled. She is very different from anyone I have ever
played. There is so much going on underneath and she is seemingly not as strong as
previous women I’ve portrayed. I think there is something delicate and fragile about her.
“She wears 60s clothes and has a really well groomed appearance. Her clothing is
strangely held and her hair is perfect. Her costume is a façade for her and that helped me
very much playing the part. The look is also so unlike me.”
Ruth’s life falls apart when her teenage daughter Alison (Poppy Goodburn) vanishes
from the Manor House in Scardale, where they live with Ruth’s second husband and
domineering lord of the manor Philip Hawkin (Greg Wise).
Says Emma: “Ruth has a conflict because she was brought up in the village but has
married into a different class. She is pulled between two worlds – she was obviously
once very happy and in love, but you can detect that there is something terribly sad about
her. What is the darkness in her life?
“She has become withdrawn during the years of her marriage – her husband is very
domineering, arrogant and strong. She married him quite young and has been ground
down into a submissive wife.”
The role called for some emotional scenes as Ruth sees her husband being accused of the
murder of her daughter.
“Daniel Percival, the director, was great to work with and he really helped guide me
through the story. He is a very sensitive and intelligent director.
“Greg Wise was lovely as was Poppy who played Alison. She is only 16 and we are not
seen together on screen, only in pictures from the past. We had a day of stills for the
production and it was good to have a day to bond as mother and daughter.”
PLACE OF EXECUTION
- 26 -
Emma Cunniffe plays Ruth Hawkin (cont)
After filming PLACE OF EXECUTION, Emma went straight on to a very different
acting job, Clash of the Santas starring Robson Green and Mark Benton.
“You couldn’t get two more different roles and it was good to go from PLACE OF
EXECUTION where Robson was the executive producer to filming with him. Robson
plays the Christmas elf to Mark’s Father Christmas and my character Alice is one of the
organisers of the Santa competition. She takes it very seriously and is very enthusiastic
and slightly crazy, so that’s where the comedy comes in.
“Robson has such high energy and it was all a bit of a giggle. I hope it will be good
family entertainment for Christmas.”
Emma got married soon afterwards to actor Rufus Jones, followed by a honeymoon in
Positano, Italy.
She is now in rehearsals for a production of Chekhov’s The Three Sisters at the Royal
Exchange, Manchester, playing the middle sister Masha.
“I thought it was going to be a daunting challenge doing Chekhov but since starting
rehearsals I have discovered the brilliance of his writing. Masha is trapped in an unhappy
marriage, so she’s a bit of a tragic figure like Ruth. It’s about human nature so there are
lots of parallels.”
Emma’s other credits include Trouble in Paradise, Midsomer Murders, Rough Diamond,
New Tricks, Silent Witness, The Genius of Mozart, The Cry, Clocking Off, The
Whistleblower, Plain Jane, All The Kings Men and The Lakes. Her films include
Dreaming of Joseph Lees and Among Giants.
Joy Blakeman plays Kathy Lomas
Joy Blakeman had to ‘age’ more than 40 years to play Kathy Lomas in PLACE OF
EXECUTION.
“I am the only person who appears in both the period and the modern scenes. I go from
playing someone in their 30’s to their 70’s. It was full prosthetics – I had a facial cast,
full head and neck. I wondered how I would be able to play an old woman but it was
such a fantastic job on the prosthetics and make up that I just changed my posture as soon
as I had it on.
PLACE OF EXECUTION
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Joy Blakeman plays Kathy Lomas (cont)
“You see it being built up over two and a half hours as they work on it, colour it and age
it, showing a vein or two. When I looked in the mirror it was a very shocking experience
having an old woman looking back at you and realising it is you!
“The costume is also great. I had a good bra and something over my hips, knickers that
aged me and they gave me a dowager’s hump on my shoulders. I’m not sure how much
is visible but it helps you walk and stand in a different way.”
Adds Joy: “During one scene with Juliet Stevenson she kept staring at me and I didn’t
know why. I found out that there was a spider making a web on my left cheek – I
couldn’t feel it because of the prosthetics! We had to start again as I was really putting
her off.”
Kathy is one of the villagers in Scardale whose quiet lives are ripped apart by the police
and media attention following the disappearance of schoolgirl Alison Carter (Poppy
Goodburn).
Explains Joy: “Kathy is part of a very tight family, with her mother Ma Lomas and son
Charlie. They have lots of secrets and Kathy is the keeper of the secret once everyone
else has died. They have to hold it together otherwise everything they know – their
family, their jobs and their home – would be torn apart.
“She’s definitely a chip off the old block and it was great working with Sheila Reid as my
mother. We are friends for life now and it was like working with your own mum. You
meet on day one and you don’t know anything about each other, but you just click.
“I felt very lucky and privileged to be able to be in both eras. It was like hiding behind a
mask or shield when I played the older woman, so I thought I could try what I liked to
make it believable. It was strange for me to transfer to the modern day and see the
satellite dishes on the old cottages that I had filmed at.”
Joy’s other TV credits include The Street, Eastenders, Holby City, Who’s Baby, Wire in
the Blood, Murder in Mind and Mersey Beat.
PLACE OF EXECUTION
- 28 Sheila Reid plays Ma Lomas
Sheila Reid likens Ma Lomas in PLACE OF EXECUTION to a white witch.
“Ma Lomas is very much the leader of the village of Scardale. She is a matriarch, in
control and very strong. She is fearless and once she makes up her mind, she goes for it.
She is protecting the village, like a good white witch and all her herbal remedies are very
much part of it.
“She and the other villagers are stuck in a time-warp. They are rooted in their own
attitude to life, which is very basic, and a bit cut off from the real world. Their ethos is
that good is good and evil is evil and if someone does something wrong then they have to
be punished. It’s quite a closed community and they look after themselves. She is
certainly not scared of the police.”
Adds Sheila: “I just loved the thought that the village had such an identity of its own
which gives it a particular feeling. If you drove through it you would feel slightly
nervous and want to get out quickly.”
Sheila enjoyed helping to create Ma’s look.
“She has a very practical look – tweed skirt, flat shoes, grey hair. She has a stick and
makes whisky in her own still. She takes that around in a hip flask for an early morning
nip in the cold weather.
“I always get offered eccentric or slightly off the wall characters, which as a role is much
more fun to play. You never know what’s inside you. You can’t go over the top, though,
you have to base it on reality and make it a truthful performance.”
Sheila also enjoyed working with the other villagers of Scardale.
“I hadn’t worked with Lee Ingleby or Tony Maudsley but we called them Laurel and
Hardy as they were such a great double act. And Joy Blakeman as my daughter was a
lovely actress to play with. You form new relationships in this job and meet new friends
all the time. It’s really rather wonderful.”
She adds: “We only filmed our side of the story in the 60s and never got to meet the
contemporary actors, so it will be interesting to see their side of the story.”
PLACE OF EXECUTION
- 29 -
Sheila is a regular in hit comedy series Benidorm and her many other TV credits include
Sea of Souls, Casualty, A Christmas Carol, Monarch of the Glen, Midsomer Murders, My
Wonderful Life, The Ghostbusters of East Finchley, Care, You Me and It, Green Street,
Flickers, All Creatures Great and Small and When We Are Married. Her film roles
include Mrs Caldicott’s Cabbage War, Felicia’s Journey, Still Crazy, American Friends,
The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne, Brazil and The Dresser.
“I have played so many different parts over the past six months. I am doing a play called
Pornography, based around the 7/7 bombings in London, where I play an academic, witty
woman who is deeply lonely, and I’ve just done a film in Bristol called Domestic Flight,
playing Edie who is completely downtrodden, like the wallpaper in everyone’s life. She
slides along the walls of the corridor of life, whereas the other characters I play are more
like Ma Lomas, who goes right down the middle.”
Elizabeth Day plays Sasha
Elizabeth Day admits she was shocked to be starring alongside Juliet Stevenson in her
first mainstream TV drama.
“I was told a couple of weeks after the audition that I’d got the part of Sasha, the
daughter of journalist Catherine Heathcote and had to go in for a reading. I was pretty
scared and as I was getting my hair dyed I asked the make-up lady who else was in it.
She said ‘don’t you know that Juliet Stevenson is playing your mother?’
“I was shocked and a bit apprehensive but I went into the room for the reading and Juliet
was a bundle of sunshine, very friendly and really lovely to me.
“She helped me on set, as things move so fast and I am very new to the industry. I would
ask her if I was doing ok and she told me I was wonderful. She was really supportive and
easy to talk to and we had in-depth conversations about our characters’ journeys and how
they tie in together.”
Sasha clashes with her mother and has become rebellious following her parents’ divorce.
“I read the script and was intrigued by her, she wasn’t just a typical tearaway teen, there
was something a bit more about her. She is a catalyst - she sets the wheels in motion for
a change in the relationship between her mother and her grandmother,” says Elizabeth.
“I liked her attitude and vulnerability. She needs to feel loved and shows it in a
rebellious way.”
The role meant a change of image for 19-year-old Elizabeth.
PLACE OF EXECUTION
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Elizabeth Day plays Sasha (cont)
“My hair is light brown and it was dyed to almost black as Sasha is a bit of a Goth. She’s
very grungy in hoody, checks, slouchy jeans and Converse trainers. She’s the complete
opposite to her mother – she doesn’t wash her hair and I had to have some product put in
it every day to make it look lank and greasy. I couldn’t wait until the end of each week
when I could go home and wash my hair.”
Elizabeth has previously filmed the pilot Things I Haven’t Told You for BBC3.
“At the moment I am temping and starting an Open University degree in psychology and
I work with children a lot. I feel it compliments my acting and I want to have lots of
routes to go into when I am not acting.”
Adds Elizabeth: “My parents are both in sales and they’re incredibly supportive. I was
brought up with an ethos of ‘follow your dream’.”
Zoe Telford plays Nicola
Zoe Telford didn’t have to look far for professional advice on how to create her character
in PLACE OF EXECUTION.
“Nicola is an assistant producer in documentaries, working alongside Catherine
Heathcote. What was so fantastic was having our director Daniel Percival there with his
years of documentary making. He was the best person to help me and make it authentic.
He created an environment which felt very real and between us we tweaked out things
that didn’t ring true.”
When Catherine (Juliet Stevenson) appears to get distracted during her documentary
about a missing schoolgirl, Nicola is quick to step in and take over.
Says Zoe: “Nicola is bright and ambitious but she’s not manipulative, she just wants to
honour her documentary traditions. Of course, her actions could be seen as
Machiavellian too, snapping at the coattails of Catherine. She wants to get to the truth
and she will prioritise things in order to do that.
“I believe Nicola was originally written for a man but I’d met Daniel on another audition
and we hit it off, so I think he had me in mind for something. I’d wanted to work with
him since then, so it was lovely to have that opportunity.
“I really loved the whole experience. All my work was with Juliet Stevenson and Danny
Sapani and they were great.”
PLACE OF EXECUTION
- 31 -
Zoe Telford plays Nicola (cont)
Zoe starred as Abigail Thomas in The Palace and her other credits include Absolute
Power, The Golden Hour, Agatha Christie’s Marple, Teachers, Born and Bred, Men
Only and Second Sight. She also appears in forthcoming film Beyond The Pole.
“Abigail in The Palace was another strong and determined young woman who was again
trying to find the truth, this time by writing an undercover exposé. It was a fantastic part
and great to get the female lead.
“I am very excited for the future and am holding out for what I feel is going to be the
right role for me. It takes a few years before you get offered the leading roles but
thankfully they are starting to come.”
Danny Sapani plays Keith
Danny Sapani was delighted to be reunited with Juliet Stevenson in PLACE OF
EXECUTION.
“I had worked with Juliet before on a radio play and it’s always a pleasure. She asks
questions and really works hard to understand the characters and the work. She is always
up for having a conversation to be more honest and clearer about the story we are trying
to tell. It was a very collaborative and enjoyable experience – a bit like a masterclass!”
Danny plays Keith, the boss of the production company where filmmaker Catherine
(Juliet Stevenson) works.
“Keith has worked with Catherine in the past and they have a long relationship. They
trust each other and there is a good history there. As the executive, he gets the posh
office with the great skyline but the buck stops with him.
“He’s not a bully and doesn’t mean to be scary, but it’s such a huge responsibility to
represent people’s stories. On the one hand, you want to tell truthful stories in a clear and
honest way, but at the same time he’s running a production company so there’s a
conflict.”
Danny didn’t base his character on any particular journalist.
“I imagine him to be on the Cutting Edge side of documentaries and more of a Martin
Bashir television journalist than Fergal Keane on the ground, but he’s a mixture of a few
people really. He has integrity and doesn’t pander to the masses.
PLACE OF EXECUTION
- 32 -
Danny Sapani plays Keith (cont)
“I know how production companies work, which was useful, and the director Daniel
Percival’s history of working in documentaries helped us get the right feel for the piece.
He gave me lots of advice on how that world works, how the people speak and their
priorities and concerns. He had such a passion for storytelling that it was a pleasure to
work with him.”
Danny’s credits include Trial and Retribution II, Serious and Organised, Ultimate Force,
Holby City and The Bill on television and the films Song for a Raggy Boy and Tip of My
Tongue.
“I’ve just done a film called The Oxford Murders and I will be appearing at the Royal
Court in Wig Out as Lucien, father of the house of life, directed by Dominic Cooke. I am
trying to get a film script off the ground too,” he says.
Peter Cartwright plays Judge Sampson
Peter Cartwright – Judge Sampson in PLACE OF EXECUTION - is no stranger to
playing authority figures.
“I have played a judge putting Nelson Mandela away three times and I play the bishop in
Emmerdale. I started in 2000 and dip in and out on special occasions. I tend to specialise
in authoritative figures, as I’m also a wizard, Elphias Doge, riding on a broomstick in the
Harry Potter movies.
“Wearing the costume helps you get into the character. If I am not wearing the robes,
people don’t know who I am. For PLACE OF EXECUTION, I wear a purple shirt. Once
you get the robes on you do feel different and authoritative.
“For Emmerdale I actually get to wear the real clobber of the Bishop of Ripon. When we
had to do some weddings and funerals they rang up the Bishop’s office to find out what I
would wear. Fortuitously we are the same height and measurements and it’s wonderful
to borrow the beautiful robes and mitres.
“The strange thing is that some of the extras actually think I am a bishop and are a bit
reverential around me. I don’t put them right!”
Peter has been acting since the 1960s but appearing in the Harry Potter films has won
him a new fan base.
PLACE OF EXECUTION
- 33 -
Peter Cartwright plays Judge Sampson (cont)
“I get fan mail now from America, which I’ve never had before. I am also very popular
with my grandchildren Luis and Tom. They live in Italy and they both love Harry Potter.
My daughter teaches English there and she persuaded me to go into one of the classes and
told the children what I did. There was this amazing reaction!
“I had read a couple of the books before I did it but I had no idea that filming such a
minor role would bring this interest. I suddenly realised what an enormous franchise it is
– it’s phenomenal.”
Peter’s other credits include The Vicar of Dibley, Casualty, Murder in Mind, Shackleton,
Longitude, Bernard’s Watch, 2point4 Children, Downtown Lagos and Yes, Prime
Minister on television, and the films Wimbledon and Cry Freedom.
PLACE OF EXECUTION
- 34 -
Episode One
Journalist Catherine Heathcote is making a documentary about schoolgirl Alison
Carter, who vanished from a remote Northumberland village in 1963, sparking a
major police hunt and making a hero of investigating officer DI George Bennett.
When George withdraws his co-operation at the last minute, Catherine is devastated
and sets off for Scardale to demand an explanation, accompanied by her rebellious
teenage daughter Sasha. But as Catherine digs further into the case and encounters
hostility from the tight-knit residents, she makes some shocking discoveries.
Catherine Heathcote, a high-flying journalist, is putting the finishing touches to a
documentary about the case of schoolgirl Alison Carter, who vanished from her home in
1963 and was never seen again.
Her film focuses on DI George Bennett, then a young and ambitious detective, who
became closely involved with the case from the moment he visited Alison’s distraught
mother Ruth and her stepfather Philip Hawkin in the remote hamlet of Scardale. He is
sure Alison’s disappearance is more suspicious than a teenage runaway.
Now in his 70s, George phones Catherine to say he is withdrawing his co-operation from
the film – without explaining why. A shocked Catherine hides the news from her
producer Keith and assistant Nicola, insisting she needs to go to Scardale to film at the
Manor House where Alison lived.
The house is where the younger George starts his search, discovering that Hawkin is a
keen amateur photographer who has taken numerous pictures of his pretty stepdaughter.
George fears Alison’s friend Charlie Lomas might be obsessed with her, while his boss
DCI Culver orders the arrest of Ruth’s brother Simon, a sexual offender who was driven
out of the village for exposing himself. Simon claims he hasn’t been in Scardale for 20
years.
George tries to break down the wall of silence in the village, led by matriarch Ma Lomas.
She claims Hawkin was in the fields when Alison disappeared but the squire denies it,
using Ruth as his alibi. With passions running high, George is worried Simon will be
lynched – but he’s released from the cells anyway and soon afterwards his body is found
on the moors. Only then do the villagers tell him about the abandoned lead mines.
Back in her edit suite, Catherine is suspicious about a recent police warehouse fire, which
destroyed a lot of evidence from the Alison Carter case. She needs to see George and get
some answers. But she must take her teenage daughter Sasha who has been suspended
from school after being arrested from criminal damage in a bout of rebellion brought on
by her parents’ divorce. And deep in the lead mines, George and his sergeant Tommy
Clough find Alison’s clothes lying in a pool of blood.
PLACE OF EXECUTION
- 35 -
Episode Two
1963: Philip Hawkin is arrested in connection with his stepdaughter Alison Carter’s
disappearance, after a stolen gun and his blood-soaked shirt are found linking him
to a violent murder scene at Scardale lead mines. But he’s defiant under
questioning by DI George Bennett and claims pornographic photographs of him and
Alison are fakes. As she tries to salvage her documentary about the case, Catherine
Heathcote fears that George may have manipulated evidence, but can’t accept the
man she admires so highly could have been bent. Then George suffers a massive
heart attack…
Ruth is convinced her daughter is dead after the discovery of blood-soaked clothes in the
lead mines. Bullets are also found at the scene, which match a gun stolen from a friend
of Philip Hawkin.
Under pressure to get a result, George pulls in Hawkin for questioning but he is
completely unflappable. Just as he’s about to release him, Ruth calls. She’s hysterical
after finding the stolen revolver and his shirt covered in blood in Hawkin’s study. A
search of the Manor House reveals a map of the lead mines and a hidden safe containing
photographs of Alison naked with her stepfather.
George confronts Hawkin with the photos and accuses him of rape. Hawkin claims the
images are fakes but appears shaken by news of the gun and shirt. George tells his bosses
Hawkin must be prosecuted for murder, even without a body.
Meanwhile, in the present day, Catherine arrives in Scardale with her daughter Sasha,
desperate to see George and salvage the documentary. But her professional image starts
to crack as memories of a childhood spent there with her workaholic mother come
flooding back.
She meets George at a café but when he refuses to explain his desire to stop the film, she
airs her suspicions that he may have manipulated the pornographic images to implicate
Hawkin. George storms out and Catherine returns to her hotel to find Sasha drunk.
Catherine tells Sasha she made the film because she admired George after meeting him in
Bosnia. She tries to talk to him again, only to discover that he has suffered a massive
heart attack.
Confronted by her executive producer Keith, who suspects that Catherine has stumbled
onto a bigger story about a famous detective who bent the truth to get a conviction,
Catherine visits Tommy Clough in his remote cottage. The ex-copper flatly refuses to get
involved until Sasha makes an emotional plea on her mother’s behalf.
PLACE OF EXECUTION
- 36 -
Episode Three
Alison’s body has not been found but Hawkin is convicted of her rape and murder
and is hanged. He goes to the gallows claiming he’s a victim of other people’s lies.
Catherine is still convinced DI George Bennett wouldn’t fabricate evidence but she’s
fired as her boss Keith vows to use her film to expose the famous detective.
Desperate to put an end to the secrets in Scardale, Catherine returns to the village
one more time. But what she uncovers there not only turns the Alison Carter case
upside down – it rocks the very foundations of Catherine’s own life.
At Hawkin’s trial, George is questioned about his interest in photography but any
suggestion that he could have faked the incriminating pictures of Hawkin and Alison is
dismissed by the judge and ruled inadmissible.
Under questioning, Hawkin remains charming, whilst defence counsel Highsmith tells the
court his client is an innocent victim of George’s zeal to find someone to blame. The
jury, however, disagree, and Hawkin is found guilty of rape and murder and sentenced to
hang. He goes to the gallows claiming people have lied and his blood is on their
conscience.
Catherine hears the story of the trial from Tommy, while Keith, hungry for a sensational
story, fires her for shielding George and vows to expose the famous detective for faking
photos that sent an innocent man to his death. Driven by an uncontrollable urge to dig
out the truth, Catherine begs Tommy to come back to Scardale to see Charlie Lomas and
his mum Kathy – the only surviving residents from the time of Alison’s disappearance.
They arrive in Scardale, but are faced by an angry mob and forced to flee. The violent
confrontation brings Catherine’s own tense relationship with Sasha to a head and she
promises to put her daughter first in future. Calling her mother Laura to come and keep
an eye on Sasha, Catherine returns to the Manor House where Kathy Lomas now works
and makes a shocking discovery.
As she digs deep into the long-held secrets in Scardale, Catherine’s quest not only turns
the Alison Carter case upside down, but it rocks the very foundations of her own life.
PLACE OF EXECUTION
- 37 -
Cast List
Catherine Heathcote ...............................................................................
George Bennett .......................................................................................
Philip Hawkin ........................................................................................
Tommy Clough.......................................................................................
Older George Bennett .............................................................................
Older Tommy Clough ............................................................................
Ruth Hawkin...........................................................................................
Kathy Lomas .........................................................................................
Ma Lomas ..............................................................................................
Sasha Heathcote .....................................................................................
Charlie Lomas .......................................................................................
Keith Slocombe ......................................................................................
Nicola Curry ...........................................................................................
DCI Culver ............................................................................................
PC Swindells .........................................................................................
Supt Martin ............................................................................................
Dan Crowther ........................................................................................
Simon Crowther ....................................................................................
Jonathan Pritchard .................................................................................
Alfie Naden ...........................................................................................
Judge Sampson ......................................................................................
Rupert Highsmith QC ............................................................................
Alison Carter ..........................................................................................
Laura ......................................................................................................
Sgt Miller ...............................................................................................
Don Smart ..............................................................................................
Older Charlie Lomas .............................................................................
Dr. Panaseer ...........................................................................................
Margaret Bennett ...................................................................................
Jury Foreman .........................................................................................
Desk Sergeant ........................................................................................
Juliet Stevenson
Lee Ingleby
Greg Wise
Tony Maudsley
Philip Jackson
Dave Hill
Emma Cunniffe
Joy Blakeman
Sheila Reid
Elizabeth Day
Mikey North
Danny Sapani
Zoë Telford
Philip Whitchurch
Danny Tennant
Nicholas Pritchard
Chris Brailsford
Ryan Anthony-Jones
Andrew Woodall
Simon Chandler
Peter Cartwright
Tom Chadbon
Poppy Goodburn
Liz Moscrop
Colin Maclachlan
Paul Wyett
Gareth Williams
Leena Dhingra
Romy Baskerville
Simon Hedger
Guy Manning
Production Credits
Executive Producers .............................................................................. Sandra Jobling
Robson Green
Producer ................................................................................................. Philip Leach
Director .................................................................................................. Daniel Percival
Writer ..................................................................................................... Patrick Harbinson
Based on the novel by ........................................................................... Val McDermid
Production Designer .............................................................................. Claire Kenny
Director of Photography ........................................................................ Steve Lawes
Costume Designer ................................................................................. Ray Holman
Make-up Designer ................................................................................. Sallie Adams
Associate Producer ................................................................................ Will Nicholson
Location Manager .................................................................................. Gareth Williams
Editor ..................................................................................................... David Thrasher
Music ..................................................................................................... The Insects
Casting Director .................................................................................... Joan McCann
A Coastal Production for ITV1 in association with Ingenious Broadcasting 2 LLP