Written by Sally Wainwright
Created by Diane Taylor and Sally Wainwright
Executive Produced by Nicola Shindler and Sally Wainwright
Produced by Yvonne Francas
PRODUCTION NOTES
***The information contained herein is strictly embargoed from all press
use, non commercial publication, or syndication until
Wednesday 11th May 2011***
Foreword by writer and co-creator Sally Wainwright ..................... Page 3
Introduction ........................................................................................ Page 5
Regular characters ............................................................................ Page 6
Suranne Jones is D.C. Rachel Bailey ............................................... Page 7
Lesley Sharp is D.C. Janet Scott ...................................................... Page 10
Amelia Bullmore is D.C.I. Gill Murray ............................................... Page 14
Episode synopses ............................................................................. Page 17
Cast list ............................................................................................... Page 20
Production credits ............................................................................. Page 21
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2
FOREWORD BY WRITER AND CO-CREATOR
SALLY WAINWRIGHT
Up on the moors in West Yorkshire filming Unforgiven, I spent hours talking to the
show’s designer, Grant Montgomery, who’d worked on See No Evil (Neil McKay’s
drama about Myra Hindley and Ian Brady). I had become fascinated with Myra
Hindley after seeing Peter Morgan’s film Longford. How did Myra Hindley become
Myra Hindley?
“You need to meet Diane Taylor,” said Grant. He was smiling. Broadly.
“Who?” I said.
“She’s a Detective Inspector. She’s worked on more murders than you’ve had
hot dinners. They used to send her all over the country to help solve weird murders.
She’s amazing”.
I was nervous of meeting Diane, despite Grant’s enthusiastic assurance that we’d get
on like a house on fire. I’d never met a Detective Inspector before. One step out of
place, and I assumed she’d have my arm up behind my back and my face squashed
against the wall. I certainly thought she’d take a dim view of me asking questions
about Myra Hindley. I wasn’t honestly ready for someone who bares more
resemblance to Liza Tarbuck than Jane Tennison.
Diane walks in the room, and it’s like the sun shining. This jovial, uncomplicated
woman really isn’t what you’d expect. Until she gets down to business. “You’re
looking for something extra they’ve got, but that’s where you’re slipping up”, Diane
explained. She’s an ebullient Mancunian, a compelling raconteur. “They’re not
criminal masterminds. They do what they do because they’ve got something
missing”. It’s so obvious when she says it. Everything Diane says makes sense.
“Cursed” (as she describes it) with a fantastic memory, she habitually thinks outside
the box, and with impeccable, uncommon logic. Someone who makes sense of the
unspeakable, the unpredictable, the bizarre. “Myra Hindley wasn’t special. She was
dead ordinary with something missing, that’s all. A bloody big something missing,
granted”.
A year earlier, Nicola Shindler had asked me if I’d write a script based on an idea by
Suranne Jones and Sally Lindsay. I met a couple of Detective Sergeants, developed
some storylines and wrote a script. There was a hiatus (rare for ITV, a rarity
passionately appreciated by writers) then two years later they green lit it.
By this time I had met Diane, and we had become great friends. I got straight on the
phone to ask if she’d help me. She was at pains to remind me that drama is about
the drama, real murder is about real people, real loss, real tragedy and real
heartbreak, and with that knowledge comes great responsibility. We agreed to dump
the first script and start again. Instead of Janet and Rachel working in divisional
C.I.D., sorting out burglaries, missing persons, abductions, we decided that they
would work where Diane worked. In the Major Incident Team. They would solve
murders, like every other cop on telly, but what would be different is that right from
the inception, we would have a real live D.I. on board, and not just any D.I., but
someone who had worked for The National Crime Faculty for many years (which
meant being sent all over the country helping to solve difficult murders) and had then
become a D.I. with the Major Incident Team in Manchester.
And Diane wasn’t simply going to be an adviser, she was going to be a co-creator;
not someone to tell us what we’d got wrong after it’d been written, but someone who
was in on it before anything was written. Diane regarded it as an opportunity to right
certain wrongs about the way contemporary TV drama still perpetuates myths about
how the C.I.D. operates at this level.
3
For me the joy of the new script was that I wasn’t writing a single line of dialogue that
Diane hadn’t influenced. Often the dialogue’s come straight from Diane.
She introduced me to a lot of fascinating people, including two Tier 5 interviewer
advisors, Ian and Steve. I was shown an interview Ian had conducted. It was
extraordinary. There were no bullish, over-involved Detective Chief Inspectors
grabbing the hapless offender by the collar and threatening to rip his head off if he
doesn’t confess. It’s all so much more tranquil and subtle than that.
“You don’t get the best out of people by shouting at them”, Ian explained. “That only
happens on telly. You get the best out of people if you empathise with them”. The
man we were looking at on screen had murdered a small child in a horrific, violent
attack. In a very short time the man is talking to Ian about what he’s done as though
he’s recounting his holidays. And not a D.C.I. in sight.
Suspect interviews are almost always carried out by Detective Constables or
Detective Sergeants. It’s D.C.s and D.S.s who are trained to deliver death messages
to the family when someone’s been murdered, to knock on people’s doors asking
sensitive and difficult questions, to work out the detailed strategy of exactly how
someone is going be arrested. “Don’t mistake rank for experience, skills or talent”,
Diane told me. “People often choose to stay at the level of D.C. because the job’s
more varied”.
A D.I., or a D.C.I., like our Senior Investigating Officer, Gill Murray, is essentially a
desk job. She’s a manager. She manages people and budgets. She directs
operations. She carries a huge weight of responsibility, but she rarely comes face to
face with the offender, even if, ultimately, it’s her decision-making that’s caught him.
Or her.
The one big thing the Senior Investigating Officer does do that D.C.s and D.S.s don’t
is come face to face with the victim at the crime scene. The only time the D.C.s
usually see the body is in C.S.I. photographs at the briefing.
Diane says being a detective is “Not about what you’re called or what label you’re
given. Some of the best ‘detectives’ I’ve ever met are in uniform and always will be
because that’s what they want to do. Being a detective is a state of mind. Being a
detective is about wanting to know something, to push something sometimes just
because you know you’re being lied to. You may not know what about, but you know
you’re being lied to. Some detectives can be trained, created, but others are just
made for it, born for it”.
Diane describes D.C. Janet Scott (Lesley Sharp) as “an intelligent, emotionally
mature woman, absolutely professional, with an amazing ability to see things from
other people’s position. She is a woman with a drive and desire to do things the right
way”, and D.C. Rachel Bailey (Suranne Jones) as “a character who can and
frequently does drive her colleagues to distraction, but she’s a ‘born’ detective.
Rachel has just ‘got it’, even though she doesn’t always ‘get it’ when it comes to the
bigger picture”.
And D.C.I. Gill Murray (Amelia Bullmore) is, more or less, Diane. Who needs no
further introduction.
Collaborating with Diane has been fascinating, and a privilege. I hope this comes
across in the stories we have come up with, and in the exuberance and depth of the
characters, particularly the three central women. Through Diane’s extraordinary
contribution I also hope the show gives an authentic glimpse of the reality and
responsibility of investigating the untimely, unnatural end of someone’s life.
4
INTRODUCTION
Scott & Bailey is a new six-part series that explores the personal and professional
lives of Detective Constable Rachel Bailey (Suranne Jones) and Detective
Constable Janet Scott (Lesley Sharp).
The two women are members of Manchester Metropolitan Police’s Major Incident
Team, whose task is to track down killers. They enjoy a warm, engaging, robust
friendship.
Rachel Bailey is intuitive, bright, bold, funny. She’s passionate about her job. Her one
big flaw is her impulsiveness, which occasionally leads her boss, Detective Chief
Inspector Gill Murray (Amelia Bullmore), to view her as a liability. Rachel
persistently burns the candle at both ends, and as the series opens, she is in a fiery
relationship with duplicitous barrister Nick Savage (Rupert Graves). Her spur of the
moment ideas and emotional vulnerability lead to dramatic consequences first in her
private life, and then at work.
Janet Scott is subtle, deep, reliable, a diplomat and a thinker. She has two teenage
daughters and is in a marriage that over the years has become little more than a
convenient arrangement for both her and husband Adrian (Tony Pitts). Janet’s a
very private person; not even Rachel knows that she has been sexually involved with
her immediate boss, Detective Sergeant Andy Roper (Nicholas Gleaves). The
unsolved murder of a childhood friend caused Janet to have a break-down as a
teenager, but then spurred her to join the police force. She remains determined to
track down the killer.
Detective Chief Inspector Gill Murray leads a team of over thirty detectives, including
Rachel, Janet and Detective Sergeant Andy Roper. A divorced single parent, Gill is a
hugely capable woman, whose speedy thought processes require everyone around
her to raise their game to keep up with her. Charismatic, funny, clever, fair-minded,
occasionally scary, a paradigm of professionalism, Gill is an inspiring detective and
leader, always at the centre of the office scene.
Scott & Bailey are both competent, ambitious women, passionate about getting the
job done effectively. Neither of them suffer fools. They draw on each other’s
strengths every day to deal with extreme and horrific crimes.
Directors, Sarah Pia Anderson (Ugly Betty, Grey’s Anatomy), Syd Macartney
(Hounded, New Tricks) and Ben Caron (Derren Brown: Trick or Treat, The Cube),
with Producer Yvonne Francas (A Passionate Woman, Strictly Confidential, Between
the Sheets), have brought this intelligent, engaging series to life.
Scott & Bailey is based on an original idea by Suranne Jones and Sally Lindsay.
Working closely alongside writer Sally Wainwright as co-creator is Diane Taylor, a
retired Detective Inspector from the Greater Manchester Police Force’s Major
Incident Team.
Scott & Bailey has been commissioned by Director of Drama Commissioning Laura
Mackie and Sally Haynes, Controller of Drama Commissioning, and is executive
produced for ITV by Nicola Shindler, Director of Red Production Company.
5
REGULAR CHARACTERS
Charismatic, well-off, successful barrister Nick Savage (Rupert Graves) has been
sleeping with Rachel for the last two years. Anticipating a proposal, Rachel has no
idea that Nick is married with children. Cheated and humiliated, she embarks on an
unorthodox revenge strategy, and a series of ugly events is unleashed. As the series
develops, Nick’s professional and personal ethics come under scrutiny while his
home life and career are shattered. In a roller-coaster episode 6, desperate Nick
proves himself to be just as unscrupulous and angry and imaginatively dangerous as
Rachel.
Detective Sergeant Andy Roper (Nicholas Gleaves) has a quiet authority. Andy’s job
is to line manage the Detective Constables, including Janet and Rachel. He allocates
the jobs once Gill has decided on a strategy. Andy has never married. He had a fling
with Janet when they were training together at Bruche in Warrington. Twenty years
later, he still has very deep feelings for her. Last Christmas Andy and Janet slept
together again. Partly a symptom of Janet’s stagnant marriage to Adrian, it’s
something she regrets, but quiet Andy isn’t a man to give up lightly. He’s spent
twenty years waiting for her, and Janet’s unaware of the fact that it’s no coincidence
that they’ve ended up on the same team. Andy sometimes looks like he’s treading a
fine line between hopeless romantic and stalker.
Besides D.C.Scott, D.C.Bailey and D.S. Andy Roper, other members of D.C.I. Gill
Murray’s Major Incident Team Syndicate 9 include:
Detective Constable Kevin Lumb (Ben Batt), hobbies include winding Rachel up, not
making notes, and not listening. Giving Rachel a backhand compliment in a ride
home from the mortuary one day, Gill tells her, “You’re not Kevin”. Kevin is on a
‘developmental action plan’ for his communication skills as there is some doubt about
whether he can hack it as a detective on a Major Incident Team. The thinking from
Force Command is that if Gill Murray can’t sort him out, no-one can.
Detective Constable Ian Mitchell (David Prosho), ex- Army and ex- police firearms
officer. His hobbies include opening doors with his head. Mitch is a gentle giant;
reliable, tough, thoughtful, meticulous. A Tier 3 interviewer like Janet, with a range of
skills accumulated through a decade of service as a Major Incident Team detective.
Mitch is on his second marriage and has a grown-up son who followed him into the
army. He is re-married but because of the job he now has “small children I haven’t
seen for three weeks”. But only because Gill keeps him so busy doing over time.
Detective Constable Pete Readyough (Tony Mooney), hobbies include eating pies,
cake, sandwiches and anything else that doesn’t move fast enough. Another
comedian along with Kevin, Pete has his heart solidly in the right place. He works
hard and eats a lot. He’s divorced with two grown-up children, who he sees regularly.
At their urging he is putting himself back on the dating scene.
Detective Constable Lee Broadhurst (Delroy Brown) joined the police 9 years ago
after initially having a career in psychiatric nursing. He has 2 degrees and could
easily have joined the service as a ‘graduate entry’ assuring quick promotion. He
decided against it. He is one of the most popular members of the team. Dedicated,
hard-working, ambitious, personable, Lee’s going places within the Manchester
Metropolitan Police.
6
SURANNE JONES IS D.C. RACHEL BAILEY
The original idea for Scott & Bailey came from Suranne Jones, who stars in the
series as D.C. Rachel Bailey, and Sally Lindsey, her on screen sister, Alison.
“Sally Lindsey and I first started talking about the idea six years ago. We had left
Corrie and were discussing roles for women on television, and particularly those for
women in their mid-thirties to late forties. Sometimes there will be a brilliant role, and
there are much more nowadays, but other times the roles will be ‘wife or sidekick’ or
‘mistress of’. Our idea was a drama set in Manchester with women in high-ranking
roles, one with a family and one that was living a single life, creating characters that
would appeal to women.
“We pitched the idea and eventually, Nicola Shindler at Red Production Company got
writer Sally Wainwright on board, and she met with Diane Taylor. Sally and Diane
worked on the scripts to create Scott & Bailey. So, the original idea came from us
but Sally and Diane made it their own.
“However, I hope to take quite a lot of credit for my character, Rachel Bailey,
because she has stayed quite close to the original part I wanted to play, she’s a bit of
a loose cannon, a maverick. Sally wrote her brilliantly.”
Suranne is thrilled to be working with Red Production Company on Scott & Bailey.
“I’ve done several projects with Nicola Shindler and Red Production Company
including Unforgiven and Single Father. Nicola and Red Production Company has
been such a formative part of my post-Corrie career and I owe them a lot for that. I
think our collaborations have been brilliant over the three years.
“Nicola is an amazing woman to be at the helm of this project and Sally Wainwright’s
scripts are fantastic. The series was made with so much love and passion. We’re not
trying to break any boundaries with it; it’s not too gritty or edgy, but hopefully it’s a
good insight into that world. It’s good and funny, and heartbreaking in places.”
Scott & Bailey was created, written, produced, and commissioned by women.
Touching on this wholly female achievement to bring it to screen, Suranne says:
“You’ve got a real bunch of strong women making it happen. And then there are the
three main characters, all of which are female.”
7
Suranne hopes female audiences will identify with the three central characters,
Rachel Bailey, Janet Scott and Gill Murray.
“They are three different ages, one is single, one has a family and one is divorced.
Each of them dress in their own way, talk in their own particular way and live their
lives very differently. Fingers crossed they will appeal to all women out there of all
different ages – they might not like one of us, but they might like the others or find an
affinity with one of us. That would be fantastic.”
Suranne believes what makes Scott & Bailey different from other crime drama is its
look into the character’s personal lives, away from the police incident room.
“Scott & Bailey is equally about the crimes and the personal lives of the characters.
We get to peak behind their doors. Each time we see couple of police scenes it’s
followed up by a peak behind the emotional and personal world of each of the
characters. That makes a difference because we get to know them inside out.
Speaking about Rachel Bailey, Suranne says: “Rachel is ballsy, she’s got a little bit of
rough diamond in her but she’s refined that through moving up the ranks of the police
world. She’s very bright, she knew what she wanted to do ever since she was a little
girl. She’s intuitive but yet she’s vulnerable, she’s funny with a slight dark sense of
humour and she’s complicated.
“You get the feeling Rachel is a bit of a loner. And she takes that into her work, she
tries to be a team player but her intuition sets her aside. She’s instinctive but she
doesn’t really know how to hone it. Her intuition is her strength and her downfall.
“Professionally she’s quite well-tuned but her personal life doesn’t reflect that. I think
she doesn’t know how to be herself in a relationship. She’d like her professional and
personal life to marry up but it doesn’t and that makes her sad.”
Suranne goes on to explain Rachel Bailey’s relationship troubles: “Rachel’s life is
falling apart when we first meet her. The first episode opens with what I think is a
really brave scene to begin a series with, that of Rachel getting dumped by her
partner Nick (played by Rupert Graves). And we see this before learning anything
about any of the characters or establishing the team.
“Rachel and Nick had been together for two years and Rachel was happy to be in a
relationship for so long, especially with the job she does. When he breaks up with her
she wants an explanation and uses her job in a way she shouldn’t. She then finds out
he’s married and been lying to her. She’s heartbroken, then angry, and then she
finds out she’s pregnant…everything in her personal life just tumbles downhill.”
A firm figure in Rachel’s life is her colleague and best friend, Janet Scott, played by
Lesley Sharp.
“Rachel and Janet are good friends and colleagues and look out for each other. They
are different characters, but it’s their differences that make them stronger in their
relationship.
“I think this drama shows the love of these two women who are reliant on each other
and have a huge respect for one another’s character and how they choose to deal
with their life. They talk to one another, but also kick each other into shape when they
need to. It’s great to see that kind of relationship on television and I hope we’ve done
it justice.”
8
Rachel doesn’t share the same bond with her boss, D.C.I. Gill Murray, played by
Amelia Bullmore.
“Amelia Bullmore and I had some great scenes together where her character Gill
hardly looks at me or she’ll talk to Janet instead.
“Even when Rachel does well Gill will slap her down and as a result Rachel can’t
stand her. But Gill’s actions are all to do with ‘building Rachel up’ because Rachel
has got a lot of the tools that will make Gill’s syndicate work and tick along brilliantly.
“Gill believes Rachel is the brightest button on the team but she’s sad that Rachel
needs to be kept in line.”
When researching for her role in Scott & Bailey Suranne turned to members of her
family as well as speaking to the heads of different murder investigation teams.
“I could speak to a couple of members of my family because one is in C.I.D. and one
is Forensic. And before filming we did a lot of research. During that process we went
to some police stations and talked to various heads of murder investigation teams.
We looked into some real crimes and watched DVDs of police interviews taking
place.
“Doing the research and talking to people, I could see that with the job, in time,
comes a gallows humour and de-sensitisation. It also comes with a passion of
wanting to catch the criminals of our world and do the best by the families of the
victims.
“I have a huge respect for people in that profession. As when I did Unforgiven, I
suddenly opened my eyes to people who have very different lives. It took me out of
the bubble of my life and allowed me to jump into a different world.”
Suranne admits one of the challenges she faced during filming was an intense action
scene.
“On my last day of filming I had to do a chase sequence. Usually if you’re doing a
running scene it will be on a fast-track or there will be a brilliant Steady-Cam
Operator running backwards at a fast pace, but when I arrived I spotted a quad bike.
“The plan was for me to run the length of three streets with the quad bike filming in
front of me. From this I knew I’d be running fast, and my first thought was, to my
shame, ‘I haven’t been to the gym in about a year because I’ve been so busy.’
Although my work keeps me fit it doesn’t keep me fit to the level of sprinting down
streets and jumping over bins and a high gate! It did it, but by the end my legs were
killing me.”
Suranne’s credits include: Single Father, Five Days, Unforgiven, Harley Street,
Strictly Confidential, Vincent and Coronation Street. From May Suranne will be
starring on stage in Top Girls at the Chichester Theatre.
9
LESLEY SHARP IS D.C. JANET SCOTT
Scott & Bailey is a drama that champions successful women on and off-screen and
at the heart is three female characters, D.C. Janet Scott, D.C. Rachel Bailey and
D.C.I. Gill Murray.
Speaking about her role, Lesley Sharp reveals that being a female-led drama was
one of many reasons why she was keen to take on D.C. Janet Scott in Scott &
Bailey.
“I loved that it was so female centric and that there was a cracking part for older
women in there, for both me and my co-star Amelia (Bullmore). It’s a drama about
women, real women”, says Lesley.
“I’m always surprised by the lack of roles for proactive women. Half the population is
female and I think there are an awful lot of women out there who love watching really
great TV and love watching stories about other women. There is an appetite for really
good stories about women.”
Lesley continues: “I hope women can identify with the characters and are attracted to
our show because they like watching me, Suranne and Amelia going about our police
work and our character’s relationships as much as they like the unfolding narrative.
But I also hope all audiences, men and women, enjoy watching the series because
there are some really cracking good stories. I think it’s quite a different take on
policing, so it’s something new for everyone to enjoy. It is no accident the genre is so
successful because you can tell fantastic moral fables through that medium because
all of humankind can be represented.
“Scott & Bailey is punchy and fast-paced but it’s also funny and tender. It’s about
comradeship, strong, loyal comradeship.”
Another strong pull for Lesley was the opportunity to work with the writer and
producer behind the series, and fellow actress, Suranne Jones.
“I was drawn by the chance of working with writer Sally Wainwright and being
reacquainted with Nicola Shindler, the executive producer at Red Production
Company, who I’d previously worked with on Clocking Off, Bob & Rose and The
Second Coming. I also wanted to work with Suranne because I’ve always been a big
fan of hers. The project was too good to be true. I felt very lucky.”
10
Lesley admits she found two firm friends in her co-stars, Suranne Jones and Amelia
Bullmore.
“It’s always a surprise and delight to come away from a job having made a friend. I
can honestly say, hand on heart, that the big bonus of Scott and Bailey was making
two new friends, Suranne and Amelia. The three of us got on incredibly well. Both of
them I admire hugely as actresses and as people; they are very smart, very funny
and very, very clever. The fact we got on so well off screen was also great for our
chemistry on screen.”
Speaking of her character, Lesley says: “My character, Janet Scott, is loyal,
conscious, loves her job, really loves her children and has no problem at all being a
working mother and doesn’t feel guilty about it. She’s got the usual sorts of pressures
on her, but handles it very well in the circumstances. I think she appears to be very
much in control of her life but she’s rather like a swan whose legs are paddling very
hard underneath the water to keep looking serene and in charge on the surface.
Therefore, what you see on the surface isn’t necessarily what’s going on inside.
“She is married to Ade, who is a geography teacher, and together they have two
daughters. The marriage is in a little bit of trouble. They met and married when they
were young and things have gone off the boil over the past couple of years. As a
result of that Scott made the mistake of having an affair with a colleague. She’s keen
to box up and hide it away but it keeps coming back to remind her of how imperfect
her personal life is.
“Janet is very good at her job as a detective constable. Her strength is her great
attention to detail. She plays things by the book, even though that can sometimes
mean she’s too rigid about the way she goes about things. I think she can afford to
loosen up a little bit. She’s 100% reliable and utterly meticulous about the way she
goes about collating information so if they are getting a very difficult case together all
of the evidence she has acquired can be guaranteed to stand up in court. She makes
sure it’s watertight.
“Janet and I are very different. I am certainly not as organised or as prepared. I’m not
as rigid either. One of the things I feel about acting is that you should always leave
something to chance; you should always leave something to that magical moment
where you are inspired about the way to play out a scene. I don’t think Janet would
ever leave anything to chance; she is always prepared in every situation.
“The big thing that she and I have in common is that we both absolutely love our job.
It’s delightful to work really hard at something you enjoy doing and find it very
satisfying.”
Janet Scott is partnered in the drama’s title role with D.C. Rachel Bailey, played by
Suranne. Lesley admits both characters complement each other because of their
differences as people and in their approach to police work.
“As partners they work very well. Rachel Bailey has a lot of characteristics that Janet,
in her dreams, would have. Rachel is more instinctive. Whereas, Janet’s strength lies
in the fact that she’s able to focus and concentrate on the experience she’s gained
from having a great number of years in the force.
“Janet admires Rachel’s intuition and the way she handles herself. She sees in
Rachel elements of herself when she was a younger woman and recognises Rachel
is someone who’s really good at her job. She’s got a lot of respect for Rachel even
though Rachel sometimes doesn’t do things as she would.
11
“When we first meet them in episode one they have been together for just eight
months. Over the course of the series you see their relationship develop over several
months as they find out more about each other, and how their lives outside become
more and more entwined.”
Leading the team is D.C.I. Gill Murray, played by Amelia Bullmore. Janet and Gill
have a close relationship on screen as old friends and work colleagues.
“Sally Wainwright, Amelia and I decided Janet and Gill were friends from back in the
day during early training,” Lesley explains. “They have a lot of mutual respect for
each other even though their lives have gone in different directions. Gill’s trajectory
through policing has been very different to Janet’s. She is now one of the bosses
whereas Janet’s function, and the thing she really loves doing, is the police work on
the ground on a day to day basis.
“Being a part of Gill’s team means sometimes the lines cross and their friendship is
allowed to shine through. At other times they are both very good at shutting that
down and making sure that they are colleagues. It’s a very interesting dynamic.”
In Scott & Bailey we learn that Janet decided to join the police force following the
unsolved murder of a friend when she was a small child.
“When Janet was a little girl her friend, Veronica disappeared and was subsequently
found to have been murdered. Because the case was an unsolved murder and she
had been very close to Veronica, but was helpless in doing anything about her death,
it sparked her to join the police force. She was inspired to do good and to maybe,
one day, find out what had happened to Veronica.
“In the first episode Veronica’s brother, Geoff, played by Kevin Doyle, turns up to see
Janet. He’s managed to find her knowing she’s joined the police, and asks her if
there’s anything she can do to get the case reopened. Janet agrees to do it as a
favour part-time. The story unfolds to show the relationship between Janet and Geoff
and their quest to find out what happened to Veronica.”
When researching for her role, Lesley met with two police officers skilled in
interviewing murder suspects.
“I met two amazing officers who are experts in the field of interviewing. It was really
fascinating talking to them about the way in which they do their job and do it
unthinkingly. It was interesting to hear about how they have to be incredibly focused
and not bring into an interview situation the way you feel about a suspect.
“I loved having a look into the world of the police. I find police work fascinating.
Usually when we see cases on television we only see glimpses of what is going on
but all the intricacies are really interesting. The police have to find out motives and fit
a very intricate jigsaw puzzle together in trying to solve the case.
“Those that work for the police put themselves at risk everyday when they go to work.
It’s actually quite moving because on a day to day basis they are potentially putting
themselves in danger and don’t think twice about it. Obviously they are trained to
avoid being in situations where they can get hurt, but it’s part of their job and they do
it unflinchingly and unquestioningly. I think we are very lucky that we’ve got the police
force that we have.”
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Lesley also spent time with Diane Taylor.
“The police advisor, a retired D.I. called Diane Taylor, was really fascinating and had
some amazing stories to tell about the work she had done. She was an expert in
advising different police forces on cold cases that she’d reopened and her team were
responsible in trying to solve.”
Lesley Sharp’s credits include The Shadow Line which has just screened on BBC2
and was written, directed and produced by Hugo Blick and starred Chiwetel Ejiofor,
Christopher Eccleston and Stephen Rea, Cranford, The Diary of Anne Frank and
Red Riding. She will also feature in the forthcoming series of Merlin on BBC1.
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AMELIA BULLMORE IS D.C.I. GILL MURRAY
Amelia Bullmore reveals she had an invaluable source when researching for her role
in Scott & Bailey.
Amelia, who plays D.C.I. Gill Murray, worked closely on her character with cocreator, Di Taylor, a retired D.I. who once worked with the Greater Manchester
Police, major incident team.
“Diane Taylor, who developed Scott & Bailey with Sally Wainwright, used to do the
same job as Gill Murray before she retired,” Amelia explains. “She was an advisor on
set so I tried to sit next to her whenever possible so I could scoop her brains out and
see if I could get inside her head.
“Di is a very animated, jolly woman. She’s not at all serious or glum, and she had an
enormous appetite for the job when she was working as a D.I. She’s bright as a
button, even when she’s talking about the most grizzly things she’s got a glint in her
eye because it’s her favourite subject; it’s what she’s best at. So I took her glint and
used it.
“Di is also very sure about life, she sees things as black or white and she has a right
to say that because she’s seen it all. She has seen things that most of us are
protected from, she’s seen some very dark corners of human behaviour but she’s
very jolly with it and I think that’s the essence of the character.
“I feel very lucky that I was able to talk to Di and pick up these cues from her to use
for creating Gill.”
Di Taylor also inspired Amelia with a couple of extra touches for creating Gill
Murray…
“Di has got blood red fingernails, so I stole her nail polish!” Amelia laughs. “And she
has got very busy communicative hands so I stole that characteristic as well.”
Speaking further about her character Amelia says: “Gill Murray is a workaholic who
doesn’t suffer fools. She’s a really good detective and she is now in charge of a
syndicate; she conducts the operation. One of her main strengths is she’s really
observant, she always thinks 10 steps ahead and thinks about how the evidence is
going to hold in court.
“She is the type of boss who always sets a good example; she’s always there early,
is always ready, and always looks the part. She sets high standards for her team but
it’s justified because she sets high standards for herself. She’s not a soft and cuddly
boss, she can have a fowl temper, but she can also be a good laugh in lighter
moments.
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“Gill gave up being on the front line because her life got quite complicated. Later on
in the series we find what makes her tick, she’s a single mother with a teenage boy,
she once had a great marriage with a very powerful police officer but they
separated.”
Amelia admits she’s not much like her character on-screen. “Gill Murray is much
more certain about the world than I am. She’s much bossier than I would dare to be,
I’m not saying that I don’t have my bossy moments but I would be concerned about
offending people! However, she can’t afford to be bothered about what people think
of her.”
In the series Gill has a close friendship with Janet Scott, but often clashes with
Rachel Bailey.
“Gill has an interestingly interwoven private and professional relationship with Janet
Scott. They are very good friends and go back a long way, to the days when they
trained together.
“In comparison, Gill sees Rachel Bailey as a brilliant but exasperating prodigy. Gill
believes what Rachel needs to learn is consistency and discipline. Rachel is too
flaky.
“Gill can see a lot of herself in Rachel, particularly in her younger days. But Rachel is
still a bit rough around the edges. She’s nearly brilliant but she’s got to polish it
because she’s a bit of a loose cannon. I think Gill would like to knock Rachel into
shape!”
Taking on the role as D.C.I. Gill Murray gave Amelia an insight into the Police Force
and admits it’s a job she couldn’t do…
“Doing Scott & Bailey I got to see a glimpse of the skill required to do that sort of
job. It gave me the keen sense of how lucky we are to have the police. I’m not
convinced I’m made of the right stuff to be in the police, but clearly the good ones are
diamonds. We are so lucky to have them and working on this drama gave me a very
keen appreciation of them.
“My mind boggles thinking about the horrible things the police deal with. Playing a
D.C.I. I recognised my character had to be someone who is very together about the
material and not disturbed by it. That doesn’t mean those in the role aren’t dealing
with it somehow, they must have a way of processing it but certainly can’t go to
pieces over it because they have a job to do.”
Amelia was keen to star in Scott & Bailey because of the scripts and her character,
D.C.I. Gill Murray.
“I thought the scripts were beautifully written and the characters were fantastic. Gill
Murray is particularly fresh, she’s so lively. I love that she’s so in love with her job
and an enthusiast. She’s also a quick thinker and very smart. She’s a very well drawn
character.”
Amelia believes audiences will want to watch Scott & Bailey because of its fresh
approach to the crime thriller genre.
“The crimes are unusual, intriguing and brilliantly plotted. I think audiences will be
gripped to know what happens.
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“One of the reasons Scott & Bailey is so refreshing is that the characters are not
warn down by their job. For them, it’s the best job in the world and that’s why their
doing it.
“It shows a real appetite and has got attention to detail for the crimes and policing in
its proper and fascinating form. It’s also got really strong-flavoured characters who
have tangled love lives but maintain being really good at their jobs. I think it’s a rich
mix and very fresh.
On the topic of Scott & Bailey’s female-led production team and cast Amelia says: “I
wonder if it isn’t so extraordinary. The television industry is full of women with lots of
producers and people behind the scenes who are women.
“It is true to say the story Sally Wainwright was particularly interested in was Scott
and Bailey, these two friends and great detectives, and she’s also given them a
female boss, Gill Murray. I think it’s a world that’s very real and audiences will identify
with this.
“Women love drama so I think it’ll be something that women will tune in to and watch.
But hopefully it’s appealing because it’s good television. They are great scripts it’s a
police drama, which a lot of people love to watch. I think it’s a cut above because of
the quality of the writing. I’m not sure if audiences will make much of it having strong
female leads, particularly as there have been a few female-led dramas on TV
recently.”
Amelia’s credits include: Twenty Twelve, Lewis, Ashes to Ashes, and I’m Alan
Partridge.
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EPISODE SYNOPSES
The following synopses are published in the press pack for forward
planning purposes only. Please do not reproduce entirely and do not
publish the end of the story. Many thanks.
Episode One:
D.C. Rachel Bailey works in Syndicate 9, a police unit in Manchester which
specialises in murder. She’s a great copper but lousy at relationships. We meet her
as she’s being publically dumped by boyfriend Nick Savage over dinner. He tells her
that he’s just moved on. Rachel gives Nick both barrels but we can see she’s really
hurt, especially when she suspects he’s seeing someone else. Best friend, and
colleague D.C. Janet Scott is there, as ever, to pick up the pieces at work the next
day.
Their boss, D.C.I. Gill Murray, takes the team through their new murder case. A
young, married Turkish girl, Emel, has been killed in her home, and the murder has
clearly been made to look like suicide and there’s no evidence of a break-in. Rachel
throws herself into the investigation, soon discovering that Emel’s husband, Gokhan,
was having an affair, with a young woman from Leeds named Mana. But Mana
calmly refutes all accusations that she intended to harm Emel. Rachel takes a huge
risk in a tense interview with Mana. Has she jeopardised the case, or will her highstakes approach get results?
Meanwhile Rachel is using her police privileges to carry out her own investigation
into Nick, and is horrified to discover he’s married with two children. Rachel is
provoked into making a rash and dangerous threat. Janet has her own shock in
store when she’s contacted by Geoff Hastings, brother of an old school friend,
Veronica, who was abducted and murdered when they were still at primary school.
Geoff asks Janet if she’ll re-open the case. Janet has always been haunted by
Veronica’s death and agrees to take another look at the evidence.
Episode Two:
Rachel’s personal life gets even more complicated when she reveals to Nick that
she’s pregnant. His unsympathetic response confirms her decision to have a
termination.
At work, the team face a particularly gruesome case – a mother of two, Susan
Metcalfe, has been brutally raped and left to bleed to death in the boot of her car. A
man was seen on CCTV following the woman just before she disappeared. The
same man had been seen asking for a taxi to the Walden estate. It’s a lucky break for
the team, who head over to the Walden Estate to conduct house to house enquiries.
A sharp piece of detective work from Rachel leads to the arrest of the right suspect,
teenager Luke Farrell. But to the horror of our team, it turns out to be just the
beginning, as Luke’s arrest sparks off a series of events which leads to further
tragedy.
Janet steps up her investigation into Veronica’s death. She meets up with Tom
Walters, the senior investigating officer at the time of the murder. The case has never
left Tom, who believed it to be the work of a serial killer. He gives Janet all the
paperwork from the case.
Meanwhile, Rachel has made the biggest decision of her life…
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Episode Three
Georgios Stelikos is in the dock for murder, and Gill is determined to see him also
convicted of rape. He has been implicated in four other rape cases, and this is Gill’s
chance to see him finally pay for his crimes. But the case is complicated. Only one
woman, Hannah, has been prepared to come forward and testify that she was raped
by Stelikos. Kevin thinks Gill is mad to risk the murder charge by including a rape
charge, notoriously hard to prove. Gill however believes that this is the best way to
see justice done.
Both Rachel and Janet are due to give evidence, and Rachel is horrified to discover
that her ex, Nick Savage, is the defending barrister. Nick’s cross examination shakes
Rachel to the core, using details and information he could only have known from
when they were together. Stunned, Rachel later admits to Janet that she had talked
to Nick about this case. Janet is horrified, especially when Nick’s adroit defence
leads to Stelikos being acquitted.
Hannah, who suffered terribly when she gave evidence against Stelikos, loses
control and makes a public death threat. When Stelikos is later found murdered,
Hannah is the prime suspect. Janet must use all her negotiating skills to prevent this
case ending in further tragedy.
Nick was appalled to discover outside court that Rachel had kept the baby. Rachel
however is determined to bring his baby up alone. But there’s further heartbreak in
store for Rachel. Luckily Janet is onside to take Rachel in when her life collapses
around her…
Episode Four
Vicky Birkinshaw reported her husband missing weeks ago, so she’s surprised when
Syndicate 9 turn up at her door and arrest her on the suspicion on his murder.
Rachel faces the task of going through Vicky and Gary’s homemade pornography
collection, to see if there are any clues there. But it’s when Vicky’s daughter turns up
with her, much older, boyfriend that things take a dark twist. It seems it wasn’t just
pornography this couple were involved with. In one of the most graphic murder
cases the team have had to deal with, it takes all their experience to be able to finally
work out who’s behind this gruesome death.
Rachel’s professional life hangs in the balance when Gill begins to suspect that her
relationship with Nick Savage could have put a case at risk. And Janet’s affair with a
colleague gets uncovered. But has Rachel overstepped the mark by confronting
Janet about it?
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Episode Five:
When Rachel bumps into an ex-juror, she’s shocked to discover this woman had an
affair with Nick in the middle of a trial. Unsure what to do with this explosive
information, she’s amazed when Nick has the gall to contact her direct. Desperately
worried about this coming out, he does everything in his power to persuade Rachel to
keep it to herself.
At work, a body has been discovered on a building site. The team work tirelessly to
find the killer but five weeks later they are still no nearer. During the case review,
Rachel picks up on a number of similarities between this body and the old, cold
cases Janet’s been reading about linking the Veronica Hasting’s murder. Begging
Janet to go to Gill with this, Rachel’s thrilled when Gill takes it seriously. Sending
Janet home to work up a case file, Rachel helps Janet explain to Geoff Hastings
what this could mean – they could be one step closer to bringing his sister’s killer to
justice.
However when Rachel does some digging of her own, she stumbles across
information that Janet hadn’t seen before. Rachel thinks she knows who the
murderer is, but can she get the information to Janet in time?
Episode Six:
Walking home one evening, a car narrowly misses Rachel and smashes into the side
of the road. Shaken and bewildered, Rachel starts in pursuit of the driver who legs it.
However, it’s not the dramatic way the chase ends that upsets Rachel the most, it’s
finding out the next day that the crash is unquestionably linked to the disturbing
information she found out about Nick’s affair with a juror. Was Rachel targeted?
Could Nick have had something to do with it?
With uncertainty whirling round her head, she leaves Janet to lead the questioning of
the latest case for the team – a young boy, shot dead in his lounge. His best friend
was witness to the shooting but it takes all of Janet’s skill to get him to open up and
speak to them. He’s petrified he could be next.
As the series comes to a close, Rachel’s career hangs in the balance as Gill
discovers just how far Rachel has gone in pursuit of love. And Janet needs to end
her affair once and for all but will it be that easy?
The above synopses are published in the press pack for forward
planning purposes only. Please do not reproduce entirely and do not
publish the end of the story. Many thanks.
19
CAST LIST
D.C. Rachel Bailey ...................................................................... Suranne Jones
D.C. Janet Scott ............................................................................. Lesley Sharp
D.C.I. Gill Murray ...................................................................... Amelia Bullmore
D.S. Andy Roper ..................................................................... Nicholas Gleaves
Nick Savage .................................................................................Rupert Graves
Geoff Hastings ................................................................................ Kevin Doyle
Adrian Scott ........................................................................................ Tony Pitts
D.C. Kevin Lumb ................................................................................... Ben Batt
D.C. Ian Mitchell............................................................................ David Prosho
D.C. Pete Readyough ................................................................... Tony Mooney
D.C. Lee Broadhurst. .................................................................... Delroy Brown
Alison ............................................................................................. Sally Lindsay
Taisie Scott ................................................................................. Harriet Waters
Elise Scott .................................................................................. Shannon Flynn
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PRODUCTION CREDITS
Executive Producers ................................................................... Nicola Shindler
................................................................................................. Sally Wainwright
Producer ................................................................................... Yvonne Francas
Writer ....................................................................................... Sally Wainwright
Creators ......................................................................................... Diane Taylor
................................................................................................. Sally Wainwright
Directors ............................................................................. Sarah Pia Anderson
.................................................................................................... Syd Macartney
........................................................................................................... Ben Caron
Line Producer............................................................................... Rhian Griffiths
Sound Recordist .......................................................................... Dave Ratcliffe
Location Manager ..........................................................................Gary Barnes
Script Editor ..................................................................................... Emily Feller
Costume Designer ....................................................................... Alex Caulfield
Make up Designer .......................................................................... Janita Doyle
Production Designer .................................................................... John Collins
Casting Director ..................................................................... Beverley Keogh
Editor Eps 1-2 .................................................................................. Mark Elliott
Editor Eps 3-4…………………………………………………..John Daniel Wilson
Editor Eps 4-6……………………………………………………………David Head
DOP Eps 1-4 ............................................................................. Fabian Wagner
DOP Eps 5-6……………………………………………………….Tony Slater Ling
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