King and Castle is a British television crime drama series, made by Thames Television and screened on ITV, that first broadcast on 20 August 1985.[1] The series stars Derek Martin as Ronald King, a Detective Sergeant with the Metropolitan Police, who is obliged to leave the force when he is investigated by the anti-corruption squad. His first venture outside of the police involves setting up his own Debt Collection Agency, known as 'The Manor', where he partners with mild-mannered martial arts expert David Castle (Nigel Planer).
| King and Castle | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genre | Crime drama |
| Created by | Ian Kennedy Martin |
| Written by |
|
| Starring |
|
| Theme music composer | Sound Lab |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language | English |
| No. of series | 2 |
| No. of episodes | 12 (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producer | Lloyd Shirley |
| Producers |
|
| Cinematography | Philip Blowers |
| Running time | 60 minutes |
| Production company | Thames Television |
| Original release | |
| Network | ITV |
| Release | 20 August 1985 – 14 June 1988 |
Created by Ian Kennedy Martin,[2] who had previously devised The Sweeney for Thames, along with Juliet Bravo and The Chinese Detective for the BBC, King and Castle started out as an episode of Thames' Storyboard, a series of stand-alone dramas intended as potential pilots for series.[3] Described as a combination of the rough-and-tumble of The Sweeney[4] with the knowing wit of Minder,[5] two series of six episodes each followed in 1986 and 1988. In 1986, a paperback tie-in novel was also released to accompany the first series.[6]
The complete series of King and Castle, including the Storyboard pilot, was released on DVD via Network in April 2011 and July 2012 respectively.
Cast
edit- Derek Martin as Ronald King
- Nigel Planer as David Castle
- Mary Healey as Miss Willmott
- Andrew Cruickshank Mr. Hodinett
- Laura Davenport as Deidre Aitken (1986)
- Rowena Roberts as Hilary McLean (1988)
- Paul Brooke as Edward Hallday-Mostyn (1986)
- Shirley Stelfox as Betty (1988)
- Lucy Speed as Susie (1988)
Episodes
editPilot (1985)
edit| No. | Title[7] | Directed by | Written by | Airdate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | "King and Castle" | Richard Bramall | Ian Kennedy Martin | 20 August 1985 | |
|
A dissatisfied young martial artist teams up with maverick ex-cop in a new debt collecting venture. | |||||
Series 1 (1986)
edit| No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Airdate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Exodus" | Peter Cregeen | Ian Kennedy Martin | 3 September 1986 | |
|
King and Castle are asked to trace a man who has sawn his house in half following the break-up of his marriage. Meanwhile, a local villain has a score to settle with King. | |||||
| 2 | "Villains" | Henry Herbert | Ian Kennedy Martin | 10 September 1986 | |
|
A bereaved family hire King to find a substantial some money that disappeared after their relative died in a car crash. | |||||
| 3 | "Partners" | Alan Bell | Ian Kennedy Martin | 17 September 1986 | |
|
A man called Devas hires King and Castle to secure debts owed to him by a Rodney Finch-Courtney. | |||||
| 4 | "Friends" | Peter Cregeen | Ian Kennedy Martin | 24 September 1986 | |
|
King and Castle turn detective when the friend of a man they are chasing for large debts is imprisoned for a robbery he did not commit. This episode featured Terence Morgan's last ever acting role; it was noted that he gave a 'haunting performance'.[8] | |||||
| 5 | "Romance" | Henry Herbert | Ian Kennedy Martin | 1 October 1986 | |
|
Castle pursues a woman for £10,000 of debts, but King finds himself attracted to her. King discovers Medley's long-lost son. | |||||
| 6 | "Rivals" | Alan Bell | Ian Kennedy Martin | 8 October 1986 | |
|
Castle deals with a child custody case. A rival debt collection agency moves into the area and successfully employs strong-arm tactics. | |||||
Series 2 (1988)
edit| No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Airdate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | "Kicks" | Peter Sasdy | Ian Kennedy Martin | 10 May 1988 | |
|
King has a cashflow problems, and Castle and Miss Willmott are owed nearly £2,000 in back pay. | |||||
| 8 | "Dim Sums" | Laurence Moody | Ian Kennedy Martin | 17 May 1988 | |
|
A woman dies and leaves behind a lot of I.O.U.s signed by a Tony Chen. King and Castle are hired to find him. | |||||
| 9 | "Hams" | Jan Sargent | Ian Kennedy Martin | 24 May 1988 | |
|
Castle acquires a wonderful recipe for cooking hams. Hilary and Carol clash. | |||||
| 10 | "Floppy Discs" | Peter Tabem | Nigel Planer & Andy de la Tour | 31 May 1988 | |
|
King is hired to help find a stolen floppy disc that contains extremely valuable information. | |||||
| 11 | "Class" | Laurence Moody | Nigel Planer & Andy de la Tour | 7 June 1988 | |
|
A friend of King's needs a touch of class, but is King the right man for the job? | |||||
| 12 | "Cons" | Jan Sargent | Ian Kennedy Martin | 14 June 1988 | |
References
edit- ^ Evans, Jeff (2011). The Penguin TV Companion (4th ed.). London: Penguin. p. 532. ISBN 9780241952917.
- ^ "King and Castle". Ian Kennedy Martin official website. Retrieved 23 April 2017.
- ^ "BFI Collections Database". British Film Institute. Retrieved 23 April 2017.
- ^ Cornell; Day & Topping (1996). The Guinness Book of Classic British TV (2nd ed.). Enfield: Guinness Publishing. p. 397. ISBN 0851126286.
- ^ Rogers, Dave (1988). The ITV Encyclopedia of Adventure. London: Boxtree. pp. 297–298. ISBN 1852832177.
- ^ "Paperback tie-in book". Trash Fiction. Retrieved 23 April 2017.
- ^ "BFI Collections database". British Film Institute. Retrieved 23 April 2017.
- ^ The Daily Telegraph Retrieved 29 June 2020.