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''Clink'' is a British television drama series, created by Colin McKeown, which premiered on 5Star on 18 April 2019. The cast include
Alicya Eyo Alicya Eyo (born 16 December 1975) is an English actress, best known for her roles as Denny Blood in the ITV prison drama series '' Bad Girls'' and Ruby Haswell in the ITV soap opera ''Emmerdale''. Early life Eyo was born on 16 December 1975 in ...
,
Katherine Rose Morley Katherine Rose Morley (born 3 October 1989) is an English actress. She has appeared in '' The Mill'' (2013–2014), ''Thirteen'' (2016), ''Last Tango in Halifax'' (2013–2020), '' Clink'' (2019), and ''The Syndicate'' (2021). Early life Kath ...
,
Christine Tremarco Christine Tremarco (born 1977) is a British television actress whose career began in 1992. She is best known for portraying the role of Davina Shackleton in the BBC One school-based drama series '' Waterloo Road'' (2007–2009) and also in BBC ...
, and
Lu Corfield Lucy "Lu" Corfield (born 1979 or 1980) is a Welsh actress, known for her roles as Freya Wilson (Doctors), Freya Wilson in ''Doctors (2000 TV series), Doctors'', Ruth in ''Last Tango in Halifax'' and Joyce Edevan in ''Clink (TV series), Clink''. ...
, and focuses on the lives of the staff and inmates of the fictional women's prison, BPS Bridewell. The series is produced by
LA Productions LA Productions Ltd is a British independent television and film production company based in Liverpool, UK. It was founded in 2000 by Brookside co-creator, Colin McKeown MBE, and is known for producing socially-conscious television drama, most ...
and distributed by the now-defunct Kew Media Group. McKeown serves as executive producer, while the writing team is headed by Sarah Deane. The series went into development in late 2018, in which McKeown worked closely with the LA Productions team, in particular, Justine Potter and Donna Molloy, Head of Development and Head of Production, respectively. Filming took place from January to March 2019 in Huyton, Merseyside. Commissioned for a ten-episode first series, the show marks the first-ever original drama production commissioned for 5Star. A second series of ''Clink'' will not be commissioned by 5Star via distribution company Kew Media Group, as it went into liquidation in 2020. It currently remains unknown if the series will return or which media service it will be commissioned for.


Premise

Set in the fictional BPS Bridewell women's prison, the series focuses on the emotional heart of a community of women who are thrown together and forced to confront their own realities and, in most cases, accept the consequences of the decisions which have brought them here. From the pregnant, scared Chloe and self-harmer, Laura, to the 'Prison Mother', Joyce, and self-styled queen of the block, Sherri, these girls are many things—drug users, robbers, some are killers, and most of them, survivors. Presiding over the women is new Governor Dominique Darby, herself thrust into a hidden world in tragic circumstances. It's her first governorship, but is she ready to cope with such a demanding job? With pressure mounting from above and below, Dominique will do battle not just with the board who appointed her, but the inmates she's charged with protecting.


Production


Development

In September 2018, it was announced that Channel 5 was moving forward with their plans to develop several scripted drama series. The project was initiated in request from Channel 5 Commissioning Executive Sebastian Cardwell followed by a ten-part series being commissioned for 5Star. Initially, Canadian company, KEW Media Group launched ''Clink'' in
Cannes Cannes ( , , ; oc, Canas) is a city located on the French Riviera. It is a communes of France, commune located in the Alpes-Maritimes departments of France, department, and host city of the annual Cannes Film Festival, Midem, and Cannes Lions I ...
after signing a three-year drama co-production partnership deal with Channel 5 in 2018. The series was designed to appeal to a younger audience, fitting the target demographic of 5Star rather than broadcasting it on the main channel. The series creator, Colin McKeown, producer at British independent company
LA Productions LA Productions Ltd is a British independent television and film production company based in Liverpool, UK. It was founded in 2000 by Brookside co-creator, Colin McKeown MBE, and is known for producing socially-conscious television drama, most ...
, serves as executive producer of ''Clink''. The company is known for their
BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, p ...
drama series' including the long-running, '' Moving On'', as well as their television films ''
Reg Reg or REG may refer to: * Reginald (disambiguation) * Reg or desert pavement * Raising for Effective Giving, a charity * Random event generator (parapsychology) * Raptor Education Group * Regal Entertainment Group * Regular language * .reg MS Wi ...
'' and ''Care''. Donna Molloy, Head of Production for LA Productions, serves as producer for the series. Head of Development, Justine Potter, described that, being aided by charities, the people associated with the Liverpool-based drama were able to speak with former prisoner, ex-prison officers and governors, and managers of the mother-and-baby units prior to production to gather insight for character development within the series.


Writing

The writing team is headed by showrunner and scriptwriter Sarah Deane of LA Productions, while co-writers are predominantly women and include Karen Brown, Vivienne Harvey, Esther Wilson, Rebecca Manley and Helen Black. British author and screenwriter,
Tony Schumacher Tony Schumacher may refer to: * Tony Schumacher (drag racer) (born 1969), American drag racer * Tony Schumacher (kayaker) (born 1976), Australian sprint canoeist * Tony Schumacher (German author) (1848–1931), German children books author * Ton ...
, the only male writer of the series, had written episode three. It was expected that the series would be compared to every other women's prison drama; however, it was never the intention to copy or imitated them. Deane said that "we want to smash a few stereotypes".


Filming

Pre-production of the series lasted ten months, and it took ten weeks to film the entire series from January to mid-March 2019. The series was produced in-house and filmed exclusively at 33 Signal Squadron Army Barracks in Huyton, Merseyside, using a Territorial Army barracks and nearby medical centre. The show was filmed in 4K using three Blackmagic URSA Mini Pro cameras, while a
skycam __NOTOC__ Skycam is a computer-controlled, stabilized, cable-suspended camera system. The system is maneuvered through three dimensions in the open space over a playing area of a stadium or arena by computer-controlled cable-drive system. It is r ...
was used for overhead shots. The series was directed by Gary Williams, actresses
Gillian Kearney Gillian Louise Kearney
and
Jodhi May Jodhi Tania May (''née'' Hakim-Edwards; 8 May 1975) is a British actress. She remains the youngest recipient of the Best Actress award at the Cannes Film Festival, for ''A World Apart'' (1988). Her other film appearances include ''The Last ...
, and
Anya Camilleri Anya Camilleri is a British film and television director and screenwriter of Maltese descent. Television After graduating from the University of Reading with a Film and Theatre degree, Camilleri's first industry job was at Working Title Films, w ...
, while Tim Pollard served as director of photography. Williams said that "I used to be a DP myself for many years, and I've always been impressed by the look and skin tones that you get out of the URSA Mini Pro. I find it responds very well to light. I've used it before on numerous documentary projects and felt it translated well to drama." And that "Its latitude came into its own shooting with Blackmagic RAW. It meant much more freedom on a shoot that involved a lot of confined spaces that were especially difficult to light. Knowing that all of that detail was in the frame, to begin with, meant we could lift that information out from the blacks or the highlights and put it back during post." Each episode took up to seven days to film and the post production process was overseen by Patrick Hall of LA Productions and was edited at
DaVinci Resolve DaVinci Resolve (originally known as da Vinci Resolve) is a color grading, color correction, visual effects, and audio post-production video editing application for macOS, Windows, and Linux, originally developed by da Vinci Systems, and now deve ...
Studio, while the visual effects were carried out at Fusion Studio.


Casting

Alicya Eyo Alicya Eyo (born 16 December 1975) is an English actress, best known for her roles as Denny Blood in the ITV prison drama series '' Bad Girls'' and Ruby Haswell in the ITV soap opera ''Emmerdale''. Early life Eyo was born on 16 December 1975 in ...
, having previously appeared in the
ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...
prison drama '' Bad Girls'' from 1999 to 2003 as prisoner Denny Blood, was cast in the leading role of deputy governor Dominique Darby. Having worked with LA production in the past, Eyo has described it as a "very different" series with having similarities to ''Bad Girls''. Of the series, she commented that "The fact that it's a new prison drama jumped out at me," adding that "It has a very different soul and stands alone as a show." The cast include
Katherine Rose Morley Katherine Rose Morley (born 3 October 1989) is an English actress. She has appeared in '' The Mill'' (2013–2014), ''Thirteen'' (2016), ''Last Tango in Halifax'' (2013–2020), '' Clink'' (2019), and ''The Syndicate'' (2021). Early life Kath ...
of the
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...
miniseries ''
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'',
Lu Corfield Lucy "Lu" Corfield (born 1979 or 1980) is a Welsh actress, known for her roles as Freya Wilson (Doctors), Freya Wilson in ''Doctors (2000 TV series), Doctors'', Ruth in ''Last Tango in Halifax'' and Joyce Edevan in ''Clink (TV series), Clink''. ...
, notable for her role in the
Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...
series ''
Sex Education Sex education, also known as sexual education, sexuality education or sex ed, is the instruction of issues relating to human sexuality, including emotional relations and responsibilities, human sexual anatomy, Human sexual activity, sexual acti ...
'',
Christine Tremarco Christine Tremarco (born 1977) is a British television actress whose career began in 1992. She is best known for portraying the role of Davina Shackleton in the BBC One school-based drama series '' Waterloo Road'' (2007–2009) and also in BBC ...
, Paul Broughton, Florence Bell, Andrew Ellis and
Jennifer Hennessy Jennifer Hennessy (born Jennifer Hayes in 1970) is an English actress. She has made numerous television appearances, including as Mrs. Brazendale in the BBC TV series ''Lilies''. Hennessy trained for three years at the Central School of Speech ...
.


Promotional media

During post-production of the series, Influential, a public relations and digital marketing agency launched a social media campaign to promote the series through its ten-week broadcast on 5Star in efforts to encourage viewers to watch the series live or on catch-up. Influential worked alongside 5Star's PR team by arranging exclusive interviews with cast and crew, and their key media targets which included national and trade journalists, and a feature on
Radio City Talk Radio City Talk (previously City Talk 105.9) was an Independent Local Radio station in Liverpool, England. In May 2020, it was announced by Bauer that Radio City Talk would cease broadcasting, after concluding that the station was no longer fi ...
.


Future

Following the conclusion of the first series of ''Clink'', Channel 5 had not announced whether the series had been commissioned for a second series. In February 2020, it became clear that the series' production company Kew Media Group was in the process of liquidation. Channel 5 had already severed ties with the company, as did
Endemol Shine Group Endemol Shine Group B.V. (stylized in all spaceless) was a Dutch production and distribution company of scripted and non-scripted content, responsible for programmes such as '' Big Brother'', '' Deal or No Deal'', '' The Money Drop'', '' Fear F ...
. Channel 5 initially signed a three-year contract deal with Kew Media Group in September 2018 in which they fronted a large portion of the production costs towards six new dramas which Channel 5 had commissioned. Channel 5 announced that they did not expect to negotiate any further financial arrangements again. In May 2020,
Quiver Distribution Quiver Distribution is an American-Canadian film production and film distribution company founded in 2019 by Berry Meyerowitz and Jeff Sackman. The company is best known for releasing films '' The Fanatic'', ''Running with the Devil ''Running wit ...
acquired the rights to all titles in Kew Media's library, in which ''Clink'' has been distributed and picked up by several streaming services in countries such as UK, United States, and Australia. However, it is currently unknown if a second series will come into development through the company, or if it will ultimately be commissioned for a television network or streaming service.


Cast


Main

*
Alicya Eyo Alicya Eyo (born 16 December 1975) is an English actress, best known for her roles as Denny Blood in the ITV prison drama series '' Bad Girls'' and Ruby Haswell in the ITV soap opera ''Emmerdale''. Early life Eyo was born on 16 December 1975 in ...
as Acting wing Governor Dominique Darby *
Katherine Rose Morley Katherine Rose Morley (born 3 October 1989) is an English actress. She has appeared in '' The Mill'' (2013–2014), ''Thirteen'' (2016), ''Last Tango in Halifax'' (2013–2020), '' Clink'' (2019), and ''The Syndicate'' (2021). Early life Kath ...
as Chloe Anderson *
Christine Tremarco Christine Tremarco (born 1977) is a British television actress whose career began in 1992. She is best known for portraying the role of Davina Shackleton in the BBC One school-based drama series '' Waterloo Road'' (2007–2009) and also in BBC ...
as Governing Governor Sinead Kovac * Florence Bell as Laura McDermott * Louisa Hollway as Sherri Simms *
Lu Corfield Lucy "Lu" Corfield (born 1979 or 1980) is a Welsh actress, known for her roles as Freya Wilson (Doctors), Freya Wilson in ''Doctors (2000 TV series), Doctors'', Ruth in ''Last Tango in Halifax'' and Joyce Edevan in ''Clink (TV series), Clink''. ...
as Joyce Edevan * Alexandra D'Sa as Amira Khan * Paul Broughton as P.O. Brian Trent *
Theo Graham Theo Farris Lee Graham (born 20 June 1997) is a British actor. He gained prominence through his role as Hunter McQueen in the E4 soap opera ''Hollyoaks'', which earned him an award and a nomination at the British Soap Awards. Early life and ed ...
as P.O. Caleb Williams *
Jane Hazlegrove Sarah Jane Hazlegrove (born 17 July 1968) is an English actress, known for portraying the role of Kathleen "Dixie" Dixon in the BBC medical drama ''Casualty''. She has also appeared as Rosie in ''Making Out'', Rosemary Mason in ''Silent Witness ...
as P.O. Janine Dolan


Recurring

* Raffie Julien as Heather O'Reardon *
Trudie Goodwin Trudie Goodwin (born 13 November 1951) is an English actress best known for playing Sergeant June Ackland in the high-profile British television police drama ''The Bill'' from 1983 to 2007, and Georgia Sharma in the ITV soap ''Emmerdale'', f ...
as Wing Governor Alison Hayes *
Suzanne Packer Suzanne Packer (born Suzanne Jackson on 26 November 1962) is a Welsh actress, known for playing the role of Tess Bateman in the BBC medical drama ''Casualty'' from September 2003 to August 2015. She later returned to the series as a guest for th ...
as Dame Stella Regan *
Kerry Peers Kerry Peers (born 1 November 1964) is a British actress who is best known for her role in ''The Bill'' where she played Suzi Croft from 1993 to 1998. She has also been in ''Casualty (TV series), Casualty'', ''Doctors (2000 TV series), Doctors'' ...
as Dr. Trish Wendell * Dinita Gohli as Sami Gilani * Natasha Jonas as Corinne Nelson * Laura Morgan as Becky * Lynn Kennedy as Kelso * Teri Ann Bobb-Baxter as Idara Adoti * Liz Hume-Daswson as Nanny Mags * Caitlin Drabble as Inmate Jess * Lindzi Germain as Inmate Bella * Andrew Ellis as Lee McDermott *
Tina Malone Christina Malone (born 30 January 1963) is an English actress. She is best known for portraying the roles of Mo McGee in ''Brookside'' and Mimi Maguire in '' Shameless'', both broadcast on Channel 4. She was also a housemate on the sixth serie ...
as Elaine McDermott *
Kelli Hollis Kelli Hollis (born 29 June 1976) is a British actress, known for playing Tina Crabtree in the three Channel 4 related films, shop owner Yvonne Karib in Channel 4's popular comedy-drama '' Shameless'' and Melanie Say then as Ali Spencer in ITV' ...
as Maggie Simms * Liam Ainsworth as Paul Cheam * Zora Bishop as Tanaz Barani * Emma Bispham as Mary * Pauline Jefferson as Theresa Trent


Guest

*
Suzanne Collins Suzanne Collins (born August 10, 1962) is an American author and television writer. She is known as the author of the book series '' The Underland Chronicles'' and ''The Hunger Games''. Early life Suzanne Collins was born on August 10, 1962, i ...
as Mrs. Tranter * Miles LaFrench as Jake Morton * Mike Neary as Tony Watson * Merrill Potts as Tania Moodie * Neil Ashton as P.O. Hill *
Julia Haworth Julia Haworth is an English actress. She is known for playing the role of Claire Peacock in the ITV soap opera '' Coronation Street'' from 2003 to 2011. Early and personal life Haworth was born in Burnley, Lancashire. She attended St Christo ...
as Midwife Carla * Emma Rydal as Sophie Matthews *
Sharon Byatt Sharon Byatt (born in Liverpool), is a British actress who has appeared on TV as Irenee in Carla Lane's ''Bread'' and Sue Freeman in '' Springhill'', and on stage as both Linda and Mrs. Johnstone in '' Blood Brothers''. Biography Byatt attend ...
as Letitia May * Steve Bell as P.O. Hughes * Marie Crutchley as Caroline Walters * Nicole Keri as Kesha Lascelles * Eve Steele as Romi Martin * Reanne Farley as Louise Cremorne *
John McArdle John McArdle (born 16 August 1949) is an English actor. He is most notable for playing Billy Corkhill in the soap opera ''Brookside'', with many other smaller appearances in other soaps and dramas. Playing a regular character in ''Brookside'' ...
as Shark * Zeb as Zeb The Dog * Joyce Branagh as Leisa * Simone Saunders as D.C. Thompson * Mark Stobbart as Julian Flynn * Shuna Snow as Judge Brinton * Simone Sales as Niamh McGrady *
Jennifer Hennessy Jennifer Hennessy (born Jennifer Hayes in 1970) is an English actress. She has made numerous television appearances, including as Mrs. Brazendale in the BBC TV series ''Lilies''. Hennessy trained for three years at the Central School of Speech ...
as P.O. Victoria Adams *
Neil Fitzmaurice Neil Simon Fitzmaurice (born 20 August 1969) is an English actor, comedian, and writer. He is best known for his role as Jeff, the love rival of protagonist Mark Corrigan, in the Channel 4 sitcom ''Peep Show''. He has written for a number of ot ...
as Baldwin Flowers * Eleanor Cooke as Journalist


Broadcast

The series was broadcast on Thursday nights from April 2019 on 5Star at 9:00pm. It was available for VOD streaming on
My5 My5 (previously Five Download and later Demand 5) is the brand name of video-on-demand services offered by Channel 5 in the United Kingdom. The service went live on 26 June 2008. It is owned by Paramount Global and operated by their Paramoun ...
. Despite being shot on 4K resolution, the series is not available to view in that format, nor is it broadcast in
1080i 1080i (also known as Full HD or BT.709) is a combination of frame resolution and scan type. 1080i is used in high-definition television (HDTV) and high-definition video. The number "1080" refers to the number of horizontal lines on the screen. ...
HDTV High-definition television (HD or HDTV) describes a television system which provides a substantially higher image resolution than the previous generation of technologies. The term has been used since 1936; in more recent times, it refers to the g ...
. The series is screened in standard definition as a HD service is not yet available from 5Star.


Series


Reception


Critical reception

The series has received mixed reviews from critics and viewers alike. In an unfavourable review for Auto Straddle, a website exclusively aimed at lesbian and bisexual women, it was stated that "Clink hopes to step into the women's prison drama gap left by ''Wentworth'' and ''OITNB''". It went on to mention that "Whether ''Clink'' can make it that long is another matter though, with dialogue that's 95% cliché and exposition that's clunkier than a lock in a sock to the head." "Sadly, though, Clink's first episode lacks any distinction of its own, yet neither does it have the operatic melodrama of ''Wentworth'', the campiness of ''Bad Girls'' or the nuance and quality of ''OITNB''". In a positive review for the ''
Liverpool Echo The ''Liverpool Echo'' is a newspaper published by Trinity Mirror North West & North Wales – a subsidiary company of Reach plc and is based in St Paul's Square, Liverpool, Merseyside, England. It is published Monday to Sunday, and is Liverp ...
'', Pete Price said that "City-made TV prison drama is ex-CELL-ent!" of creator and executive producer, Colin McKeown, Price mentioned that "he's cKeowncreated a series which bears all the hallmarks of an LA production—rawness, energy, humanity and truth." In 2021, ''Clink'' was ranked at #12 in a poll on the website
Ranker Ranker is a digital media company located in Los Angeles. The site features polls on entertainment, brands, sports, food and culture. Ranker claims to be one of the largest databases of opinions with more than 1 billion votes gathered on over mil ...
, featuring the "Best TV Shows About Women in Prison".


Ratings


Home media


DVD release

The series was released on DVD on 8 November 2021.


Streaming

The series is available to stream in the UK and U.S. via
Amazon Freevee Amazon Freevee is an American ad-supported video-on-demand (VOD) streaming service owned by Amazon, with original and licensed programming. History Amazon Freevee launched as a free, ad-supported video channel by the Amazon-owned online data ...
(formerly IMDb TV), and in Australia from
Seven Network The Seven Network (commonly known as Channel Seven or simply Seven) is a major Australian commercial free-to-air Television broadcasting in Australia, television network. It is owned by Seven West Media, Seven West Media Limited, and is one of ...
's streaming service
7plus 7plus (stylised as 7+) is a video on demand, catch-up TV service run by the Seven Network. The service became available on 27 November 2017. 7plus also offers online live streaming of Channel 7, 7two, 7mate, 7flix, Racing.com and 7Sport. 7p ...
. In November 2019, ''Clink'' was made available to stream in the United Kingdom as part of
Amazon Prime Video Amazon Prime Video, also known simply as Prime Video, is an American Video on demand#Subscription models, subscription video on-demand Over-the-top media service, over-the-top Streaming media, streaming and Renting, rental service of Amazon (c ...
.


See also

*
Incarceration of Women This article discusses the incarceration of women in correctional facilities. As of 2013 across the world, 625,000 women and children were being held in penal institutions, and the female prison population was increasing in all continents.< ...
* ''
Within These Walls ''Within These Walls'' is a British television drama programme made by London Weekend Television for ITV and shown between 1974 and 1978. It portrayed life in HMP Stone Park, a fictional women's prison. Unlike later women-in-prison TV series, ...
'' (1974−1978) * ''
Prisoner A prisoner (also known as an inmate or detainee) is a person who is deprived of liberty against their will. This can be by confinement, captivity, or forcible restraint. The term applies particularly to serving a prison sentence in a prison. ...
'' (''Prisoner: Cell Block H''; 1979–1986)


References


External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Clink English-language television shows Channel 5 (British TV channel) original programming 2019 British television series debuts 2010s British drama television series 2010s British crime drama television series 2010s British prison television series 2019 British television series endings Imprisonment and detention of women 2010s British LGBT-related drama television series Lesbian-related television shows Television shows about drugs Television shows set in England Television shows set in Liverpool British prison television series