DCI Banks
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''DCI Banks'' is a
British television Regular television broadcasts in the United Kingdom started in 1936 as a public service which was free of advertising, which followed the first demonstration of a transmitted moving image in 1926. Currently, the United Kingdom has a collection ...
crime drama series produced by
Left Bank Pictures Left Bank Pictures (stylized as LEFT BANK Pictures) is a British film and television production company. It was formed in 2007 and was the first British media company to receive investment from BBC Worldwide, the commercial arm of the BBC. Lef ...
for 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 ...
network. Originally broadcast over five series in 2010–2016, the series was based on Peter Robinson's
Inspector Alan Banks Detective Superintendent Alan Banks (born 1958) is the fictional protagonist in a series of crime novels by Peter Robinson. From 2010 to 2016 several of the novels were adapted for television, and other original stories were produced, under th ...
novels and stars
Stephen Tompkinson Stephen Phillip Tompkinson (born 15 October 1965) is an English actor, known for his television roles as Marcus in '' Chancer '' (1990), Damien Day in ''Drop the Dead Donkey'' (1990–1998), Father Peter Clifford in ''Ballykissangel'' (1996–9 ...
as Detective Chief Inspector Alan Banks. In 2013, the series won in the drama category at the regional
Royal Television Society The Royal Television Society (RTS) is a British-based educational charity for the discussion, and analysis of television in all its forms, past, present, and future. It is the oldest television society in the world. It currently has fourteen r ...
Yorkshire Programme Awards.


Background

In January 2010, author Peter Robinson signed with
Left Bank Pictures Left Bank Pictures (stylized as LEFT BANK Pictures) is a British film and television production company. It was formed in 2007 and was the first British media company to receive investment from BBC Worldwide, the commercial arm of the BBC. Lef ...
and ITV to adapt novels from the
Detective Chief Inspector Alan Banks Detective Superintendent Alan Banks (born 1958) is the fictional protagonist in a series of crime novels by Peter Robinson. From 2010 to 2016 several of the novels were adapted for television, and other original stories were produced, under th ...
series for television. Filming on a two-part pilot based on ''
Aftermath Aftermath may refer to: Companies * Aftermath (comics), an imprint of Devil's Due Publishing * Aftermath Entertainment, an American record label founded by Dr. Dre * Aftermath Media, an American multimedia company * Aftermath Services, an Americ ...
'' was completed in July 2010, with scenes filmed in
Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...
. ''DCI Banks: Aftermath'' was broadcast on ITV on 27 September and 4 October 2010. The two episodes drew 6.55 million viewers, twice becoming the fifth most-watched programme on the ITV network that week. ITV commissioned six episodesthree two-part dramas adapted from three novels for the first series. Filming began in February 2011 and included locations in Otley for ''Friend of the Devil''. Some shop names were unchanged during filming. The first episode, ''Playing with Fire'', aired 16 September 2011, and drew an average of 4.5 million viewers. The subsequent two 2-part dramas, ''Friend of the Devil'' and ''Cold is the Grave'', achieved similar ratings. ITV commissioned a second series. Filming began in March 2012, and episodes began broadcasting from 10 October. For this series, the novels ''Dry Bones that Dream'', ''Innocent Graves'' and ''Strange Affair'' were adapted. With
Andrea Lowe Andrea Lowe (born 1 May 1975 in Arnold, Nottinghamshire, Arnold, Nottinghamshire) is an English actress. Career She started her theatre career at Sheffield's Crucible Theatre in the play ''The Birthday Party (play), The Birthday Party'' by Ha ...
on maternity leave, Stephen Tompkinson was joined by
Caroline Catz Caroline Catz (born Caroline Caplan; 19 October 1970) is an English film, television and theatre actress and narrator. She is best known for her role as Louisa Glasson in ''Doc Martin'' since 2004. Her other major roles have included Detective ...
as DI Helen Morton, a character not in the novels. Sally Haynes, head of the ITV drama commissioning, said of the second series: "''DCI Banks'' is now established as a firm favourite within ITV's crime drama slate. We're delighted so many viewers are appreciating Robert Murphy’s adaptations and how the team at Left Bank Pictures are producing ''DCI Banks''." On 1 December 2012, Peter Robinson announced on his website " that ''DCI Banks'' has been recommissioned for a third series of six one-hour episodes (again, three two-parters), according to a revised statement posted June 17, 2013, based on three books: ''Wednesday’s Child'', ''Piece of My Heart'', and ''Bad Boy''. The revised announcement said filming would begin in August 2013, broadcast dates to be confirmed later. In January 2013, Stephen Tompkinson mentioned in an interview "I’m pleased to say CI Banks hasrecently been commissioned for a third series, which should start filming later in the year," and in a subsequent interview he said: "In series three
CI Alan CI or Ci may refer to: Business terminology * Customer intelligence, a discipline in marketing * Competitive intelligence * Corporate identity * Continual improvement * Confidential information Businesses and organisations Academia and education ...
Banks will be assisted by both Annie and Helen," indicating that Lowe and Catz will return. Describing Alan Banks, Tompkinson said, "He is heavily reliant on his team and a great, almost patrician leader." The show was originally shown on
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 ...
but from June 2014 the show was repeated on ITV's subscription drama channel
ITV Encore ITV Encore was a British drama pay television channel in the United Kingdom that was owned by ITV Digital Channels Ltd, a division of ITV plc. The channel was exclusive to Sky (United Kingdom), Sky's digital satellite platform, Sky Go, Now TV (Sk ...
on Friday nights. On 22 September 2014, ITV announced the show was renewed for a fourth series. Filming began in Yorkshire in September 2014. The fourth series featured six hour-long original episodes inspired by Peter Robinson's books and aired from 4 March 2015 to 8 April 2015. On 3 December 2015, ITV announced the show was renewed for a fifth and final series.


Cast

In an article written for ''The Telegraph'' when the pilot ''DCI Banks: Aftermath'' first aired in the UK, Peter Robinson wrote:
A lot of people asked me about the casting of Stephen Tompkinson as Banks....I met Stephen early on in the process, and he wanted to...find out everything he could from me about the character. I was impressed by his dedication, and when I finally saw him 'in character' I thought he managed to convey the essence of Banks. Stephen is taller than the Banks in the books, and my Annie is a brunette, whereas
Andrea Lowe Andrea Lowe (born 1 May 1975 in Arnold, Nottinghamshire, Arnold, Nottinghamshire) is an English actress. Career She started her theatre career at Sheffield's Crucible Theatre in the play ''The Birthday Party (play), The Birthday Party'' by Ha ...
plays her as a blonde. It doesn't matter. You can't expect exact duplication. No actor is going to satisfy everybody's image of the way a fictional character should look, but that doesn’t mean he or she can't capture that character's spirit.


Episodes

All episodes, to date, have been in two parts, often broadcast a week apart. For re-broadcast on U.S. public television stations, the two parts are usually re-edited into a single 90-minute episode (without commercial interruption). The pilot was broadcast in late 2010, and good viewing numbers ensured the making of the subsequent series. Each series has comprised three two-part episodes. Series 1 was broadcast in late 2011, Series 2 in late 2012, Series 3 in early 2014, Series 4 in early 2015 and Series 5 in late 2016.


International distribution

On 9 January 2013, BBC Worldwide America announced a "landmark syndication deal" with public television stations in the US for ''DCI Banks'' to be available on 166
PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcasting, public broadcaster and Non-commercial activity, non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly fu ...
affiliate stations, "reaching an estimated 77% of U.S. TV households". The syndication deal includes the pilot, and Series 1 and 2. Idaho Public Television created a website for the show and posted all the episodes to be streamed on demand in the US . Although each drama was shown in two parts over two weeks in the UK, on PBS they have been shown as single 90-minute dramas. Julius Cain of BBC Worldwide America, said: "This syndication deal marks the largest we have inked to date between BBC Worldwide America and public television stations." ''DCI Banks'' has also been broadcast in Canada, and it aired in
Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...
on NRK1. In Sweden, national
public service A public service is any service intended to address specific needs pertaining to the aggregate members of a community. Public services are available to people within a government jurisdiction as provided directly through public sector agencies ...
broadcaster SVT aired the pilot and three Series 1 episodes (each about 90 minutes in length). Similar airings occurred in Denmark. The pilot and Series 1 have also been aired in Finland (YLE1). In Estonia, national public service broadcaster ETV aired the pilot and Series 1 in autumn 2012, with Series 2 due to be aired in the end of September 2013. Series 1 was aired in Germany (ZDF) in 3 episodes of 90 minutes each, between 26 May and 9 June 2013 under the title ''Inspector Banks''. In Australia, the show has aired on subscription TV channel,
UKTV UKTV Media Limited, simply known as UKTV, is a British multi-channel broadcaster, which, since 2019, has been wholly owned by BBC Studios (formerly BBC Worldwide), a commercial subsidiary of the BBC. It was formed on 1 November 1992 through ...
, and in May 2013, began screening on free-to-air station
ABC1 ABC TV, formerly known as ABC1, is an Australian national public television network. It is owned and operated by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, and is the flagship ABC Television network. The headquarters of the ABC TV channel an ...
. In France, the drama began on 2 November 2012 on
Arte Arte (; (), sometimes stylized in lowercase or uppercase in its logo) is a European public service channel dedicated to culture. It is made up of three separate companies: the Strasbourg-based European Economic Interest Grouping ARTE, plus ...
. DCI Banks has also been broadcast in Saudi Arabia by OSN (Orbit Showtime Network) which had forged an exclusive deal with BBC First HD that would carry the broadcast to Middle East & North Africa with programming screening 48 hours after their UK premier.


DVD releases

The Series 1 DVD was released for Region 2 (UK) on 31 October 2011. The two disc-set features the pilot ''Aftermath'' and the three two-part dramas of Series 1. Extra features include some deleted scenes and short interviews with
Stephen Tompkinson Stephen Phillip Tompkinson (born 15 October 1965) is an English actor, known for his television roles as Marcus in '' Chancer '' (1990), Damien Day in ''Drop the Dead Donkey'' (1990–1998), Father Peter Clifford in ''Ballykissangel'' (1996–9 ...
and
Andrea Lowe Andrea Lowe (born 1 May 1975 in Arnold, Nottinghamshire, Arnold, Nottinghamshire) is an English actress. Career She started her theatre career at Sheffield's Crucible Theatre in the play ''The Birthday Party (play), The Birthday Party'' by Ha ...
. The Region 2 DVD of Series 2 was released in the UK 19 November 2012, and contains three two-part dramas. Panvision has published DVDs of the pilot and Series 1 with subtitles in Swedish, Danish, Norwegian and Finnish.


References


External links

*
''DCI Banks''
at
Left Bank Pictures Left Bank Pictures (stylized as LEFT BANK Pictures) is a British film and television production company. It was formed in 2007 and was the first British media company to receive investment from BBC Worldwide, the commercial arm of the BBC. Lef ...
* * {{Alan Banks 2010 British television series debuts 2016 British television series endings 2010s British crime drama television series 2010s British mystery television series 2010s British police procedural television series 2010s British workplace drama television series British detective television series English-language television shows ITV crime dramas ITV mystery shows Peter Robinson (novelist) Television series by Left Bank Pictures