''Helen West'' is a British television crime drama series, based upon the novels of

Frances Fyfield Frances Fyfield (born 18 November 1948) is the pseudonym of Frances Hegarty, an English lawyer and crime-writer. Biography Born and brought up in Derbyshire, Hegarty was mostly educated in convent schools before reading English at Newcastle Uni ...

, a former crown prosecutor, whom the character is loosely based upon, that first broadcast on 15 December 1999 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 ...

. The pilot episode, ''Trial By Fire'', stars

Juliet Stevenson Juliet Anne Virginia Stevenson, (born 30 October 1956) is an English actor of stage and screen. She is known for her role in the film ''Truly, Madly, Deeply'' (1991), for which she was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leadin ...

as the title character, with Jim Carter co-starring as Chief Superintendent Geoffrey Bailey. The pilot was also released on VHS on 24 January 2000. In 2001, following the success of the pilot, a series of three episodes was commissioned, titled ''The Helen West Casebook''. The role of Helen West was subsequently re-cast with

Amanda Burton Irene Amanda Burton is a Northern Irish actress. Her notable credits include Heather Haversham in the Channel 4 soap opera ''Brookside'' (1982–1986), Beth Glover in the ITV drama series ''Peak Practice'' (1993–1995), Sam Ryan in the BBC c ...

taking over the role, and

Conor Mullen Conor Mullen (born 1966) is an Irish actor who played Frank in Smother, Stuart McElroy in '' Holby City'' and Aidan Doherty in the 2007 BBC1 drama series '' Rough Diamond''. He was born in Dublin. Both his parents were pharmacists, and he is ...

replacing Jim Carter as Geoffrey Bailey. The series began broadcasting on ITV on 6 May 2002. Despite obtaining a cult following, the series was not renewed for a second run. The series was distributed internationally by

Acorn Media RLJE International Ltd, d/b/a Acorn DVD, a British company that publishes and distributes DVDs, as well as selling home-video products and streaming videos with a particular focus on British television. History Launched in 1997, Acorn Media U. ...

, and was released on DVD in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

on 18 August 2009. The series was later released on DVD in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

on 24 May 2010.

Plot

The series features on the work of Crown Prosecutor Helen West (played by

in ''Trial By Fire'' and

in ''The Helen West Casebook''), who tries to achieve balance in a life that consists of an emotionally heavy caseload and a stressful relationship with her supervising police officer, Geoffrey Bailey (played by Jim Carter in ''Trial By Fire'' and

in ''The Helen West Casebook''). West is a very hot-headed and driven woman who tends to pursue justice in each case, even when she is told by her bosses to drop them. As "Deep Sleep" is the third of the Fyfield novels in the series, viewers of ''The Helen West Casebook'' are plunged straight into the story without much introduction, with West undergoing and recovering from surgery, and finding solace in the arms of Superintendent Bailey.

Cast

Pilot (''Trial By Fire'')

as Helen West * Jim Carter as Ch. Supt. Geoffrey Bailey *

Anton Lesser Anton Lesser (born 14 February 1952) is an English actor. He is well known for his roles as Qyburn in the HBO series '' Game of Thrones'', as Thomas More in ''Wolf Hall'', as Prime Minister Harold Macmillan in ''The Crown'', as Prime Ministe ...

as Brian Redwood *

Emily Joyce Emily Sian Joyce (born 12 April 1969) is an English actress best known for playing the role of Janet Dawkins in the BBC comedy series '' My Hero'', between 2000 and 2006. Early life Joyce is the youngest of three sisters, all of whom are in ...

as WDC Amanda Scott *

Ian Redford Ian Petrie Redford (5 April 1960 – 10 January 2014) was a Scottish professional footballer who played as a midfielder or forward. He played for Dundee before joining Rangers for a then Scottish record transfer fee. At Rangers he won in three d ...

as Sgt. John Bowles

Series (''The Helen West Casebook'')

as Helen West *

as Ch. Supt. Geoffrey Bailey *

Nicholas Woodeson Nicholas Woodeson (born 30 November 1949) is an English film, television and theatre actor, and Drama Desk and Olivier award nominee. Early life Woodeson was born in Sudan and lived in the Middle East as a boy. He started performing at prep sch ...

as Brian Redwood *

Martin Freeman Martin John Christopher Freeman (born 8 September 1971) is an English actor. Among other accolades, he has won an Emmy Award, a BAFTA Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award, and has been nominated for a Golden Globe Award. Freeman's most no ...

as DC Don Stone *

Jessica Oyelowo Jessica Oyelowo (née Watson; born 1978) is a British actress and singer. Early life She was born Jessica Watson in Ipswich and spent her childhood in Suffolk, England. She attended Woodbridge School as a child and was a member of the National ...

as Rose Darvey * Anthony Howell as Dinsdale Cotton

Episodes

Pilot (1999)

Series (2002)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Helen West Casebook, The 1999 British television series debuts 2002 British television series endings 1990s British crime drama television series 2000s British crime drama television series ITV television dramas English-language television shows Serial drama television series Television series by ITV Studios