''In Denial of Murder'' is a two-part British television

crime drama Crime films, in the broadest sense, is a film genre inspired by and analogous to the crime fiction literary genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and its detection. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combin ...

series, written by Neil McKay and directed by David Richards, that first broadcast on

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, ...

on 29 February 2004. The series follows investigative journalist Don Hale (

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– ...

) as he attempts to prove that convicted murderer Stephen Downing (

Jason Watkins Jason Watkins (born 28 October 1962) is an English stage, film and television actor. He played the lead role in the two-part drama ''The Lost Honour of Christopher Jefferies'', for which he won the BAFTA TV Award for Best Actor. He has also ...

) was wrongly convicted for the murder of Wendy Sewell (

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 ...

) in 1973. The series was based upon Hale's book ''Town Without Pity'' (which was later reprinted under the title ''In Denial of Murder'' in 2014). Hale sold television rights to the book to Hat Trick productions in November 2000. The series marked the second time that Tompkinson and Catz co-starred together, having previously appeared in ''All Quiet on the Preston Front'' and later going on to star together in ''

DCI Banks ''DCI Banks'' is a British television crime drama series produced by Left Bank Pictures for the ITV network. Originally broadcast over five series in 2010–2016, the series was based on Peter Robinson's Inspector Alan Banks novels and ...

''. Notably, the series has yet to be released on DVD.

Criticism

Don Hale Don Hale (born July 1952) is a British author and journalist known for his investigative work and campaigning against miscarriage of justice in specific legal cases. Early life Hale played football at youth and reserve level for Bury, Blackbu ...

himself criticised the production, stating that "It is NOT a factual documentary and has been especially written for prime-time television. In my opinion, several crucial elements of the story have been omitted and I believe it fails to provide a wholly accurate version of events. The timeline has unfortunately been seriously amended without reason. These errors and others clearly present a false impression." Following the series broadcast, Stephen Downing commented to the '' Daily Express'', “I don’t know about no pity but it’s a town divided. Some people still think I did it. It is just something I have to live with. In many ways life was easier inside – you did not have to look for a job, you got money, three meals a day and a roof over your head. Since I left prison things have been hard. I don’t really have much of a life. Yes, I’m free but I am still paying for a crime I did not commit.”

Cast

as Don Hale *

as Wendy Sewell *

as Stephen Downing * Steve Jackson as John Marshall *

David Troughton David Troughton (born 9 June 1950) is an English actor. He is known for his Shakespearean roles on the British stage and for his many roles on British television, including Dr Bob Buzzard in ''A Very Peculiar Practice'' and Ricky Hanson in ''Ne ...

as Ray Downing * June Watson as Nita Downing * Lisa Millett as Christine Downing *

Judy Flynn Judy Flynn is a British actress. She is known for her roles as seamstress Madge Howell in the BBC drama ''The House of Eliott'' (1991–94), and as the secretary Julie in the BBC sitcom '' The Brittas Empire'' (1992–97). Her other television ...

as Kath Hale * Wayne Foskett as David Sewell *

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 Jackie Dunn * Neil Boorman as Ron Duggins * Malcolm Raeburn as Adrian Duggins * Andrea Mason as Lesley Shooter *

Ewan Hooper Ewan Hooper (born 23 October 1935 in Dundee) is a Scottish actor who is a graduate from, and now an Associate Member of, RADA. Hooper was the motivating force in the foundation of the Greenwich Theatre, which opened in 1969. Hooper was the fou ...

as Charles Hale * Jeanne Hepple as Doreen Hale * Bill Rodgers as Reg Ollerenshaw *

Richard Standing Richard Standing is a British actor. Standing has appeared on the TV series '' Holby City'', '' Coronation Street'', and ''The Grand''. He played the part of Danny Hargreaves in Coronation Street from 1999–2001. He also was in ''Doctors''. S ...

as Roy Eyre * Ruth Mitchell as Christine Smith *

Bobby Knutt Robert Andrew Wass (25 November 1945 – 25 September 2017), known professionally as Bobby Knutt, was an English actor and comedian. He was known throughout his acting career for appearing as Albert Dingle in the ITV soap opera ''Emmerdale' ...

as Ernie Charlesworth * Brian Southwood as Eric Clough *

Ryan Sampson Ryan Oliver Sampson is an English actor, best known for playing Alex Venables in '' After You've Gone'', Grumio in '' Plebs,'' and Tommo in '' Brassic''. He also played Luke Rattigan in the Series 4 two-part story of '' Doctor Who'', "The Sont ...

as Marcus Edwards

Episodes

References

External links

*{{IMDb title, id=0381272, title=In Denial of Murder 2004 British television series debuts 2004 British television series endings 2000s British drama television series BBC television dramas 2000s British television miniseries English-language television shows