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''Silk'' is a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

television drama series produced by the

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...

...

which was broadcast over three series on BBC One between 22 February 2011 and 31 March 2014. Created by

Peter Moffat Alexander Peter Moffat (born 2 June 1962) is a British playwright and screenwriter. Early life Moffat was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, to John Laidlaw Moffat, who was in the Royal Military Police, and Norma Guthrie. His grandfather and great- ...

, the series follows the daily goings on of Shoe Lane Chambers and its members in their personal and professional lives.

Origin

The series' writer,

, also wrote the series ''

Criminal Justice Criminal justice is the delivery of justice to those who have been accused of committing crimes. The criminal justice system is a series of government agencies and institutions. Goals include the Rehabilitation (penology), rehabilitation of o ...

'' and ''

North Square ''North Square'' is a British television drama series written and created by Peter Moffat, and broadcast by Channel 4 from 18 October to 20 December 2000. Starring an ensemble cast, including Phil Davis, Rupert Penry-Jones, Helen McCrory and Ke ...

'', as well as an episode of ''

Kavanagh QC ''Kavanagh QC'' is a British television series made by Central Television for ITV between 1995 and 2001. All five series are available on DVD in both Region 1 and Region 2. Plot The series starred John Thaw as barrister James Kavanagh QC, wh ...

''. Before the series started, Moffat said in an interview, "I wanted ''Silk'' to be full of politics and intrigue. From my experience at the Bar, I felt life in chambers had all of those components, with big stories and lots of courtroom drama—but I wanted to make it as much about barristers and their life in chambers as about the trials". ''Silk'' was commissioned by Jay Hunt, then-Controller of

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 ...

and

Ben Stephenson Benjamin Stephenson is a television executive, formerly controller of drama at the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) and currently Head of Television at Bad Robot Productions in the United States. Personal life Stephenson attended The H ...

, BBC Controller of Drama Commissioning, and started filming in July 2010. It is based on Moffat's experiences at the

Bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar * Chocolate bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud * Bar (u ...

. In an interview with ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'', he said "I want to tell it as it really is. The extreme pressure, the hard choices, the ethical dilemmas, the overlap between the personal and the professional, principles fought for and principles sacrificed, the Machiavellian politics, the sex, the drinking, the whole story—life at the bar is the richest possible drama territory." The series' title is a colloquial reference to someone who has attained the status of

King's Counsel In the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth countries, a King's Counsel ( post-nominal initials KC) during the reign of a king, or Queen's Counsel (post-nominal initials QC) during the reign of a queen, is a lawyer (usually a barrister or ...

(QC or KC dependent on the current reigning monarch,) which entitles the person to wear a certain design of gown in court, which is usually made of silk.

Overview

''Silk'' follows barristers from a set of criminal law

chambers Chambers may refer to: Places Canada: *Chambers Township, Ontario United States: *Chambers County, Alabama * Chambers, Arizona, an unincorporated community in Apache County * Chambers, Nebraska * Chambers, West Virginia * Chambers Township, Hol ...

in London. The series' focuses on Martha Costello (

Maxine Peake Maxine Peake (born 14 July 1974) is an English actress and narrator. She is known for her roles as Twinkle in the BBC One sitcom ''dinnerladies'' (1998–2000), Veronica Ball in the hit Channel 4 comedy drama '' Shameless'' (2004–2007), Marth ...

) and her ambition to become Queen's Counsel as well as on her rival, Clive Reader (

Rupert Penry-Jones Rupert William Penry-Jones (born 22 September 1970) is a British actor, known for his performances as Adam Carter in '' Spooks'', Clive Reader in ''Silk'', DI Joseph Chandler in ''Whitechapel'', and Mr Quinlan in the American horror series ''The ...

). Martha achieves her ambition at the end of Series One, leaving Clive disappointed. He however becomes a QC in the opening episode of Series 3. The chambers' senior clerk, Billy Lamb (

Neil Stuke Neil Robert Stuke (born 22 February 1966 in Deal, Kent) is an English actor best known for his role of Matthew in the TV sitcom '' Game On'' and more recently for playing Billy Lamb in the BBC legal drama ''Silk''. Career Stuke played Matthew ...

), also features heavily in the series. In series 3,

Miranda Raison Miranda Caroline Raison (born 18 November 1977) is an English actress and voice-over narrator. Early life Miranda Raison was born in Burnham Thorpe, Norfolk, on 18 November 1977. Her mother is former Anglia News reader Caroline Raison (''née ...

joins the show as Harriet Hammond who is a thorn in the side of Billy, as well as a confidante, supporter, and potential love interest for Clive Reader. ''Silk'' ended with series 3 because creator Moffat and lead actress, Maxine Peake, were keen to end at a high point. Rupert Penry-Jones commented that:
In March 2014, it was announced there will be a radio spin-off following the lives of the clerks of Shoe Lane Chambers. In October 2014, it was announced that the series would be adapted by

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

for USA television.

was due to executive produce, with the pilot being written by Marty Scott.

Cast

as Martha Costello QC,

Barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include taking cases in superior courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, researching law and ...

as Clive Reader QC, Barrister *

as Billy Lamb, Senior Clerk *

John MacMillan John Victor Macmillan OBE DD (1877–1956) was the fifth Bishop of Dover in the modern era who was later translated to Guildford. Born into a publishing family (he was an uncle of Prime Minister Harold Macmillan), he was educated at Eton ...

as John Bright, Clerk *

Theo Barklem-Biggs Theo Barklem-Biggs (born 21 March 1990) is a British television and film actor from London. He has performed both comedic and dramatic roles. Career He made his debut television appearance in ''The Bill '' in 2008. He appeared in ''EastEnders, S ...

as Jake Milner, Junior Clerk *

Alex Jennings Alex Jennings (born 10 May 1957) is an English actor of the stage and screen, who worked extensively with the Royal Shakespeare Company and National Theatre. For his work on the London stage, Jennings received three Olivier Awards, winning for ...

as Alan Cowdrey QC, Head of Chambers * Tom Hughes as Nick Slade, a pupil who shadows Martha Costello (Series 1) *

Natalie Dormer Natalie Dormer (born 11 February 1982)Nina Sosanya Oluwakemi Nina Sosanya (born 6 June 1969) is an English stage, television, film, radio actress and narrator. She is most notable for her roles in ''Teachers'', ''W1A'' and ''Last Tango in Halifax''. Early life and education Sosanya was born in ...

as Kate Brockman, Barrister (Series 1) * Jamie Di Spirito as Jimmy Johnson, Junior Clerk (Series 1) *

Frances Barber Frances Barber (née Brookes, born 13 May 1958) is an English actress. She received Olivier Award nominations for her work in the plays '' Camille'' (1985), and ''Uncle Vanya'' (1997). Her film appearances include three collaborations with Gar ...

as Caroline Warwick QC, Barrister (Series 2—3) * Phil Davis as Mickey Joy, Solicitor (Series 2—3) *

Indira Varma Indira Anne Varma (born 27 September 1973) is a British actress and narrator. Her film debut and first major role was in '' Kama Sutra: A Tale of Love''. She has gone on to appear in the television series ''The Canterbury Tales'', ''Rome'', ''L ...

as George Duggan, CPS Solicitor (Series 2) *

Amy Wren Amy Wren (born 14 October 1989) is an English actress. Personal life Wren attended ''Parsnips Youth Theatre'' in Harborough for four years. She was featured in the ''Mail'' in July 2006, when she and two others from Parsnips were chosen to be ...

as Bethany Brassington, Junior Clerk (Series 2—3) *

Shaun Evans Shaun Francis Evans (born 6 March 1980) is an English actor and director. He is best known for playing a young Endeavour Morse in the ITV drama series '' Endeavour''. Early life Shaun Francis Evans was born on 6 March 1980 into an Irish famil ...

as Daniel Lomas, a pupil who shadows Martha Costello (Series 2) *

as Harriet Hammond, Practice Manager (Series 3) *

Jessica Henwick Jessica Yu-Li Henwick (born 30 August 1992) is a BAFTA nominated English actress, writer and director. She is known for her roles as Nymeria Sand in the HBO series ''Game of Thrones'' (2015–2017), X-wing pilot Jessika Pava in the film '' S ...

as Amy Lang, a pupil who shadows Martha Costello, Clive Reader & Caroline Warwick (Series 3)

Episode list

Series 1 (2011)

Series 2 (2012)

Series 3 (2014)

Home media

In other media

Radio

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC' ...

featured a spin-off "Silk: The Clerks Room" that lasted for two seasons from 2014 to 2015, featuring Theo Barklem-Biggs as Jake,

as Billy, and

as Amy.

Critical reception

Writing in ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was fo ...

'', barrister Sarah Palin praised ''Silk'', saying that "the opening episodes do a good job of capturing the relentless pressure of the criminal Bar" and that "the competition for silk, while a useful plot device, also accurately reflects the fiercely competitive nature of the Bar", but added "the characters featured are a little more youthful than their real-life counterparts" and that the storyline in which one of the pupil barristers shoplifts his wig and gown struck "an absurd note". ''The Telegraph'' television reviewer, James Walton, compared the series to Moffat's previous production, ''North Square'', but said that ''Silk'' was "more viewer-friendly" and the characters "far easier to divide into heroes and villains". He concluded that the first episode was "a perfectly OK hour of telly—marred only by the fact that we've come to expect a bit more than that from Moffat." Alex Aldridge of ''

'', meanwhile, called the series "underwhelming" and stated that it implied that cocaine use was "rife" among criminal barristers. Also writing in ''The Guardian'', Lucy Mangan implied that the series was predictable and called it "a rare misfire by Peter Moffat ..and aggravated by the squandering of Peake, whose usually overflowing talents seem to have been dammed here rather than encouraged to irrigate an oddly bloodless role." The first series averaged 5.85 million viewers. The second series averaged 5.74 million viewers. The third series averaged 5.37 million viewers.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Silk (Tv Series) 2010s British drama television series 2010s British legal television series 2011 British television series debuts 2014 British television series endings BBC high definition shows BBC television dramas 2010s British crime television series Television shows shot in London English-language television shows