''The Bombmaker'' is a two-part British television drama serial, written and created by Stephen Leather, and directed by Graham Theakston. It first broadcast on Sky One on 8 April 2001, with the second and final episode following a week later on 15 April. The series, based upon Leather's novel of the same name, stars

Dervla Kirwan Dervla Kirwan (born 24 October 1971) is an Irish television, stage, and film actress who specializes in drama roles. She gained attention for her roles in ''Ballykissangel'', '' Goodnight Sweetheart'', and the Doctor Who Christmas special epis ...

as Andrea Hayes, a former IRA bombmaker who is forced to come out of retirement when her daughter is kidnapped and held to ransom.

Mark Womack Mark Edward Womack (born 9 January 1961) is an English actor, known for starring in '' Liverpool 1'', '' Sorted'' and Willy Russell's ''Dancin thru' The Dark''. In 2020, he appeared in the ITV soap opera ''Emmerdale'' as DI Mark Malone. Person ...

stars as Andrea's husband Martin, while Ciara Lyons plays the role of her daughter, Katie. David Hunt,

Angeline Ball Angeline Ball (born 28 June 1969) is an Irish actress and singer who resides in London, England. She is known for her roles as Imelda Quirke in Alan Parker's '' The Commitments'' (1991) and as Tina in John Boorman's '' The General'' (1998). Sh ...

Marc Warren Marc Warren (born 20 March 1967) is an English actor, known for his British television roles. His roles have included Albert Blithe in '' Band of Brothers'', Danny Blue in '' Hustle'', Dougie Raymond in ''The Vice'', Dominic Foy in '' State ...

Francis Magee Francis Magee (born 7 June 1959) is an Irish actor. He portrayed Liam Tyler in British soap opera ''EastEnders'' from 1993 to 1995. He has also appeared in numerous television shows and feature films, including ''Sahara'' (2005), ''Layer Cake' ...

Daragh O'Malley Daragh Gerard Marion O'Malley (born 25 May 1954) is an Irish actor, director and producer. He was born in Dublin, Ireland. Among many TV appearances O'Malley is known for his portrayal of Patrick Harper in the series '' Sharpe'' (1993–200 ...

Brendan Coyle David "Brendan" Coyle (born 2 December 1962) is an English-Irish actor. He won the Olivier Award for Best Performance in a Supporting Role for ''The Weir'' in 1999. He also played Nicholas Higgins in the miniseries '' North & South'', Robert T ...

and

Samantha Bond Samantha Jane Bond (born 27 November 1961) is an English actress, who is best known for playing Miss Moneypenny in four James Bond films during the Pierce Brosnan years, and for her role on ''Downton Abbey'' as the wealthy widow Lady Rosamu ...

are also credited as principal members of the cast. Filming on the series commenced in September 2000. Notably, the series has yet to be released on DVD.

Production

said of her role as Andrea Hayes; "Graham Theakston, with whom I worked on '' The Dark Room'' (a BBC1 adaptation of the

Minette Walters Minette Caroline Mary Walters DL (born 26 September 1949) is an English crime writer. Life and work Walters was born in Bishop's Stortford in 1949 to Samuel Jebb and Colleen Jebb. As her father was a serving army officer, the first 10 year ...

novel), was directing ''The Bombmaker'' and asked me if I was interested. I could see all the pitfalls in the script, but female characters who dominate like Andrea are few and far between. Whatever flaws there are, you owe it to yourself to do it. I've made a lot of mistakes in my career but the biggest mistake I've made is to turn down work. And I read Stephen Leather's book on which it was based, knew it was a bestseller and I think my commercial head took over." Stephen Leather said of writing the series; "There are several major twists the audience won't see coming...it's not a run-of-the-mill kidnapping, but you don't find out until the end why the kidnappers have taken the little girl. You think it's an IRA story, but... it constantly keeps you guessing." Cheese

Cast

as Andrea Hayes *

as Martin Hayes * Ciara Lyons as Katie Hayes * David Hunt as Egan *

as Lydia McCracken *

as Quinn *

as O'Keefe *

as Mick Canning *

as George McEvoy *

as Patsy * Brian Doherty as DI Fitzgerald *

Keith Duffy Keith Peter Thomas Francis Julian John Duffy (born 1 October 1974) is an Irish singer, actor, radio and television presenter and drummer who began his professional music career as part of Irish boy band Boyzone alongside Ronan Keating, Mik ...

as DS Power * Maria McDermottroe as Miss O'Mara * Barry Barnes as Padraig *

Scott Maslen Scott Alexander Maslen (born 25 June 1971) is an English actor and model, best known for his portrayal as DS Phil Hunter in ITV's ''The Bill'' and Jack Branning on the BBC's flagship soap ''EastEnders'' since 2007. He also took part in the 20 ...

as Captain Payne *

Andrew Pleavin Andrew Pleavin (born 13 April 1968) is an English actor known for his appearances in the TV film ''Attila'', ''Unstoppable'', ''Batman Begins'', '' Attack of the Gryphon'', ''Return to House on Haunted Hill'' and his roles in the British police ...

Captain Crosbie * Fiona Kember-Smith as Agent Gannon * Lyn Fullerton as Nuala

Episodes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bombmaker, The 2001 British television series debuts 2001 British television series endings 2000s British drama television series 2000s British television miniseries Sky UK original programming English-language television shows Television shows set in London