''Thursday the 12th'' is a four-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 Paula Milne and directed by Charles Beeson. It has been screened internationally and shown in the United Kingdom at the

British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves film-making and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery (United Kingdom), National Lot ...

, but has never been shown on British television. It was initially due to premiere on

ITV1 ITV1 (formerly known as ITV) is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the British media company ITV plc. It provides the Channel 3 public broadcast service across all of the United Kingdom except for t ...

in May 2000, but due to its political themes and proximity to that year's local elections, it was delayed due to concerns it would violate laws regarding political neutrality during election periods; efforts to broadcast it in June 2001 were cancelled for similar reasons, due to that year's general election. The series focuses on the Bannister family, whose lives are turned upside down when an unidentified body is found in the grounds of their estate. As an investigative TV reporter takes on the case, Marius Bannister (

Ciarán Hinds Ciarán Hinds (; born 9 February 1953) is an Irish actor. Born in Belfast, Hinds is known for a range of screen and stage roles. He has starred in feature films including '' The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover'' (1989), '' Persuasion'' (1 ...

), a wealthy dentist and politician, his wife Nina (

Maria Doyle Kennedy Maria Josephine Doyle Kennedy (born 25 September 1964) is an Irish singer and actress. With a singing and acting career that has spanned more than 30 years, she has established herself as one of Ireland's most prolific artists and entertainers. ...

), their troubled adopted teenaged son Martin (

Jim Sturgess James Anthony Sturgess''Births, Marriages & Deaths Index of England & Wales, 1916–2005.''; at ancestry.com (born 16 May 1978) is an English actor and singer-songwriter. His first major role was as Jude in the musical romance drama film ''Acro ...

), and Nina's predatory sister Candice Hopper (

Elizabeth McGovern Elizabeth Lee McGovern (born July 18, 1961) is an American actress and musician. She has received many awards, including a Screen Actors Guild Award, three Golden Globe Award nominations, and one Academy Award nomination. Born in Evanston, Ill ...

) all come under suspicion.

Broadcast

The series was originally set to broadcast as two feature-length episodes, but due to local elections taking place on the day the first episode was due to be broadcast, 4 May 2000, the series was pulled from the schedules at the last minute, on the grounds that it may be in breach of rules on political bias. Although it was later rescheduled for broadcast in the winter of 2000/2001, the series was once again pushed back, and was set to premiere in June 2001, although due to the foot-and-mouth outbreak of 2001, the general election due to take place in May was put back to 7 June, and the series was subsequently pulled from the schedules once more, with no further attempts to reschedule it. The series was shown as part of a season showcasing Paula Milne's work at the BFI in London on 14 September 2012. For international broadcast and release on DVD, the series was re-edited into four episodes, each focusing on the story of a single character. In the United States, the series premiered on Bravo on 4 June 2003. The series was also broadcast in Australia on UKTV. The series was released on Region 1 DVD on 25 September 2007.

Cast

as Marius Bannister *

as Nina Bannister *

as Candice Hopper *

as Martin Bannister *

Gillian Bevan Gillian Bevan (born 13 February 1956) is an English actress, best known for her roles in British television shows and West End theatre. In 1988 she played Dorothy in the Royal Shakespeare Company's revival of their version of '' The Wizard of O ...

as Marilyn Forbes * Trevor Byfield as Frank Ely *

Peter Vaughan Peter Vaughan (born Peter Ewart Ohm; 4 April 1923 – 6 December 2016) was an English character actor known for many supporting roles in British film and television productions. He also acted extensively on the stage. He is perhaps best know ...

Edgar Bannister *

Hugh Bonneville Hugh Richard Bonneville Williams (born 10 November 1963) is an English actor. He is best known for portraying Robert Crawley, Earl of Grantham, in the ITV historical drama series ''Downton Abbey''. His performance on the show earned him a no ...

as Brin Hopper *

Jon Glover Jonathan Philip Glover (born 26 December 1952) is an English actor. He has appeared in various television programmes including '' Play School'', '' Survivors'', the Management consultant in '' The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy'', '' Casual ...

as Julian Glover * Christopher James as Hugo Schindler * Robert Murray as David Skinner * Morgan Sass as Daisy Bannister *

Ralph Ineson Ralph Michael Ineson (; born 15 December 1969) is an English actor and narrator. Known for his deep, rumbling, Yorkshire-accented voice, his most notable roles include William in '' The Witch'', Dagmer Cleftjaw in ''Game of Thrones'', Amycus Ca ...

as Collins * Vincent Franklin as Hewitt *

Ron Cook Ronald G. Cook (born 1948) is an English actor. He has been active in film, television and theatre since the 1970s. Early and personal life Cook was born in 1948 in South Shields, County Durham, England, the son of a school cook and a car wo ...

as Liam Donnelly *

Robin Houston Robin Houston (born London, 1947) is a British voiceover artist and former announcer, radio and television newsreader and quiz show host. After starting his career as an announcer and stage manager, he became one of the pioneers of commercial ra ...

as the Newscaster

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, 0261352, Thursday the 12th 2000s British crime drama television series 2000s British mystery television series 2003 British television series debuts 2003 British television series endings British English-language television shows British political drama television series Television series by Warner Bros. Television Studios