Shakespeare & Hathaway - Private Investigators
| Shakespeare & Hathaway - Private Investigators | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genre | Comedy-drama, mystery |
| Created by |
Paul Matthew Thompson Jude Tindall |
| Starring | |
| Composer(s) | Debbie Wiseman |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of series | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 10 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Will Trotter |
| Producer(s) | Ella Kelly |
| Running time | 44 minutes |
| Production company(s) | BBC Studios |
| Release | |
| Original network | BBC One |
| Picture format | 2:1 1080p |
| Audio format | Stereo |
| Original release | 26 February 2018 – present |
| External links | |
| BBC website | |
Shakespeare & Hathaway - Private Investigators is a comedy-drama mystery television series set in Stratford-upon-Avon. It is produced by the BBC for afternoon broadcast in the UK by the same production team as Doctors, Land Girls, Father Brown, The Coroner and WPC 56.
Plot
Ex-Detective Inspector Frank Hathaway, now a debt-laden private investigator, meets Luella Shakespeare when she employs him to investigate the fiancé she met online. Hathaway and his assistant, RADA-trained struggling actor Sebastian Brudenell, discover that her fiancé is a con-man, and report back to Luella, but she is reassured by her fiancé and the wedding goes ahead. When her new husband is killed at the reception, Luella is suspected of murder by local Detective Inspector Christina Marlowe who had been Frank's junior. Luella is thrown together with Frank and Sebastian to crack the mystery of what has happened, and after her name is cleared she uses her recovered savings to buy into Frank’s business. Frank's only employee is Sebastian Brudenell; a young aspiring RADA trained actor who uses his skills when undercover investigations are required. He lives above a theatre costumier run by Gloria Fonteyn.
Cast and characters
- Jo Joyner as Luella Shakespeare
- Mark Benton as Frank Hathaway
- Patrick Walshe McBride as Sebastian Brudenell
- Amber Aga as Detective Inspector Christina Marlowe
- Tomos Eames as Detective Sergeant Keeler
- Roberta Taylor as Gloria Fonteyn
Episodes
Series 1
| No. overall | No. in series | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | "O Brave New World" | Piotr Szkopiak | Paul Matthew Thompson and Jude Tindall | 26 February 2018 |
| Three days before her wedding, Luella Shakespeare hires private detective Frank Hathaway to investigate her fiancé, Clive Brenton, whom she believes is having an affair with his secretary, Janice Bardolph. She calls him off the case when she realises that she was mistaken. Frank had not found evidence of an affair, but found out that Clive is using different identities on dating websites. Frank interrupts the wedding, but Luella has the security guards send him away. Shortly after the wedding at a hotel, Clive is stabbed to death with Luella's hairdresser's scissors. Luella is arrested by the police, who release her soon after. She discovers that her savings have been stolen from her bank account. Hathaway and Shakespeare find out that Clive was a bigamist with an accomplice, Janice - who stole Luella's £250,000 that Luella had invested in Clive's company. Luella stops the accomplice from leaving with the money and retrieves it from her. Frank thinks that Janice is the killer, but the police tell her that Janice could not have killed Clive, although they arrest her for her involvement in Clive's bogus business. The investigation returns to the hotel and one of Clive's previous wives, Veronica Vinten - who admits that she killed Clive after finding out that he had faked his death and was marrying Luella. The police arrest Veronica. Frank is in debt, and reluctantly accepts Luella as his partner in his detective agency. Guest star: Nigel Whitmey (Nigel Whitney in credits). | |||||
| 2 | 2 | "The Chimes at Midnight" | Ian Barber | David Semple | 27 February 2018 |
| Frank and Luella are employed by Penelope Pincott to investigate sabotage at the business she and her husband Owain run, Shady Nooks care home. Sebastien goes undercover as a care assistant. During lunch, when all the staff and residents are in the dining room, Penelope falls to her death from the roof. Suspecting one of the staff or residents of the murder, Frank and Luella have to work out how it was done. Sebastian discovers that the saboteur is a resident, Johnny Falstaff. He does not like living there and was deliberately causing various problems in an attempt to have his son 'rescue' him from the home. Care worker Soozie is also a murder suspect when the investigation reveals that she is attracted to Owain. Frank works out how Penelope's (already dead) body crashed to the ground from the roof when all the home's residents and staff were present in the dining room. The death of a resident exactly a year ago provides a clue - the late resident's son Ian blames Penelope for her death. At the end it is revealed that he became the home's cook six months later and killed Penelope in revenge on the anniversary of his mother's death. Guest star: Timothy West | |||||
| 3 | 3 | "This Promised End" | Carolina Giammetta | Lol Fletcher | 28 February 2018 |
| Frank and Luella are employed by funeral director, Peter Quintus, after he is visited by "Mr R" and "Mr G" who say that a criminal organisation has hired them to kill him in 24 hours time. He is told not to involve the police or there will be consequences for his family, and there are two attacks on his wife, Anne. After one of the attacks, Frank finds a photograph relating to an art college that Anne attends. Luella interviews the neighbourhood warden, Melvin Pipkin, who is fond of Anne, and who is later found dead following a hit and run. Sebastian interviews Peter's man-eating ex-wife who had been cheated out of money in her divorce settlement. It is discovered that Peter was violent towards both his wives and that Anne has persuaded two teachers at her college to pretend to be Mr R and Mr G in order to scare him. Melvin was killed by Peter and the police arrest him. Anne leaves with Mr R, with whom she is in a relationship. | |||||
| 4 | 4 | "This Rough Magic" | Carolina Giammetta | Kit Lambert | 1 March 2018 |
| Frank and Luella are employed by magician, Lawrence Pross and his daughter Maggie after his iron maiden trick kills a woman, wealthy Jill Shiplake, on stage. The Pross' believe rival magician, Anton Dukes, is responsible. The victim was bickering with her husband that night and with the theatre usher. Frank realises the victim might not have been selected at random and suspects the husband Stefan. They find evidence of Stefan's guilt but then realised Stefan and his wife had swapped theatre seats. | |||||
| 5 | 5 | "Toil and Trouble" | Piotr Szkopiak | Kit Lambert | 2 March 2018 |
| The mayor of Arden is found murdered, with a blunt object, after firing a shotgun and Detective Inspector Marlowe's prime suspect is burglar William 'Billy the Brick' Porters, a former informant of Frank's. Billy turns up at Frank who is indebted to him, and Luella's office begging them to prove his innocence. Their investigations leads to the press reporter who found the body, the deputy mayor, a property developer of ancient woods and protestors against the development. Sebastian discovers Billy has a blood stained T-shirt. | |||||
| 6 | 6 | "Exit, Pursued by a Bear" | Ian Barber | Jeff Povey | 5 March 2018 |
| Frank and Luella are employed by narcissistic former hospital soap star Sally Balthasar after she receives a death threat after planning her comeback by rewriting Shakespeare's play Romeo and Juliet and playing the female lead. She calls her version Juliet and Romeo, and her character does not die. Her changes to a classic play offend cast members, the director, the backstage crew, and Shakespeare fans. Things come to a head when Sally is poisoned and unable to continue. The director then reverts to Shakespeare's original play. Frank and Luella watch back episodes of Sally's soap opera and find a link between past and present. | |||||
| 7 | 7 | "The Fairest Show Means Most Deceit" | Piotr Szkopiak | Dan Muirden | 6 March 2018 |
| Frank and Luella are employed by a gift shop owners, Diana and Leon, to investigate an ex-employee, Lola, who is claiming compensation for a workplace injury. The investigation is hampered by Martin Mariner claiming to be Frank's uncle. Frank finds Diana dead in the gift shop, victim of a robbery. Suspicion falls on Leon and then on Mariner who had money covered in Diana's blood and he incriminates Lola's boyfriend Phil, a name linked to Diana's phone. Sebastian goes undercover as a transvestite at a bar and as a gas man at Lola's house. | |||||
| 8 | 8 | "The Chameleon's Dish" | Richard Signy | Nicola Wilson | 7 March 2018 |
| Frank and Luella are employed by troubled 18-year-old Hamish after he has premonitions of murder. They join him at a spiritual retreat run by his mother and stepfather. Staying at the retreat are his ex-girlfriend Lily, his best friend Uzoma and others. Lily's psychoanalyst mother, Polly, had been counselling Hamish and Uzoma at their sixth-form college until she was sacked. She tries to remove her daughter but she refuses to leave. The next day Polly, whose relationship with Uzoma was posted on social media by him, is found dead with Hamish. He remembers nothing, and is arrested by Marlowe. Sebastian goes undercover at the teenagers' college. It is discovered that Hamish was adopted after his mother was murdered by his father when he was four, and Hamish found her dead. The 'premonitions' were his vague memory. His father was using a false identity and married Hamish's mother. He also murdered Polly, to prevent his real identity being discovered; he is arrested by th police. | |||||
| 9 | 9 | "The Rascal Cook" | Richard Signy | Kit Lambert | 8 March 2018 |
| Frank and Luella are employed by owner/chef, Len Tekler, of top restaurant Hivena after sabotage in the kitchen. Frank suspects an inside job but Tekler suspects food critic Paulina Stainton. Sebastian goes undercover in the kitchen. The restaurant is closed when customers suffer a food poisoning incident. Tekler is murdered by poisoning and Frank and Luella investigate the relationships of Paula Stainton, Tekler's wife Cecillia, his son Milo, waitress Dita Pardy, and ex restaurant partner Trevor Cordiss, and the death of Tekler's brother, Michael who hanged himself 20 years earlier all seemingly connected. | |||||
| 10 | 10 | "Ill Met by Moonlight" | Piotr Szkopiak | Kit Lambert | 9 March 2018 |
| Frank and Luella are employed by Lady Tania Bede when a valuable necklace and her 18-year-old daughter, Mia, go missing. She offers them £10,000 to recover the necklace by that evening. A ransom demand of £50,000 for Mia is made. The investigation reveals Mia's relationship with a man other than her boyfriend, whom she met in the gardens of her home. They find evidence of garden labourer, Lee Sandridge, selling the necklace to a fence that turns out to be a fake. Head gardener Ron Greenvale, having already tendered his resignation, denies he is having an affair with Mia who is less than half his age. A payment of £200 which Mia made to a local private hospital adds to the mystery. Frank and Luella attend Lady Bede's ball that evening with Sebastian undercover to solve the mystery. | |||||
Series 2
Series 2 has been commissioned and filming is set to commence in September 2018 to air early 2019[1]
DVD releases
| Series | UK release date | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Series 1 | 23 April 2018 | Disc One: Episode 1 - O Brave New World Episode 5 - Toil and Trouble Episode 3 - This Promised End Episode 4 - This Rough Magic Disc Two: Episode 2 - The Chimes at Midnight Episode 7 - The Fairest Show Means Most Deceit Episode 6 - Exit, Pursued by a Bear Disc Three: Episode 10 - Ill Met by Moonlight Episode 9 - The Rascal Cook Episode 8 - The Chameleon's Dish |
References
- ↑ "British Comedy Guide". Comedy.Co.Uk. Retrieved 18 May 2018.
External links
This article is issued from
Wikipedia.
The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike.
Additional terms may apply for the media files.