DCI Banks

DCI Banks
Intertitle (2011–)
Genre	Crime drama
Starring	Stephen Tompkinson Andrea Lowe Caroline Catz Jack Deam
Composer	Sheridan Tongue
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Original language	English
No. of series	3
No. of episodes	20 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers	Andy Harries Francis Hopkinson
Producer	Stephen Smallwoad
Running time	45 minutes (x2)
Production company	Left Bank Pictures
Original release
Network	ITV, STV, UTV
Release	27 September 2010 (2010-09-27) – present

DCI Banks is a British crime drama series produced by Left Bank Pictures for the ITV network. The series is based on Peter Robinson's Inspector Alan Banks novels and stars Stephen Tompkinson as Detective Chief Inspector Alan Banks.

Background

In January 2010, author Peter Robinson announced that he had signed a joint deal with Left Bank Pictures and ITV to adapt novels from the Detective Chief Inspector Alan Banks series for television. Filming on a two-part pilot based on the novel Aftermath was completed in July 2010, with scenes filmed on location in Leeds. DCI Banks: Aftermath aired on ITV, STV & UTV 27 September and 4 October 2010. The two episodes drew a strong average of 6.55 million viewers, twice becoming the fifth most-watched programme on the ITV network that week. Viewer ratings for the pilot were strong enough to persuade ITV to commission a series of six episodes — three two-part dramas adapted from three Robinson novels.

The first full series consisted of three two-part dramas based on three Peter Robinson novels. Filming began in February 2011, and included locations in Otley for Friend Of The Devil. This was identifiable by the fact that some shop names in the town were left unchanged during filming. The first episode, Playing With Fire, aired 16 September 2011, and drew an average of 4.5 million viewers. The subsequent two 2-part dramas, Friend of The Devil and Cold is The Grave, achieved similar ratings. The viewing figures for the first series were large enough for ITV to commission a second series. Filming began in March 2012, and episodes began broadcasting from 10 October. For this series, the novels Dry Bones That Dream, Innocent Graves and Strange Affair were adapted. With actress Andrea Lowe taking maternity leave, Stephen Tompkinson was joined by Caroline Catz in the role of DI Helen Morton, a character who does not appear in the novels.

Sally Haynes, head of the ITV Drama commissioning team, said of the second series: "DCI Banks is now established as a firm favourite within ITV's crime drama slate. We're delighted so many viewers are appreciating Robert Murphy’s adaptations and how the team at Left Bank Pictures are producing DCI Banks." On 1 December 2012, Peter Robinson announced on his website " that DCI Banks has been recommissioned for a third series of six one-hour episodes (again, three two-parters), according to a revised statement posted June 17, 2013, based on three books: Wednesday’s Child, Piece of My Heart and Bad Boy. The revised announcement stated that filming would begin in August 2013, for broadcast dates dates to be confirmed in the future. In January 2013, Stephen Tompkinson mentioned in an interview "I’m pleased to say [DCI Banks has] recently been commissioned for a third series, which should start filming later in the year," and in a subsequent interview he revealed "I'm delighted to let you know that in series three [DCI Alan] Banks will be assisted by both Annie and Helen," indicating that both Andrea Lowe and Caroline Catz will be returning. Peter Robinson's site confirms that both actresses will be returning: "DS Cabot, played by Andrea Lowe, will be returning from maternity leave, and Caroline Catz will be back as DI Helen Morton." Describing the character of Alan Banks, Tompkinson said, "He is heavily reliant on his team and a great, almost patrician leader."

Cast

In an article written for The Telegraph when the pilot DCI Banks: Aftermath first aired in the UK, Peter Robinson wrote:

"A lot of people asked me about the casting of Stephen Tompkinson as Banks....I met Stephen early on in the process, and he wanted to...find out everything he could from me about the character. I was impressed by his dedication, and when I finally saw him 'in character' I thought he managed to convey the essence of Banks. Stephen is taller than the Banks in the books, and my Annie is a brunette, whereas Andrea Lowe plays her as a blonde. It doesn't matter. You can't expect exact duplication. No actor is going to satisfy everybody's image of the way a fictional character should look, but that doesn’t mean he or she can't capture that character's spirit."

Character	Actor	Duration	Notes
DCI Alan Banks	Stephen Tompkinson	2010–	Alan is one of the most experienced officers on his division. He has been in the force for over twenty years, and has investigated more cases than the rest of his team put together. Basically, he has seen it all.
DS Annie Cabbot	Andrea Lowe	2010–	Annie arrives from professional standards to investigate an assault on Marcus Payne in Aftermath. She strikes up a relationship with Banks, and decides to transfer to his division when a post becomes available. Cabbot only appears in the first episode of series two due to actress Andrea Lowe taking maternity leave. However, she will reportedly return for series three.
DI Helen Morton	Caroline Catz	2012–	Helen is a happily-married mother of four growing boys, and a serious-minded senior detective who’s more at home in front of a computer than in front of a suspect, and whose approach to policing pushes Banks to the brink. Morton arrives in Strange Affair to cover for DS Annie Cabbot, who is forced to take early maternity leave, after Cabbot attempts to shield Alan Banks from the evidence of his brother's transgressions.
DS Winsome Jackman	Lorraine Burroughs	2010–	Winsome, also known as Win or Winnie, is a young sergeant who has been one of Banks' protégés for some time. She and Ken Blackstone started in the job on the same day, and previously worked together at another nick.
DS Ken Blackstone	Jack Deam	2010–	Ken is an experienced sergeant who trained Winsome Jackman when she was merely a constable. He transferred away from his previous station a year after Winnie accepted a position in Banks' Eastvale division.
DC Kevin Templeton	Tom Shaw	2011	Kevin was a young constable who had only been in the job for six months. In an attempt to gain evidence on a serial killer, he put himself undercover, but was subsequently murdered in Friend of the Devil.
Ch. Supt. Ron McLaughlin	Nick Sidi	2012–	Ron takes charge of Banks' division following the departure of his predecessor, Gerry Rydell. He is given the superintendent's job on the recommendation of the chief commissioner. He first appears in Cold is the Grave.
Ch. Supt. Gerry Rydell	Colin Tierney	2010–2011	Gerry, a high-flying officer who had risen his way through the ranks, found himself as Superintendent just two years after he joined the force. He was found to be corrupt and subsequently resigned in Cold is the Grave.

Episodes

Main article: List of DCI Banks episodes

Awards

On 24 June 2013, at the award ceremony for the Royal Television Society (RTS) Yorkshire Centre Awards 2013, Stephen Tompkinson accepted the award for 'Best Drama' for DCI Banks, Left Bank Pictures for ITV.

International distribution

On 9 January 2013, BBC Worldwide America announced a "landmark syndication deal" with public television stations in the U.S. for DCI Banks to be available on 166 PBS affiliate stations across the USA, "reaching an estimated 77% of U.S. TV households." The syndication deal includes the pilot and Series 1 and 2. The announcement stated that DCI Banks would premiere on public television stations across the U.S., including WUSF (Tampa, Florida), KERA (Dallas, Texas), WMVS (Milwaukee, Wisconsin) and KCET (Los Angeles, California), starting in January 2013. It has also aired on PBS stations in many other states. Idaho Public Television created a website for the show and posted all the episodes to be streamed on demand by those in the U.S. Although each drama was shown in two parts over two weeks in the UK, on PBS they have been shown as single 90-minute dramas. Julius Cain of BBC Worldwide America, said: “This syndication deal marks the largest we have inked to date between BBC Worldwide America and public television stations."

"DCI Banks" has also been broadcast in Canada and it aired in Norway on NRK1. In Sweden, national public service broadcaster SVT aired the pilot and three Series 1 episodes (each about 90 minutes in length). Similar airings occurred in Denmark. The pilot and Series 1 have also been aired in Finland (YLE1). In Estonia, national public service broadcaster ETV aired the pilot and Series 1 in autumn 2012 with Series 2 due to be aired in the end of September 2013. Series 1 was aired in Germany ([ZDF]) in 3 episodes of 90 minutes each between 26 May and 9 June 2013 under the title "Inspector Banks". In Australia the show has aired on subscription TV channel, UKTV, and in May 2013, began screening on free-to-air station ABC1.

DVD releases

The Series 1 DVD was released for Region 2 (UK) on 31 October 2011. The two disc-set features the pilot Aftermath and the three two-part dramas of Series 1. Extra features include some deleted scenes and short interviews with Stephen Tompkinson and Andrea Lowe. The Region 2 DVD of Series 2 was released in the UK 19 November 2012, and contains three two-part dramas. Panvision has published DVDs of the pilot and Series 1 with subtitles in Swedish, Danish, Norwegian and Finnish.

External links

• DCI Banks at itv.com
• DCI Banks at Left Bank Pictures
• DCI Banks at IMDb