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King and Castle

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1985 British TV series or programme
King and Castle
GenreCrime drama
Created byIan Kennedy Martin
Written by
  • Ian Kennedy Martin
  • Andy De La Tour
  • Nigel Planer
Starring
Theme music composerSound Lab
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of series2
No. of episodes12 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producerLloyd Shirley
Producers
  • Chris Burt
  • Peter Duguid
CinematographyPhilip Blowers
Running time60 minutes
Production companyThames Television
Original release
NetworkITV
Release20 August 1985 (1985-08-20) –
14 June 1988 (1988-06-14)

King and Castle is a British television crime drama series, made by Thames Television and screened on ITV, that first broadcast on 20 August 1985. The series stars Derek Martin as Ronald King, a Detective Sergeant with the Metropolitan Police, who is obliged to leave the force when he is investigated by the anti-corruption squad. His first venture outside of the police involves setting up his own Debt Collection Agency, known as 'The Manor', where he partners with mild-mannered martial arts expert David Castle (Nigel Planer).

Created by Ian Kennedy Martin, who had previously devised The Sweeney for Thames, along with Juliet Bravo and The Chinese Detective for the BBC, King and Castle started out as an episode of Thames' Storyboard, a series of stand-alone dramas intended as potential pilots for series. Described as a combination of the rough-and-tumble of The Sweeney with the knowing wit of Minder, two series of six episodes each followed in 1986 and 1988. In 1986, a paperback tie-in novel was also released to accompany the first series.

The complete series of King and Castle, including the Storyboard pilot, was released on DVD via Network in April 2011 and July 2012 respectively.

Cast

Episodes

Pilot (1985)

No. Title Directed by Written by Airdate
0"King and Castle"Richard BramallIan Kennedy Martin20 August 1985 (1985-08-20)
A dissatisfied young martial artist teams up with maverick ex-cop in a new debt collecting venture.

Series 1 (1986)

No. Title Directed by Written by Airdate
1"Exodus"Peter CregeenIan Kennedy Martin3 September 1986 (1986-09-03)
King and Castle are asked to trace a man who has sawn his house in half following the break-up of his marriage. Meanwhile, a local villain has a score to settle with King.
2"Villains"Henry HerbertIan Kennedy Martin10 September 1986 (1986-09-10)
A bereaved family hire King to find a substantial some money that disappeared after their relative died in a car crash.
3"Partners"Alan BellIan Kennedy Martin17 September 1986 (1986-09-17)
A man called Devas hires King and Castle to secure debts owed to him by a Rodney Finch-Courtney.
4"Friends"Peter CregeenIan Kennedy Martin24 September 1986 (1986-09-24)
King and Castle turn detective when the friend of a man they are chasing for large debts is imprisoned for a robbery he did not commit. This episode featured Terence Morgan's last ever acting role; it was noted that he gave a 'haunting performance'.
5"Romance"Henry HerbertIan Kennedy Martin1 October 1986 (1986-10-01)
Castle pursues a woman for £10,000 of debts, but King finds himself attracted to her. King discovers Medley's long-lost son.
6"Rivals"Alan BellIan Kennedy Martin8 October 1986 (1986-10-08)
Castle deals with a child custody case. A rival debt collection agency moves into the area and successfully employs strong-arm tactics.

Series 2 (1988)

No. Title Directed by Written by Airdate
7"Kicks"Peter SasdyIan Kennedy Martin10 May 1988 (1988-05-10)
King has a cashflow problems, and Castle and Miss Willmott are owed nearly £2,000 in back pay.
8"Dim Sums"Laurence MoodyIan Kennedy Martin17 May 1988 (1988-05-17)
A woman dies and leaves behind a lot of I.O.U.s signed by a Tony Chen. King and Castle are hired to find him.
9"Hams"Jan SargentIan Kennedy Martin24 May 1988 (1988-05-24)
Castle acquires a wonderful recipe for cooking hams. Hilary and Carol clash.
10"Floppy Discs"Peter TabemNigel Planer & Andy de la Tour31 May 1988 (1988-05-31)
King is hired to help find a stolen floppy disc that contains extremely valuable information.
11"Class"Laurence MoodyNigel Planer & Andy de la Tour7 June 1988 (1988-06-07)
A friend of King's needs a touch of class, but is King the right man for the job?
12"Cons"Jan SargentIan Kennedy Martin14 June 1988 (1988-06-14)

References

  1. Evans, Jeff (2011). The Penguin TV Companion (4th ed.). London: Penguin. p. 532. ISBN 9780241952917.
  2. "King and Castle". Ian Kennedy Martin official website. Retrieved 23 April 2017.
  3. "BFI Collections Database". British Film Institute. Retrieved 23 April 2017.
  4. Cornell; Day & Topping (1996). The Guinness Book of Classic British TV (2nd ed.). Enfield: Guinness Publishing. p. 397. ISBN 0851126286.
  5. Rogers, Dave (1988). The ITV Encyclopedia of Adventure. London: Boxtree. pp. 297–298. ISBN 1852832177.
  6. "Paperback tie-in book". Trash Fiction. Retrieved 23 April 2017.
  7. "BFI Collections database". British Film Institute. Retrieved 23 April 2017.
  8. The Daily Telegraph Retrieved 29 June 2020.

External links

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