''The Ghost Squad'' is a British crime drama series produced by

Company Pictures Company Pictures is an independent British television production company which has produced drama programming for many broadcasters. It was set up in 1998 by Charles Pattinson and George Faber, colleagues at BBC Films. Their first film was '' ...

, for

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service ...

, broadcast from 15 November to 27 December 2005. Created by Tom Grieves, the series was inspired by the real life "Ghost Squad" that existed between 1994 and 1998, secretly investigating police corruption.

Elaine Cassidy Elaine Cassidy (born 31 December 1979) is an Irish actress. She is best known for playing DC Dinah Kowalska in ''No Offence'', Abby Mills in the American television series ''Harper's Island'' for CBS, Felicia in '' Felicia's Journey'', Runt in ...

Emma Fielding Emma Georgina Annalies Fielding (born 07 October 1964 in Catterick, North Riding of Yorkshire) is an English actress. Biography The daughter of a British Army officer, Colonel Johnny Fielding, and Sheila Fielding, she was raised Catholic and ...

and

Jonas Armstrong William Jonas Armstrong is an Irish actor known for playing the title role in the BBC One drama series ''Robin Hood''. Career In 2003, Armstrong appeared in ''Quartermaine's Terms'' at the Royal Theatre in Northampton as Derek Meadle. In 2004 ...

star as protagonists Amy Harris, Carole McKay and Pete Maitland. A single series of eight episodes (including a double-length finale) was broadcast before the series was axed, citing poor viewing figures, despite critical acclaim from critics and viewers alike. The series has since been released on DVD in France and Australia only; a release in its native United Kingdom was pulled as a result of poor projected sales.

Plot

The premise of ''The Ghost Squad'' revolves around Detective Constable Amy Harris (

), who is recruited into the squad after investigating her own colleagues for corruption following a death in custody. Based upon the real-life "Ghost Squad", writer and creator Tom Grieves explains that the real-life closure of the squad meant that he had to write the story as if the squad continued to operate in secret after officially being shut down. A total of eight episodes were broadcast, including a double-length finale that was split into two-halves for international broadcast. All eight episodes have since been uploaded for streaming on YouTube by the series' production company.

Charles Pattinson Charles Pattinson (sometimes credited as Charlie Pattinson) is a British television producer. His initial career was in the theatre, where he was an assistant director at the Royal Court Theatre in the mid-1980s. In 1985 he moved into television, ...

and George Faber served as executive producers.

Cast

as P.C./D.C. Amy Harris *

as D.S.I. Carole McKay *

as D.S. Pete Maitland * James Weber-Brown as D.A.C. Robert Townsend

Guest cast

Lloyd Owen Richard Marcus Lloyd Owen (born 14 April 1966) is an English actor. Trained at the National Youth Theatre and the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) in London, he is known for portraying Indiana Jones's father Professor Dr. Henry Jones, Sr. in ...

as D.I. Bryce (Episode 1) *

Sam Spruell Sam Spruell (born 1 January 1977) is a British actor. He is best known for playing villainous roles in film and television including Oleg Malankov in '' Taken 3'', Finn in '' Snow White and the Huntsman'' and Swarm in '' Doctor Who: Flux''. He a ...

as P.C. Will Surridge (Episode 1) *

Christine Tremarco Christine Tremarco (born 1977) is a British television actress whose career began in 1992. She is best known for portraying the role of Davina Shackleton in the BBC One school-based drama series '' Waterloo Road'' (2007–2009) and also in BBC ...

as D.S. Jo Miller (Episode 1) * Johnny Harris as D.S. Charlie Fletcher (Episode 1) * Alastair Galbraith as D.I. Brooke, IPCC (Episode 1) *

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 ...

as P.S. Ralph Allen (Episode 3) *

Jason Flemyng Jason Iain Flemyng''Births, Marriages & Deaths Index of England & Wales, 1916–2005.''; at ancestry.com (born 25 September 1966) is an English actor. He is known for roles in British films such as ''Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels'' (1998) ...

as D.S. Jimmy Franks (Episode 5) *

Chloe Howman Chloe Howman (born 1978 in London, England) is an English actress. The daughter of actor Karl Howman, her sister is actress Katy-Jo Howman. Career The sisters' first appearance was in 1986 with their father, as children in his series ''Brush Str ...

as D.S. Kay Maudsley (Episode 5) * Neve McIntosh as W.P.C. Sarah Houghton (Episode 6) *

Adrian Lester Adrian Anthony Lester (born Anthony Harvey; 14 August 1968) is a British actor, director and writer. He is the recipient of a Laurence Olivier Award, an Evening Standard Theatre Award and a Critics' Circle Theatre Award for his work on the ...

as D.I. Gus Phillips (Episodes 7—8)

Episode list

References

External links

*
''The Ghost Squad'' at Channel 4
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ghost Squad, The 2005 British television series debuts 2005 British television series endings 2000s British crime drama television series 2000s British television miniseries Television series by All3Media English-language television shows Channel 4 television dramas