''Murder'' is a British television crime drama series, first broadcast between 29 May and 19 June 2002, that ran for a total of four episodes on

BBC Two BBC Two is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's second flagship channel, and it covers a wide range of subject matte ...

. The series starred

Julie Walters Dame Julia Mary Walters (born 22 February 1950), known professionally as Julie Walters, is an English actress. She is the recipient of four British Academy Television Awards, two British Academy Film Awards, two International Emmy Awards, a Go ...

as Angela Maurer, a mother who seeks help from a local journalist after her son, Christopher, is killed the day after his 21st birthday. Each episode focuses on a different character who is somehow linked to the story through Angela, including the journalist, a shopkeeper, a police detective and a witness to the crime itself. The serial was written by playwright

Abi Morgan Abigail Louise Morgan (born December 1968) is a Welsh playwright and screenwriter known for her works for television, such as '' Sex Traffic'' and '' The Hour'', and the films ''Brick Lane'', '' The Iron Lady'', ''Shame'' and ''Suffragette''. ...

, and directed by

Beeban Kidron Beeban Tania Kidron, Baroness Kidron, (born 2 May 1961), is a British politician and a filmmaker. She is an advocate for children's rights in the digital world and has played a role in establishing standards for online safety and privacy across ...

. Producer Rebecca de Souza said of the series: "Unless we've had a personal experience of murder we think we understand it because we've all seen investigations on TV or read about them in the newspapers. They are generally presented in a particular way. The focus tends to be on the victim and the police investigation. We wanted to explore the idea that, alongside the immediate family, many people are affected by murder – some in surprising ways." Writer

said of her inspirations for the series. "Their stories were so incredible, there was a strong sense that they had been touched by madness. I wanted to capture the intensity of what they were living through as well as the odd normality of it. Their experiences had a surreal sense about them, but at the same time they had to carry on with their lives. What keeps Angela going is her drive to find out who did it, but, once the investigation is over, there really is nowhere else to go. You just have to live with it." Walters was awarded a

BAFTA The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA, ) is an independent trade association and charity that supports, develops, and promotes the arts of film, television and video games in the United Kingdom. In addition to its annual awa ...

television award in 2003 for Best Actress for her role as Angela Maurer. The series averaged around 3 million viewers, with the first episode notably beating '' ER'' in the ratings. Notably, the series has never been released on VHS or DVD.

Cast

as Angela Maurer * Roland Manookian as Ryan McGuinness *

Nicola Reynolds Nicola Jane Reynolds (born 26 July 1972, Pontypridd) is a Cardiff-based Welsh actress. Career After appearing in the 1999 film '' Human Traffic,'' she appeared in a series of jobbing roles, including '' Clocking Off'' and '' High Hopes''. Rey ...

as Roz Finch * Paul Higgins as Lee Finch *

Jason Done Jason Done (born 5 April 1973), in Walkden, Lancashire, is an English actor who appeared as Mordred in the 1998 TV miniseries ''Merlin'', opposite Sam Neill. He is best known for his role as Stephen Snow in ITV drama '' Where The Heart Is'' ...

as Christopher Maurer *

Robert Glenister Robert Lewis Glenister (born 11 March 1960) is an English actor. He is best known for his television roles as Ash "Three Socks" Morgan in the crime drama series '' Hustle'' (2004–2012) and Nicholas Blake in the spy drama series '' Spooks'' (2 ...

as Robert Weldon *

David Morrissey David Mark Joseph Morrissey (born 21 June 1964) is an English actor and filmmaker. He had numerous small roles in films and television series throughout the 1990s before achieving wider recognition for playing Gordon Brown in '' The Deal'' (2003 ...

as Dave Dewston *

Imelda Staunton Dame Imelda Mary Philomena Bernadette Staunton (born 9 January 1956) is an English actress and singer. After training at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, Staunton began her career in repertory theatre in 1976 and appeared in various theatre pr ...

as DCI Billie Dory *

Aaron McCusker Aaron McCusker is a Northern Irish actor. He is best known for his portrayal of Jamie Maguire in the Channel 4's television series '' Shameless'' and Jim Hutton, Freddie Mercury's boyfriend, in the 2018 feature film '' Bohemian Rhapsody''. E ...

as DS T.J. Holland *

Elizabeth Rider Elizabeth Rider is an English actress. Her career is marked by diverse roles in numerous television dramas. Education She trained at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, where she was awarded its Gold Medal. From there, Elizabeth joined th ...

as DS Wentworth *

Om Puri Om Prakash Puri, (18 October 1950 – 6 January 2017) was an Indian actor who appeared in mainstream commercial Hindi films as well as Urdu, Malayalam, Bengali, Kannada, English, Punjabi, Gujarati, Telugu, and Marathi films, as well as ind ...

as Akash Gupta *

Ron Cook Ronald G. Cook (born 1 December 1948) is an English actor. He has been active in film, television and theatre since the 1970s. Early life Cook was born in 1948 in South Shields, County Durham, the son of a school cook and a car worker. Whe ...

as Gareth McGuinness

Episodes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Murder (2002 Tv Series) 2002 British television series debuts 2002 British television series endings 2000s British crime television series 2000s British drama television series BBC television dramas 2000s British television miniseries British English-language television shows Television series by Tiger Aspect Productions Television series by Banijay