''Silk'' is a
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies.
* British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...
television drama series produced by the
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
which was broadcast over three series on BBC One between 22 February 2011 and 31 March 2014. Created by
Peter Moffat, the series follows the daily goings on of Shoe Lane Chambers and its members in their personal and professional lives.
Origin
The series' writer,
Peter Moffat, also wrote the series ''
Criminal Justice
Criminal justice is the delivery of justice to those who have been accused of committing crimes. The criminal justice system is a series of government agencies and institutions. Goals include the rehabilitation of offenders, preventing other ...
'' and ''
North Square'', as well as an episode of ''
Kavanagh QC''. Before the series started, Moffat said in an interview, "I wanted ''Silk'' to be full of politics and intrigue. From my experience at the Bar, I felt life in chambers had all of those components, with big stories and lots of courtroom drama—but I wanted to make it as much about barristers and their life in chambers as about the trials".
''Silk'' was commissioned by
Jay Hunt, then-Controller of
BBC One
BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's oldest and flagship channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television b ...
, and
Ben Stephenson, BBC Controller of Drama Commissioning, and started filming in July 2010. It is based on Moffat's experiences at the
Bar. In an interview with ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
'', he said "I want to tell it as it really is. The extreme pressure, the hard choices, the ethical dilemmas, the overlap between the personal and the professional, principles fought for and principles sacrificed, the Machiavellian politics, the sex, the drinking, the whole story—life at the bar is the richest possible drama territory."
The series' title is a colloquial reference to someone who has attained the status of
King's Counsel
A King's Counsel (Post-nominal letters, post-nominal initials KC) is a senior lawyer appointed by the monarch (or their Viceroy, viceregal representative) of some Commonwealth realms as a "Counsel learned in the law". When the reigning monarc ...
(QC or KC dependent on the current reigning monarch,) which entitles the person to wear a
certain design of gown in court, which is usually made of silk.
Overview
''Silk'' follows barristers from a set of criminal law
chambers in London. The series' focuses on Martha Costello (
Maxine Peake
Maxine Peake (born 14 July 1974) is an English actress and narrator. She is known for her roles as Twinkle in ''Dinnerladies (TV series), dinnerladies'', a sitcom on BBC One (1998–2000), as List of Shameless (British TV series) characters#Vero ...
) and her ambition to become
Queen's Counsel
A King's Counsel (Post-nominal letters, post-nominal initials KC) is a senior lawyer appointed by the monarch (or their Viceroy, viceregal representative) of some Commonwealth realms as a "Counsel learned in the law". When the reigning monarc ...
as well as on her rival, Clive Reader (
Rupert Penry-Jones). Martha achieves her ambition at the end of Series One, leaving Clive disappointed. He however becomes a QC in the opening episode of Series 3. The chambers' senior clerk, Billy Lamb (
Neil Stuke), also features heavily in the series.
In series 3,
Miranda Raison joins the show as Harriet Hammond who is a thorn in the side of Billy, as well as a confidante, supporter, and potential love interest for Clive Reader.
''Silk'' ended with series 3 because creator Moffat and lead actress Maxine Peake were keen to end at a high point.
Rupert Penry-Jones commented that:
In March 2014, it was announced there would be a radio spin-off following the lives of the clerks of Shoe Lane Chambers.
It was announced that the series would be adapted by
ABC for USA television.
Peter Moffat was due to executive produce, with the pilot being written by Marty Scott.
Cast
*
Maxine Peake
Maxine Peake (born 14 July 1974) is an English actress and narrator. She is known for her roles as Twinkle in ''Dinnerladies (TV series), dinnerladies'', a sitcom on BBC One (1998–2000), as List of Shameless (British TV series) characters#Vero ...
as Martha Costello QC,
Barrister
A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdiction (area), jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include arguing cases in courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, jurisprud ...
*
Rupert Penry-Jones as Clive Reader QC, Barrister
*
Neil Stuke as Billy Lamb, Senior Clerk
*
John MacMillan as John Bright, Clerk
*
Theo Barklem-Biggs as Jake Milner, Junior Clerk
*
Alex Jennings as Alan Cowdrey QC, Head of Chambers
*
Tom Hughes as Nick Slade, a pupil who shadows Martha (Series 1)
*
Natalie Dormer as Niamh Cranitch, a pupil who shadows Clive (Series 1)
*
Nina Sosanya as Kate Brockman, Barrister (Series 1)
* Jamie Di Spirito as Jimmy Johnson, Junior Clerk (Series 1)
*
Frances Barber as Caroline Warwick QC, Barrister (Series 2—3)
*
Phil Davis as Mickey Joy, Solicitor (Main Cast Series 2, Guest Series 3)
*
Indira Varma
Indira Anne Varma (born 27 September 1973) is a British actress and narrator. Her film debut and first major role was in '' Kama Sutra: A Tale of Love''. She is known for her television roles, such as playing Niobe in the BBC and HBO series ''R ...
as George Duggan, CPS Solicitor (Series 2)
*
Amy Wren as Bethany Brassington, Junior Clerk (Series 2—3)
*
Shaun Evans as Daniel Lomas, a pupil who shadows Martha (Series 2)
*
Miranda Raison as Harriet Hammond, Practice Manager (Series 3)
*
Jessica Henwick as Amy Lang, a pupil who shadows Martha, Clive & Caroline (Series 3)
Episode list
Series 1 (2011)
Series 2 (2012)
Series 3 (2014)
Home media
In other media
Radio
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. The station replaced the BBC Home Service on 30 September 1967 and broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes from the BBC's headquarters at Broadcasti ...
featured a spin-off "Silk: The Clerks Room" that lasted for two seasons from 2014 to 2015, featuring Theo Barklem-Biggs as Jake,
Neil Stuke as Billy, and
Jessica Henwick as Amy.
Critical reception
Writing in ''
The Daily Telegraph
''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was found ...
'', barrister Sarah Palin praised ''Silk'', saying that "the opening episodes do a good job of capturing the relentless pressure of the criminal Bar" and that "the competition for silk, while a useful plot device, also accurately reflects the fiercely competitive nature of the Bar", but added "the characters featured are a little more youthful than their real-life counterparts" and that the storyline in which one of the pupil barristers shoplifts his wig and gown struck "an absurd note".
''The Telegraph'' television reviewer, James Walton, compared the series to Moffat's previous production, ''North Square'', but said that ''Silk'' was "more viewer-friendly" and the characters "far easier to divide into heroes and villains". He concluded that the first episode was "a perfectly OK hour of telly—marred only by the fact that we've come to expect a bit more than that from Moffat."
Alex Aldridge of ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
'', meanwhile, called the series "underwhelming" and stated that it implied that cocaine use was "rife" among criminal barristers.
Also writing in ''The Guardian'', Lucy Mangan implied that the series was predictable and called it "a rare misfire by Peter Moffat
..and aggravated by the squandering of Peake, whose usually overflowing talents seem to have been dammed here rather than encouraged to irrigate an oddly bloodless role."
The first series averaged 5.85 million viewers. The second series averaged 5.74 million viewers. The third series averaged 5.37 million viewers.
References
External links
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*
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Silk (Tv Series)
2010s British drama television series
2010s British legal television series
2011 British television series debuts
2014 British television series endings
BBC high definition shows
BBC television dramas
2010s British crime television series
Television shows shot in London
British English-language television shows