King and Castle

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.[1] 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).

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
Release
Original networkITV
Original release20 August 1985 (1985-08-20) –
14 June 1988 (1988-06-14)

Created by Ian Kennedy Martin,[2] 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.[3] Described as a combination of the rough-and-tumble of The Sweeney[4] with the knowing wit of Minder,[5] 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.[6]

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[7] 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'.[8]
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.
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