It is hard now to convey the shocking originality of Cracker, the 1990s ITV crime series that helped redefine the genre and bring some genuine unpredictability and real edge to Monday-night, peak-time TV.
At a stroke, Cracker made a star of man mountain Robbie Coltrane, previously known for his work in lighter fare such as the BBC Two series Tutti Frutti, in which he plays the singer in a Scottish rock ’n’ roll band alongside Emma Thompson and Richard Wilson.
It is hard to think of another great BBC sitcom blessed by such a strong pedigree as that of Blackadder. Running over four series, spanning 1983 to 1989 – plus the occasional special – the creators and stars of this comic masterpiece read like a roll call of late-20th-century British screen talent.
The RTS award-winning actor will front the new Crime + Investigation series Robbie Coltrane’s Critical Evidence.
The eight-part series will look at some of the toughest murder cases that investigators face, with no suspect, no leads, and sometimes no body.
Each episode will analyse a different complex case investigated by the British police and how they resolved the difficult investigation.
“We all knew the gravity of what we were taking on,” says Jack Thorne, the screenwriter of Channel 4’s powerful drama National Treasure.
The show follows fictional light entertainment star Paul Finchley (RTS Award nominee Robbie Coltrane), who is accused of raping a 15-year-old girl many years earlier.
The show, coming from Finchley’s perspective, looks at the impact of the accusation, not only on the victim, but also on the accused and their family.
At an event this morning, hosted by Countryfile’s Anita Rani, the nominees were announced, including National Treasure stars Julie Walters and Robbie Coltrane for Actor (Female) and Actor (Male) respectively, TV duo Ant and Dec for Entertainment Performance, and Bake Off’s Nadiya Hussein for Breakthrough Award.
