The Trial: A Murder in the Family
is a British television
docudrama
, produced by Dragonfly Film and television, that first broadcast on
Channel 4
on 21 May 2017. The five-part series follows a fictional court case in which university lecturer Simon Davis (
Michael Gould
) is tried for the murder of his wife Carla, in an attempt to recreate an accurate portrayal of an
English legal
trial.
Filming and recording of nearly all real court proceedings
in
England and Wales
was prohibited, hence the trial presented cannot be a genuine case.
[1]
However, the prosecuting counsel, defence counsel and judge featured in the series were real professionals; and the jury was made up of twelve members of the British public. The only actors featured were the defendant and other key witnesses.
[2]
The Trial: A Murder in the Family
|
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Genre
| Docudrama
legal drama
|
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Created by
| Nick Holt
|
---|
Written by
| Sarah Quintrell
|
---|
Directed by
| Nick Holt
Kath Mattock
|
---|
Starring
| Michael Gould
Emma Lowndes
Kevin Harvey
Fern Deacon
Farshid Rokey
Max Hill
Michelle Nelson
John Ryder
Lucy Organ
|
---|
Country of origin
| United Kingdom
|
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Original language
| English
|
---|
No.
of series
| 1
|
---|
No.
of episodes
| 5
(
list of episodes
)
|
---|
|
Executive producers
| Emma Loach
Jonathan Smith
|
---|
Producer
| Andrew Litvin
|
---|
Editors
| Ben Brown
Richard Graham
|
---|
Running time
| 60 minutes
|
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Production company
| Dragonfly
|
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|
Network
| Channel 4
|
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Release
| 21 May
?(
2017-05-21
)
??
26 May 2017
?(
2017-05-26
)
|
---|
The series was co-directed by Nick Holt, who won a
BAFTA
in 2013 for the Channel 4 documentary
The Murder Trial
, which followed a very similar format. Holt stated that the new format would "bring audiences closer than ever to those mechanics of a real murder trial." Fellow director Kath Mattock said that; "During rehearsals only three actors knew the truth and we tried to maintain that all the way through the trial. Concepts like 'truth' and 'story' are very subjective in a courtroom, so the trial had a natural fluidity within the confines of the legal process." Although the jury were aware that Davis was played by an actor, they were asked to treat the case as if it was a real trial, and only presented with the evidence as it was revealed in court.
[3]
Max Hill
QC, who appears as the prosecuting barrister in this case, was appointed as the independent reviewer for terrorism laws in the UK shortly before the series was filmed.
[4]
Davis' defence barrister, John Ryder QC, is notable for having played a crucial part in the trial of those suspected of the murder of
Damilola Taylor
.
[5]
- Michael Gould
as Simon Davis
- Emma Lowndes
as Carla Davis
- Kevin Harvey as Lewis Skinner
- Fern Deacon
as Catherine Davis
- Liam Sargeant as Oscar Davis
- Farshid Rokey as Danny Mullen
- Max Hill
QC, Senior Prosecution Barrister
- Michelle Nelson, Junior Prosecution Barrister
- John Ryder QC, Senior Defence Barrister
- Lucy Organ, Junior Defence Barrister
- Brian Barker CBE
QC, Crown Court Judge
- Corrine Bowler as Detective Constable No. 1
- Nina Tanner as Detective Constable No. 2
- Brendan Arndt; Mobile Product Manager
- Tim Hashemi; Student
- Simon Haywood; Security Officer
- James Katz; Barber
- Mark Maylam; Painter and Decorator
- Cherry Morrell; Office Manager
- Natalie Pickup; Teacher
- Martha Vickers; Retired Health Visitor
- Gemma Whitehouse; Hedge Fund Associate
- Christine Bruce-Reid; Housewife
- Lisa; Tax Inspector
- Daniel; Unknown