| Inspector George Gently | |
|---|---|
| Starring |
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| Country of origin | UK |
| Language(s) | English |
| No. of series | 4 |
| No. of episodes | 11 (List of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Location(s) | Ireland, Durham City |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | BBC |
| Original airing | 8 April 2007 |
Inspector George Gently (simply called George Gently for the pilot and first series) is a British television series produced by Company Pictures for BBC One, set in the 1960s and based on the Inspector Gently novels by Alan Hunter and featuring Martin Shaw as the eponymous inspector, Lee Ingleby as Detective Sergeant John Bacchus and Simon Hubbard as PC Taylor at the police station front desk. It moved the setting of the stories to Northumberland and County Durham from the Norfolk portrayed in the books. In January 2010 it was announced that the BBC had secured funding from the North East Content Fund to produce further episodes of the detective drama. Series 4 was filmed from early to mid 2011 and shown that autumn.
Contents |
| № | # | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | UK viewers (millions)[1] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | "George Gently" | Euros Lyn | Peter Flannery | 8 April 2007 | 6.33 |
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Following the murder of his wife by notorious gangster Joe Webster, Inspector George Gently is pondering retirement. When he hears about a murder in Northumberland that sounds like Webster's handiwork, he delays his retirement to take on this one last case. Paired with local detective DS John Bacchus, he must track down Webster, while at the same time trying to deal with his headstrong young assistant and keep him on the straight and narrow. Adapted from the novel Gently Go Man, published in 1961. |
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| № | # | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | UK viewers (millions)[1] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 1 | "The Burning Man" | Ciaran Donnelly | Peter Flannery | 13 July 2008 | 4.80 |
| After an unidentified badly burnt body is found near an RAF base, Gently works alongside Special Branch officers who suspect the victim was involved with the IRA. However, the discovery that a large cache of guns has gone missing turns the case into a hostage situation. | ||||||
| 3 | 2 | "Bomber's Moon" | Ciaran Donnelly | Peter Flannery | 20 July 2008 | 4.59 |
| When the beaten body of wealthy German businessman Gunter Schmeikel is discovered in the harbour, Gently and Bacchus are forced to consider whether a barman's anti-German sentiments are a motive for murder. However, the case takes a sinister turn when a key witness to Schmeikel's death is revealed to be a killer trained by Army Special Forces. | ||||||
| № | # | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | UK viewers (millions)[1] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | 1 | "Gently with the Innocents" | Daniel O'Hara | Mick Ford | 3 May 2009 | 6.47 |
| When an old man is killed in his dilapidated mansion, Gently and Bacchus dig deeper into the history of the former children's home and soon have their prime suspect, Harry Carson, a man who once lived there. But it becomes clear that some of the locals, including property developer Cora Davidson, have something to hide. | ||||||
| 5 | 2 | "Gently in the Night" | Daniel O'Hara | Peter Flannery | 10 May 2009 | 5.81 |
| Bacchus and Gently hunt for the murderer of a woman whose body is discovered in a local church. As the investigation progresses, it turns out the victim was a waitress working at the first hostess club in Newcastle - a club that has greatly upset the local religious community. | ||||||
| 6 | 3 | "Gently in the Blood" | Ciaran Donnelly | Peter Flannery | 17 May 2009 | 6.02 |
| Bacchus and Gently investigate a consignment of stolen passports, but the case takes an unexpected turn when a woman linked to the crime is found dead on the seashore with her mixed-race baby lying next to her. As the cops follow a lead on the murder victim's ex-boyfriend, they encounter racial prejudice and are drawn into an underground world of gang wars within the Arab community. | ||||||
| 7 | 4 | "Gently Through the Mill" | Ciaran Donnelly | Mick Ford | 24 May 2009 | 5.17 |
| Bacchus and Gently arrive in a small town to investigate when a mill manager is found hanged in what seems to be a suicide case. However, the detectives begin to suspect foul play as they discover money has gone missing and the widow reveals her husband was having an affair. | ||||||
| № | # | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | UK viewers (millions)[1] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 | 1 | "Gently Evil" | Daniel O'Hara | Peter Flannery | 26 September 2010 | 5.93 |
| A young woman's body is found in a seemingly idyllic Northumberland coastal village in 1966, and the subsequent investigation leads Gently and Bacchus to suspect the victim's estranged husband is responsible for the killing. However, they soon come to realise her disturbed family is hiding an even more shocking secret. | ||||||
| 9 | 2 | "Peace and Love" | Daniel O'Hara | Jimmy Gardner | 3 October 2010 | 5.52 |
| In the summer of 1966, the Northumbrian police come under increasing media scrutiny, as Sunderland prepares to host a World Cup match involving the USSR, while campaigners protest against the proposed landing of the Polaris nuclear submarine at Jarrow docks. When an academic is found dead after a CND rally, Gently and Bacchus are dispatched to Durham University to investigate his background - and find themselves in the midst of a wave of social and sexual rebellion. | ||||||
| № | # | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | UK viewers (millions)[1] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | 1 | "Gently Upside Down" | Nicholas Renton | Peter Flannery & Stewart Harcourt | 4 September 2011 | 7.09 |
| A schoolgirl's killing brings Gently into the alien world of pop and media celebrity when it turns out the victim's best friend is a rising TV star. Bacchus suspects the dead girl's music teacher, since rumours persist that she was having an affair with him. But when it seems everyone has a different opinion of the girl, Gently must uncover these different faces to get to the truth of her murder. | ||||||
| 11 | 2 | "Goodbye China" | Gillies MacKinnon | Peter Flannery | 11 September 2011 | 7.20 |
| The detective looks into the suspicious death of old friend and informant China, when he is told conflicting reasons for the man's demise by the coroner and the nurse who tended him in his final few hours. The investigation leads him to the local police station, where it becomes clear the officers are hiding something - and to complicate matters, the disappearance of a teenage boy is also linked to the case. | ||||||
In Australia, George Gently originally aired on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's ABC1 from August 2009 and on UKTV from 16 May.
In Norway, the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation's NRK 1 started showing George Gently on Sunday 6 September 2009.
In Germany, the pilot and series one were shown by ZDF (Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen) in June 2009. Further series will be shown from May 2011.
In Belgium, the pilot was shown by Canvas (Belgium) on 31 October 2009.
In the Netherlands, the pilot was shown by KRO on 27 January 2010.
In Canada, the pilot was shown by Knowledge (TV channel) on 30 May 2010.
In India, BBC Entertainment started showing the series in September 2010.
In Japan, the pilot was shown by AXN Mystery on 22 April 2010.
In France the pilot was shown by France 3 on 13 March 2011.
In Estonia the pilot was shown by ETV on 10 April 2011.