Deadheading [Dci Alma Blair]

Episode

First
Broadcast

Repeated

Comments

20140609

20181020 (BBC7)
20181021 (BBC7)

Best selling crime writer Val McDermid turns to comedy capers among the carrots, as we rummage through the undergrowth of a murder on the allotments. Starring Julie Hesmondhalgh and Miriam Margolyes.

It's a case for Detective Chief Inspector Alma Blair, the Alpha Detective, her sergeant Jason Trotter, and Jo Blake the crime scene manager. Watch how the women behave towards each other. Rivals? Not quite. There may even be a barely detectable flirtatiousness between them.

In Episode 1 a body is found on an allotment in Cranby

Directed and Produced by Justine Potter

A Savvy Production for BBC Radio 4.

Comic capers amongst the carrots when a body is found on an allotment.

20140610

20181027 (BBC7)
20181028 (BBC7)

Best selling crime writer Val McDermid's comedy detective story of murder on the allotments and a suspect list as long as a prize-winning leak. Starring Julie Hesmondhalgh and Miriam Margolyes.

Humans, like most other animals, are happiest when they are on their home territory. When they are forced into strange places, they always seek out environments that remind them of their own turf. Which is why Detective Sergeant Jason Trotter is still in the pub, a classic habitat of the detective story. Meanwhile, Alpha female DCI Alma Blair is very much in her natural environment. In a police car, with a suspect.

Directed and Produced by Justine Potter

A Savvy Production for BBC Radio 4.

Are there green shoots of love between Alma and Jo?

20140611

20181103 (BBC7)
20181104 (BBC7)

Best selling crime writer Val McDermid's muderous allotment comedy. Julie Hesmondhalgh, Miriam Margolyes and John Hollingworth star in the wild habitat of the detective story, deftly narrated by Jonathan Keeble.

In the animal kingdom, there are a handful of primary directives that supersede everything else. Food, shelter, that kind of thing. In the detective story, it's the same principle. Suspects, motives, interviews. Nobody understands that better than the Alpha lioness of the pride - aka Detective Chief Inspector Alma Blair.

In Episode 3, Alma and Jason follow the money to intrigue on a market veg stall.

Directed and Produced by Justine Potter

A Savvy Production for BBC Radio 4.

Alma and Jason follow the money to find intrigue on a market stall.

20140612

20181110 (BBC7)
20181111 (BBC7)

Fear stalks the herd when there's a predator on the loose in Val McDermid's comedy detective story starring Julie Hesmondhalgh and Miriam Margolyes. And with only two episodes to go, surely we must be getting nearer to solving the crime?

This fourth episode builds to the moment of truth when the suspects are invited to turn on each other. The unravelling of the detective story so often depends on one person betraying another. It's one of the things this species is particularly adept at.

Directed and Produced by Justine Potter

A Savvy Production for BBC Radio 4.

Fear stalks the herd. Is the case nearing its end?

20140613

20181124 (BBC7)
20181125 (BBC7)

And so, Val McDermid's crime comedy draws to a climax in the traditional mode of the detective story. The date of Friday 13th adds to the air of danger and mystery - almost as if it was planned that way.

As the suspense builds. What, we ask ourselves, what is that unfamiliar sound? Is it a mating cry? An alarm call?

In the wild, hunters have to rely on their tracking skills - their eyesight, their hearing, their knowledge of their environment and their experience. Luckily for Detective Sergeant Trotter, he has something more sophisticated to count on.

There's nothing quite like a good murder - apart, of course, from another good murder in a second series....

Cast:

DSI Alma Blair......................Julie Hesmondhalgh

DS Jason Trotter..................John Hollingworth

CSM Jo Blake.......................Miriam Margolyes

Narrator / Brian Masters......Jonathan Keeble

Eric Ollerinshaw..................Alan Rothwell

PC Sparks / Claire...............Victoria Brazier

Directed and Produced by Justine Potter

A Savvy Production for BBC Radio 4

Val McDermid's comedy draws to a climax in the traditional mode of the detective story.

Episodes

Episode	First Broadcast	Repeated	Comments
01	20140609	20181020 (BBC7) 20181021 (BBC7)	Best selling crime writer Val McDermid turns to comedy capers among the carrots, as we rummage through the undergrowth of a murder on the allotments. Starring Julie Hesmondhalgh and Miriam Margolyes. It's a case for Detective Chief Inspector Alma Blair, the Alpha Detective, her sergeant Jason Trotter, and Jo Blake the crime scene manager. Watch how the women behave towards each other. Rivals? Not quite. There may even be a barely detectable flirtatiousness between them. In Episode 1 a body is found on an allotment in Cranby Directed and Produced by Justine Potter A Savvy Production for BBC Radio 4. Comic capers amongst the carrots when a body is found on an allotment.
02	20140610	20181027 (BBC7) 20181028 (BBC7)	Best selling crime writer Val McDermid's comedy detective story of murder on the allotments and a suspect list as long as a prize-winning leak. Starring Julie Hesmondhalgh and Miriam Margolyes. Humans, like most other animals, are happiest when they are on their home territory. When they are forced into strange places, they always seek out environments that remind them of their own turf. Which is why Detective Sergeant Jason Trotter is still in the pub, a classic habitat of the detective story. Meanwhile, Alpha female DCI Alma Blair is very much in her natural environment. In a police car, with a suspect. Directed and Produced by Justine Potter A Savvy Production for BBC Radio 4. Are there green shoots of love between Alma and Jo?
03	20140611	20181103 (BBC7) 20181104 (BBC7)	Best selling crime writer Val McDermid's muderous allotment comedy. Julie Hesmondhalgh, Miriam Margolyes and John Hollingworth star in the wild habitat of the detective story, deftly narrated by Jonathan Keeble. In the animal kingdom, there are a handful of primary directives that supersede everything else. Food, shelter, that kind of thing. In the detective story, it's the same principle. Suspects, motives, interviews. Nobody understands that better than the Alpha lioness of the pride - aka Detective Chief Inspector Alma Blair. In Episode 3, Alma and Jason follow the money to intrigue on a market veg stall. Directed and Produced by Justine Potter A Savvy Production for BBC Radio 4. Alma and Jason follow the money to find intrigue on a market stall.
04	20140612	20181110 (BBC7) 20181111 (BBC7)	Fear stalks the herd when there's a predator on the loose in Val McDermid's comedy detective story starring Julie Hesmondhalgh and Miriam Margolyes. And with only two episodes to go, surely we must be getting nearer to solving the crime? This fourth episode builds to the moment of truth when the suspects are invited to turn on each other. The unravelling of the detective story so often depends on one person betraying another. It's one of the things this species is particularly adept at. Directed and Produced by Justine Potter A Savvy Production for BBC Radio 4. Fear stalks the herd. Is the case nearing its end?
05	20140613	20181124 (BBC7) 20181125 (BBC7)	And so, Val McDermid's crime comedy draws to a climax in the traditional mode of the detective story. The date of Friday 13th adds to the air of danger and mystery - almost as if it was planned that way. As the suspense builds. What, we ask ourselves, what is that unfamiliar sound? Is it a mating cry? An alarm call? In the wild, hunters have to rely on their tracking skills - their eyesight, their hearing, their knowledge of their environment and their experience. Luckily for Detective Sergeant Trotter, he has something more sophisticated to count on. There's nothing quite like a good murder - apart, of course, from another good murder in a second series.... Cast: DSI Alma Blair......................Julie Hesmondhalgh DS Jason Trotter..................John Hollingworth CSM Jo Blake.......................Miriam Margolyes Narrator / Brian Masters......Jonathan Keeble Eric Ollerinshaw..................Alan Rothwell PC Sparks / Claire...............Victoria Brazier Directed and Produced by Justine Potter A Savvy Production for BBC Radio 4 Val McDermid's comedy draws to a climax in the traditional mode of the detective story.