Lloyd and Hill - 2001 ITV review

Jill McGown must have been hugely, and deservedly, excited, when ITV filmed her novel A Shred of Evidence as a pilot for a new series called Lloyd and Hill, starring Philip Glenister (prior to his triumphant portrayal of Gene Hunt in Life on Mars) and Michelle Collins, who was already a soap opera star, thanks to Eastenders. The cast also included Hywel Bennett, a terrific actor, in a cameo role as a grumpy pathologist which had quite a bit of potential. 

Richard Maher, the screenwriter, had plenty of experience, with credits including Taggart and Pie in the Sky. He chose not to start with the first novel in the series, A Perfect Match, but rather to refashion a book that appeared twelve years later, thus refashioning things. The story has Judy Hill reuniting with Lloyd after years apart. A flame still burns between them; he has got divorced in the meantime, while she has got married. 

The story involves the murder of a 15 year old schoolgirl. One of her teachers is the prime suspect and his behaviour seems incriminating. But of course, there is more to it than that. The plot is, as usual with McGown, neatly contrived, making maximum use of a limited pool of suspects. The rekindled spark between Lloyd and Hill creates a sort of cliffhanger ending. But regrettably, there were no more shows.

Apparently, this was because the audience figure were so-so and critical reception poor. I suspect there was some prejudice against Michelle Collins because of her soap opera background, but actually she gives a perfectly capable performance. Twenty three years on, some of the attitudes (especially regarding sexual relations with minors) seem inappropriate, but the chemistry between Glenister and Collins would have made the series worth persisting with. The geographical setting of the story is left vague, and this may have been a mistake (compare and contrast the TV treatment of similar police series by Ann Cleeves, in which setting is crucial). Disappointing for the author, but at least she did get her work on the telly! And the books definitely remain worth reading.