Prime Suspect - 1991 TV review

I remember being gripped by Prime Suspect when Lynda LaPlante's story first aired on TV. It was something fresh in British television, combing a strong story with insight into the sexist world of Met Police detective work at the time. The masterstroke was the casting of Helen Mirren as DCI Jane Tennison, the tough and ambitious cop who takes on the men at their own game. She was - as usual - superb.

The storyline is quite straightforward, for this is not a cerebral whodunit, but rather a cat and mouse story in which the police are confident about the identity of a sadistic serial killer, but struggle to put together the case against him. Jane is parachuted into the investigation when the SIO suffers a fatal heart attack. Her involvement is unpopular, and in Tom Bell, playing DS Otley, she has a formidable adversary. 

The bad guy is played by John Bowe, an actor I always liked. For some years I hoped he might be cast as Harry Devlin - he comes from Merseyside and had the right looks and, I thought, personality for the part. But it was not to be. Here he is compelling as the charming psychopath George Marlow. Zoe Wanamaker, in an early role, is very effective indeed as his 'common law wife', and plays a crucial role as events unfold. I had the pleasure of chatting to Zoe a couple of times recently and I found her as delightful in person as she is on the screen.

The supporting cast is strong - there's a small early role for Ralph Fiennes, and he makes the most of it. Tom Wilkinson, as always, puts in a powerful performance as Jane's long-suffering bloke, while John Benfield captures the ambivalence of Superintendent Kernan, who isn't as supportive of Jane as he likes to pretend. What struck me particularly on watching Prime Suspect again is how well it has aged. It's still an impressive piece of work.