Caught in a Trap

The ITV 1 drama Caught in a Trap was a crime story, although not a mystery, and I enjoyed it a lot. It starred Connie Fisher, previously known to me only as a singer who won a talent contest on the BBC, playing the part of Gemma Perkins, a council worker who falsifies the takings from local parking meters to fund her craving for memorabilia connected with Elvis Presley.

The impressive script, by James Graham (a young writer who is definitely a name to watch, if this is anything to go by) was inspired by a true crime. A distinction is drawn between a script ‘inspired by’ real events and those ‘based on’ those events. It seems that Graham was much taken with the essence of a story, rather than the details, and his approach seems very sensible to me.

The real life case was that of Julie Wall, a North Kesteven council employee in her 40s, reportedly a ‘mild and modest’ individual who stole over half a million pounds, mainly on Elvis-related stuff before getting her inevitable come-uppance. The fictional Gemma was an attractive 28 year old. Connie Fisher played her very well, in an under-stated yet compelling way, and was admirably supported by a strong cast, including two actors of exceptional gifts, Jim Carter and Geraldine James.

Needless to say, the drama featured a lot of Elvis songs – including two which provided titles for books in my Harry Devlin series. One was The Devil in Disguise, and the other my favourite Elvis song, Suspicious Minds – from which the highly appropriate ‘caught in a trap’ title comes.