A New Lease of Death

• Episode 12 / Series 4
• Filmed on location in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight in February 1991
• First transmitted on the ITV network in three parts in September-October 1991
• Adapted from the Ruth Rendell novel by Peter Berry
• Directed by Herbert Wise ¹
• Produced by Television South ²
• DVD

Herbert Painter was hanged for the brutal murder of his ninety-year-old employer. The chief investigating officer was Reg Wexford, a young detective sergeant in charge of his first murder case. Thirty years later, the Reverend Henry Archery arrives in Kingsmarkham, determined to prove that Painter was innocent.

Credits

DCI Wexford

George Baker

DI Burden

Christopher Ravenscroft

Dora Wexford

Louie Ramsay

Jenny Burden

Diane Keen

Rev Henry Archery

Peter Egan

Imogen Ide

Sharon Maughan

Roger Primero

Denis Lil

Elizabeth Crilling

Suzanna Hamilton

Mrs Crilling

Dorothy Tutin ³

Alice Flower

Maggie Jones ⁴

Tessa Kershaw

Jenny Quayle

Charles Archery

Robin McCallum ⁵

Young Elizabeth Crilling

Kristy Bruce

Mrs Crilling (1959)

Amanda Waring

Irene Painter (1959)

Sarah Webb

Herbert Painter

Trevor Sellers

Prosecuting Counsel

Sean Scanlon ⁶

Justice Brompton

Graham Rowe ⁷

Sgt Willoughby

Colin Campbell ⁸

DS Martin

Ken Kitson

Irene Kershaw

Anna Cropper ⁹

Mr Kershaw

Michael Turner ¹⁰

Angela Primero

Cissy Collins

Isabel Primero

Tina Marian

Magistrate

Ruth Trouncer

Sister

Kate Lansbury ¹¹

Colonel Plashet

John Horsley ¹²

Waitress

Eileen Davies

Priest

John Evitts

Pub Landlord

Robert Oates

Court Clerk

Richard Cubison

Estate Agent

Reuben Purchase

Script Executive

Corinne Cartier ¹³

Original music composed by

Brian Bennett

Casting Director

Doreen Jones ¹⁴

Stunt Co-ordinator

Tip Tipping ¹⁵

Production Manager

Graeme MacArthur

Location Manager

Ian Strachan

1st Assistant Director

Francesco Reidy

Continuity

Sian Prosser

Production Secretaries

Sue Bailey, Cathie Willcocks

Stage Manager

Mike Fisher

Production Buyer

Graham Curtis

Graphic Designer

John Hamon

Costume Designer

Jan Collins

Makeup Supervisor

Toni Holmes

Camera Grip

Alan Imeson

Designer

Christine Ruscoe

Dubbing Mixer

Tony Cunningham

Dubbing Editor

Peter Dansie

Sound Recordist

Maurice Hillier

Lighting Cameraman

Michael D Smith

Film Editor

Christopher Wentzell

Executive Producer

Graham Benson

Producer

Neil Zeiger

Soundtrack

• Wexford’s Theme
• A New Lease of Death
• Wexford’s Theme (Reprise)

Notes

• The Wexford soundtrack was composed, performed, arranged and produced by Brian Bennett at Honeyhill Studios in Hertfordshire.

• George Baker shed more than years when asked to play a young Wexford in the first part. George lost nearly 20lbs before filming began in February.

• The younger Mrs Crilling, shown in flashbacks to 1959, is played by Dame Dorothy Tutin’s daughter Amanda Waring.

• The Reverend Archery’s son is played by Robin McCallum, who went on to play the pathologist, Mr Mavrikiev, in Simisola and Road Rage.

• Wexford travels to the Isle of Wight to interview Colonel Plashet. He and Dora later discuss the Painter case at St. Catherine’s Lighthouse at the southern tip of the island.

Footnotes

1. Herbert Wise 1931-2016: obituary by Philip Purser, The Guardian. ↩︎

2. Television South, Wikipedia. ↩︎

3. Dame Dorothy Tutin 1931-2001: obituary by Lyn Gardner, The Guardian. ↩︎

4. Maggie Jones 1934-2009: obituary by Anthony Hayward, The Guardian. ↩︎

5. Robin McCallum 1961-2022, Wikipedia. ↩︎

6. Sean Scanlan 1948-2017, Wikipedia. ↩︎

7. Graham Rowe 1926-2001, IMDb. ↩︎

8. Colin Campbell 1937-2018, Wikipedia. ↩︎

9. Anna Cropper 1938-2007: obituary by Philip Purser, The Guardian. ↩︎

10. Michael Turner 1921-2012, IMDb. ↩︎

11. Kate Lansbury 1940-2018, IMDb. ↩︎

12. John Horsley 1920-2014, Wikipedia. ↩︎

13. Corinne Cartier 1955-2015, NFTS. ↩︎

14. Doreen Jones 1940-2017: obituary by Derek Granger, The Guardian. ↩︎

15. Tip Tipping 1958-1993, Wikipedia. ↩︎