When DS Caleb Martin confiscates a replica gun from his son’s school briefcase, he innocently triggers a tragic chain of events that leads to a number of deaths including his own. The off–duty police officer is callously gunned down in a Kingsmarkham bank during an armed raid that baffles his colleagues. The murder weapon is never found. Six months later, three people are murdered during a bloody massacre at Tancred House, home of the novelist Davina Flory…

  • Kissing the Gunner’s Daughter was filmed on location in the Hampshire village of Breamore and is the final title produced for TVS.
  • Jacqueline Defferary left her course at drama school to accept the role of Daisy: I couldn’t believe it when I was given the part. I couldn’t have asked for a better first job.

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Related Books

Book jacket image
  • Published by Hutchinson in 1992
  • At the end of the novel, Wexford explains to Burden the meaning of the expression Kissing the gunner’s daughter is a dangerous enterprise: It means being flogged. When they were going to flog a man in the Royal Navy they first tied him to a cannon on the deck. Kissing the gunner’s daughter was therefore a dangerous enterprise…
  • The character Barry Vine, a reference to Rendell’s alter ego, was created in her honour by the novelist Julian Barnes. 1
Footnotes
  1. The Seattle Times, 2 June 1992. ↩

Cast + Credits

  • DCI Wexford

    George Baker

  • DI Burden

    Christopher Ravenscroft

  • Dora Wexford

    Louie Ramsay

  • Jenny Burden

    Diane Keen

  • Daisy Flory

    Jacqueline Defferary

  • DS Barry Vine

    Sean Pertwee

  • DS Martin

    Ken Kitson

  • Nicholas Virson

    Steven MacKintosh

  • Mrs Virson

    Anne Reid

  • Bib Mew

    Jacqueline Tong

  • DC Karen Malahyde

    Sasha Mitchell

  • Joanna Garland

    Bernice Stegers

  • Sylvia Fairfax

    Charon Bourke

  • Sheila Wexford

    Deborah Poplett

  • Jonathan Hogarth

    Nigel Whitmey

  • Ishbel MacSamphire

    Julia Wallace

  • Brenda Harrison

    Susan Brown

  • Dr Crocker

    John Burgess

  • Dr Basil Sumner-Quist

    Anthony Higginson

  • Ken Harrison

    Colin McCormack

  • John Gabbitas

    Robert Morgan

  • Gunner Jones

    Billy Murray

  • Ed Martin

    Harry Peacock

  • Jem Hacking

    Joseph Peters

  • Andy Griffin

    James Ryland

  • Alan Rodgers

    Howard Southern

  • Augustus Casey

    John Warnaby

  • Mrs Chowney

    Peggy Ann Wood

  • Restaurant Manager

    Charles Collingwood

  • Original music composed by

    Brian Bennett

  • Production Associate

    George Baker

  • Casting Director

    Doreen Jones

  • Cat trained by

    Ann Head (Animalation)

  • Stunt Arranger

    Denise Ryan

  • Stunt Drivers

    Nick Wilkinson
    Paul Jennings
    Mark Southworth
    Sy Hollands

  • Special Effects

    Steve Tomkow

  • Computer Programme Designer

    Josh Sparks

  • Production Manager

    Graeme MacArthur

  • Location Managers

    Tony Annis
    Ian Strachan

  • 1st Assistant Director

    Jon Older

  • 2nd Assistant Director

    Stephanie Sullivan

  • 3rd Assistant Director

    Sarah Baker

  • Continuity

    Gwen Jones

  • Production Co-ordinators

    Catherine Bolwell
    Dawn Mortimer

  • Producer's Secretary

    Lesley Gourlay

  • Costume Designer

    Rita Angell

  • Wardrobe Mistress

    Sheryl Brittain

  • Wardrobe Assistant

    Richard Evans

  • Make Up

    Toni Holmes
    Deborah McKinlay

  • Production Buyer

    Graham Curtis

  • Art Director

    Peter Bull

  • Design Assistant

    Heather Gibson

  • Graphics

    John Hamon

  • Camera Operator

    Julian Barber

  • Focus Puller

    Bruce Barraclough

  • Camera Grip

    Alan Imeson

  • Sound Recordist

    Andrew Boulton

  • Boom Swinger

    Geoff Smith

  • Gaffer Electrician

    John Donoghue

  • Best Boy

    Steve Philps

  • Electricians

    Mick Lay
    Roy Robberts

  • Prop Master

    Paul Kearney

  • Construction

    Colin Bradbury
    Mike Swanston

  • Standby Propmen

    Kenny Palmer
    Lee Rogers

  • Standby Craftsman

    Max Grant

  • Assistant Film Editors

    Jim Lownie
    Steve Crabb

  • Dubbing Editor

    Peter Dansie

  • Assistant Dubbing Editor

    Mark Newson

  • Dubbing Mixer

    Dave Fallon

  • Production Accountant

    Peter Harvey

  • Assistant Accountant

    Guy Huse

  • Music recorded by

    Dick Plant (Honeyhill Studios)

  • Film shot on 16mm

    Eastmancolor

  • Processed by

    Rank Film Labs, Denham

  • Lighting equipment supplied by

    Michael Samuelson Lighting Ltd

  • Grip equipment supplied by

    Snowdonia Films

  • Film Editor

    Christopher Wentzell

  • Production Designer

    Mark Ward

  • Director of Photography

    Nigel Walter

  • Executive Producer

    Graham Benson

  • Producer

    Neil Zeiger

  • Directed by

    Mary McMurray

  • A Blue Heaven Production for

    TVS