A Sleeping Life
- Episode 6 / series 2
- Filmed on location in the Test Valley, London and Normandy in February 1989
- First transmitted on the ITV network in three parts in November 1989
- Adapted from the Ruth Rendell novel by Roger Marshall 1
- Directed by Bill Hays 2
- Produced by Television South 3
- VHS
Wexford and I went over to Honfleur to film some of A Sleeping Life. We hugely enjoyed the Normandy lobsters, oysters, sea urchins and crab, the Langue de Boeuf and the Tripes à la mode de Caen.
The body of Rhoda Comfrey is found on a lonely canal towpath. Subsequent investigations reveal very little about the dead woman or her life. The only clue is a wallet belonging to historical novelist Grenville West that leads Wexford firstly to London and then to France.
Credits
- DCI Wexford
- George Baker
- DI Burden
- Christopher Ravenscroft
- Dora Wexford
- Louie Ramsay
- Polly Flinders
- Imelda Staunton
- Lilian Crown
- Sylvia Syms 5
- Chief Constable Freeborn
- Dave Hill
- Malina Patel
- Mamta Kaash
- Chief Supt Howard Fortune
- Patrick Drury
- DI Baker
- William Simons 6
- Commissaire Laquin
- Olivier Pierre 7
- Sylvia Fairfax
- Charon Bourke
- Neil Fairfax
- James Fleet
- Victor Vivian
- Niall Buggy
- DS Martin
- Ken Kitson
- Dr Len Crocker
- John Burgess 8
- Alex
- George Rossi 9
- Mrs Cohen
- Lesley Joseph
- Rose Farriner
- Linda Marlowe
- Hetherington
- Iain Mitchell
- Sheila Wexford
- Deborah Poplett
- Charles West
- Neil McCaul
- Stella Parker
- Caroline Berry
- Brian Parker
- Mark Aspinall
- Rhoda Comfrey
- Su Douglas
- Shop Assistant
- Richard Dixon
- Crossdresser
- Liz Kettle
- Hospital Secretary
- Josie Kidd 10
- Clerk of the Court
- Peter Harri
- Sgt Clements
- Gordon Kane
- Robin Fairfax
- Matthew Grundy
- Production Manager
- Lars MacFarlane 11
- 1st Assistant Director
- John Wright
- 2nd Assistant Director
- Stephanie Sullivan
- Location Manager
- Graeme MacArthur
- P.A./Continuity
- Gillian Wheeler
- Stage Manager
- Mike Fisher
- Production Secretary
- Theresa Smith
- Original music composed by
- Brian Bennett
- Script Executive
- Corinne Cartier 12
- Casting Director
- Doreen Jones 13
- Dialect Coach
- Joan Washington 14
- Costume
- Serena Brown
- Makeup
- Anne Townley
- Graphic Design
- Freddie Triccas
- Designer
- Mark Ward
- Production Buyer
- Alan Bates
- Technical Supervisor
- Roger Chambers
- Chief Electrician
- Steve Williams
- Camera Grip
- Steve Imeson
- Sound Recordist
- A. Graham Fitzgerald
- Dubbing Mixer
- Danny Curtis
- Dubbing Editor
- Mark Thomas
- Camera Operator
- Julian Barber
- Lighting Director
- Brian Turner
- Videotape Editor
- Christopher Wentzell
- Executive Producer
- Graham Benson
- Producer
- Neil Zeiger
Soundtrack
Notes
-
The Wexford soundtrack was composed, performed, arranged and produced by Brian Bennett at Honeyhill Studios in Hertfordshire.
-
The Watercress Line in Alresford was used as the setting for Kingsmarkham railway station.
-
Wexford and Burden are seen investigating Grenville West’s life at the Barkston Gardens Hotel in Earl’s Court.
-
The interior shots of the Old Vic were filmed at The Kings Theatre in Southsea.
-
Wexford dines with Commissaire Laquin at Le Vieux Honfleur.
Footnotes
Bill Hays 1938-2006: obituary by Alan Plater, The Guardian. ↩︎
George Baker, A Cook for all Seasons (Boxtree, 1989), p.120 ↩︎
Sylvia Syms 1934-2023: obituary by Andrew Pulver, The Guardian. ↩︎
William Simons 1940-2018: obituary by Anthony Haywood, The Guardian. ↩︎
John Burgess 1933-2010: obituary by Mike Leigh, The Guardian. ↩︎
George Rossi 1961-2022, Independent. ↩︎
Doreen Jones 1940-2017: obituary by Derek Granger, The Guardian. ↩︎