An Unwanted Woman
Episode 19 / Series 5
First transmitted in two parts in 1992
Adapted from two short stories by Rosemary Anne Sisson 1
Directed by Jenny Wilkes 2
Produced for ITV by A Blue Heaven Production for TVS
You know Mike. I didn’t take it seriously because it was old Arthur who’d been pushed off his bicycle. Now, if a young chap like you had told me that he’d been pushed off his bicycle, I would’ve believed him. But because it was old Arthur, I didn’t, and I should’ve.
Myland Castle has stood for more than 900 years. Now someone—or something—is maliciously pushing cyclists as they ride along the path close to the castle walls. When one of the victims dies, Wexford employs Sgt Martin as bait to catch the killer.
In nearby Castle Road, ninety-two-year-old Ivy Wrangton dies of apparently natural causes. However, district nurse Judith Radcliffe has her doubts. She tells Wexford that she has an instinct for death
and that—despite her age—there was no sign of death in Ivy Wrangton.
This case at first seems as innocuous as the suicide of Ann Waterton, an older woman befriended by lonely teenager Sophie Grant. What can be the dark side of this sweet story? When both cases turn out to be murder, Wexford and Burden discover the real stakes of human feeling involved.
Credits
- DCI Wexford
- George Baker
- DI Burden
- Christopher Ravenscroft
- Dora Wexford
- Louie Ramsay
- Jenny Burden
- Diane Keen
- Sophie
- Claire Woodgate
- Ann Waterton
- Eileen Page
- Hilary Stacey
- Susan Wooldridge
- Ivy Wrangton
- Madeleine Christie 3
- Elsie Parish
- Marjorie Summerville 4
- Car Salesman
- Terry John
- Desmond Stacey
- John Conroy
- Matron
- Tilly Tremayne
- Doreen Betts
- Maggie Holland
- Harry Betts
- Peter Copley5
- Sister
- Barrie Shore
- Peter Renton
- Ian Gelder
- Roy Smith
- Roger Griffiths
- DS Martin
- Ken Kitson
- Dr Crocker
- John Burgess 6
- Dr Moss
- Vincent Regan
- Coroner
- Basil Moss 7
- Original music composed by
- Brian Bennett
- Casting Director
- Doreen Jones 8
- Stunt Arranger
- Terry Forrestal
- Production Manager
- Graeme MacArthur
- 1st Assistant Director
- Phil Hartley
- Production Secretary
- Susan Irish
- Producer’s Secretary
- Catherine Bolwell
- Graphic Designer
- Tim Bernard
- Costume Designer
- Jan Collins
- Makeup Supervisor
- Deborah McKinlay
- Production Buyer
- Graham Curtis
- Designer
- Christine Ruscoe
- Camera Grip
- Alan Imeson
- Sound Recordist
- Maurice Hillier
- Camera Operator
- Julian Barber
- Dubbing Editor
- Peter Dansie
- Dubbing Mixer
- Dave Fallon
- Film Editor
- Nigel Bate
- Lighting Cameraman
- Graham Geddes
- Executive Producer
- Graham Benson
- Producer
- Neil Zeiger
Soundtrack
- Wexford’s Theme
- The Castle
- An Unwanted Woman
- Wexford’s Theme (Reprise)
Notes
An Unwanted Woman was filmed in-house by TVS before Blue Heaven took over production.
Adapted from two Ruth Rendell short stories: An Unwanted Woman and Old Wives’ Tales.
Portchester Castle near Portsmouth was used as the setting for Myland Castle.
The piece sung by the Myringham Choir is an Austrian folk song called La bohème (Faria ho).
Footnotes
Rosemary Anne Sisson 1923-2017: obituary by Anthony Hayward, The Guardian. ↩︎
Jenny Wilkes 1941-2017: obituary by Susan Joekes, The Guardian. ↩︎
John Burgess 1933-2010: obituary by Mike Leigh, The Guardian. ↩︎
Basil Moss 1935-2020: obituary by Anthony Hayward, The Guardian. ↩︎
Doreen Jones 1940-2017: obituary by Derek Granger, The Guardian. ↩︎