Kissing the Gunner's Daughter
- Episode 20 / Series 5
- First transmitted in four parts in 1992
- Adapted from the novel by Matthew Jacobs
- Directed by Mary McMurray
- A Blue Heaven Production for TVS
- DVD
We had a lot of night shooting in the woods. I think it was September-October time and the rains came. The lane that we were shooting on was covered in leaves. So not only did the actors and the crew slip everywhere, quite a lot of the cars skidded away as well. And in the middle of the night, it’s no fun if you are really wet and the car suddenly slides off the bank and comes straight at you when it’s not supposed to do so, and you’re not a stuntman. It’s quite unnerving.
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 several 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, the country home of the novelist Davina Flory.
Credits
- DCI Wexford
- George Baker
- DI Burden
- Christopher Ravenscroft
- Dora Wexford
- Louie Ramsay
- Jenny Burden
- Diane Keenan
- 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 2
- Dr Basil Sumner-Quist
- Anthony Higginson
- Ken Harrison
- Colin McCormack 3
- John Gabbitas
- Robert Morgan
- Newscaster
- Fern Britton
- Gunner Jones
- Billy Murray
- Ed Martin
- Harry Peacock
- Jem Hacking
- Joseph Peters
- Andy Griffin
- James Rylands
- Alan Rodgers
- Howard Southern 4
- Augustus Casey
- John Warnaby
- Mrs Chowney
- Peggy Ann Wood 5
- Restaurant Manager
- Charles Collingwood
- Original music composed by
- Brian Bennett
- Production Associate
- George Baker
- Casting Director
- Doreen Jones 6
- 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
- Makeup
- 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
- 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
Soundtrack
- Wexford’s Theme
- Kissing the Gunner’s Daughter
- Wexford’s Theme (Reprise)
Notes
The Wexford soundtrack was composed, performed, arranged and produced by Brian Bennett at Honeyhill Studios in Hertfordshire. Recorded and mixed by Dick Plant.
Kissing the Gunner’s Daughter was filmed on location at Redlynch House near Salisbury 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.
Footnotes
Wexford and Me: Best Location, ITV3, 3 October 2008. ↩︎
John Burgess 1933-2010: obituary by Mike Leigh, The Guardian. ↩︎
Colin McCormack 1941-2004: obituary by Kevin Rea, The Guardian. ↩︎
Doreen Jones 1940-2017: obituary by Derek Granger, The Guardian. ↩︎