Shake Hands for Ever
Episode 3 / Series 1
First transmitted in three parts in 1988
Directed by Don Leaver 2
A Television South Production
Wexford is a bit susceptible to the female allure. In Shake Hands for Ever, there is a character called Nancy Lake, who rather fancies him, and he seems to reciprocate. I had letters from people wanting to know if they went to bed together. I had to reply that I didn’t know, as Ruth Rendell leaves the question unanswered. But, personally, I don’t think he’d ever be unfaithful to Dora.
Wexford knows who killed Angela Hathall, but a lack of tangible evidence leaves the Chief Inspector open to accusations of harassment as he pursues the suspect.
Undeterred, he embarks on an unofficial investigation, desperate to find the proof he needs before the murderer escapes justice.
Credits
- DCI Wexford
- George Baker
- DI Burden
- Christopher Ravenscroft
- Dora Wexford
- Louie Ramsay
- Robert Hathall
- Tom Wilkinson
- Chief Supt Howard Fortune
- Patrick Drury
- Nancy Lake
- June Ritchie
- Chief Constable Griswold
- Michael Byrne
- Chief Insp. Jack ‘Brock’ Lovat
- Fred Pearson
- Mr Aveney
- Geoffrey Beevers
- John Oldsbury
- Julian Firth
- Flat Landlord
- Anthony Douse 3
- Denise Fortune
- Sheila Ruskin
- DS Martin
- Ken Kitson
- Airport Inspector
- Robert Swann 4
- Mrs Hathall
- Margery Mason 5
- Eileen Hathall
- Maggie Ollerenshaw
- Rosemary Hathall
- Joanne Robertson
- Tommy Matthews
- Barry James
- Linda Kipling
- Sandra Butterworth
- Marie Marcovitch
- Magdalena Buznea
- William Butler
- Hugh Cross 6
- Mark Somerset
- Bernard Holley 7
- Valerie Snyder
- Marie Stillin
- Coroner
- Peter Baldwin 8
- Barman
- Bunny Maynard 9
- Angela Hathall
- Susan Derrick
- Solicitor
- Peter Penry-Jones 10
- Mrs Letherbridge
- Doreen Andrew 11
- Bernard
- Gertan Klauber 12
- Production Manager
- Ian Scaife
- 1st Assistant Director
- James Greville
- 2nd Assistant Director
- Stephanie Sullivan
- Location Manager
- Bill Slark
- Stage Manager
- Mike Fisher
- P.A./Continuity
- Anne Craft
- Production Secretary
- Jill Partington
- Music composed by
- Brian Bennett
- Script Executive
- Corinne Cartier 13
- Costume Designer
- Serena Brown
- Makeup
- Anne Townley
- Graphic Designer
- Freddie Triccas
- Designer
- Christine Ruscoe
- Production Buyer
- Ray Warwick
- Sound Recordist
- Mike Sale
- Dubbing Mixer
- Tony Cunningham
- Dubbing Editor
- Mark Thomas
- Chargehand Electrician
- Mike Hopley
- Camera Grip
- Alan Imeson
- Focus Puller
- Mike Spragg
- Camera Operator
- Julian Barber
- Lighting Cameraman
- Mike Smith
- 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 St Mary’s area in Southampton was used for many of the external London scenes.
The success of the Wexford series led to George Baker being invited onto the Southampton General Hospital MRI scanner fund-raising committee. The committee went on to raise £2.5 million in eighteen months.
Footnotes
Don Leaver 1929 - 2015: obituary by Toby Hadoke, The Guardian. ↩︎
Margery Mason 1913 - 2014: obituary by Roger Turner, The Guardian. ↩︎
Bernard Holley 1940 - 2021: obituary by Toby Hadoke, The Guardian. ↩︎
Peter Baldwin 1933 - 2015: obituary by Anthony Hayward, The Guardian. ↩︎
Doreen Andrew 1923 - 2017: obituary by Richard Digby Day, The Guardian. ↩︎
Gertan Klauber 1932 - 2008: obituary by Gavin Gaughan, The Guardian. ↩︎