| King and Castle | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genre | Crime drama |
| Created by | Ian Kennedy Martin |
| Written by |
|
| Starring |
|
| Theme music composer | Sound Lab |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language | English |
| No. of series | 2 |
| No. of episodes | 12 (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producer | Lloyd Shirley |
| Producers |
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| Cinematography | Philip Blowers |
| Running time | 60 minutes |
| Production company | Thames Television |
| Original release | |
| Network | ITV |
| Release | 20 August 1985 – 14 June 1988 |
King and Castle is a British television crime drama series, made by Thames Television and screened on ITV, that first broadcast on 20 August 1985.[1] The series stars Derek Martin as Ronald King, a Detective Sergeant with the Metropolitan Police, who is obliged to leave the force when he is investigated by the anti-corruption squad. His first venture outside of the police involves setting up his own Debt Collection Agency, known as 'The Manor', where he partners with mild-mannered martial arts expert David Castle (Nigel Planer).
Created by Ian Kennedy Martin,[2] who had previously devised The Sweeney for Thames, along with Juliet Bravo and The Chinese Detective for the BBC, King and Castle started out as an episode of Thames' Storyboard, a series of stand-alone dramas intended as potential pilots for series.[3] Described as a combination of the rough-and-tumble of The Sweeney[4] with the knowing wit of Minder,[5] two series of six episodes each followed in 1986 and 1988. In 1986, a paperback tie-in novel was also released to accompany the first series.[6]
The complete series of King and Castle, including the Storyboard pilot, was released on DVD via Network in April 2011 and July 2012 respectively.
