Watching the Detectives: A History of British TV Crime Fighters by Pete Allen - Basingstoke Discovery Centre - Saturday 26th October 2024 - 12.00pm

Join this special speaker event as part of 'Only Murders in the Library', a crime writing festival at Basingstoke Discovery Centre.

Murder! It’s not big and it’s not clever. But without it our little grey cells would have missed some of the most popular television programmes to ever grace the small screen. This Talk walks the beat through the quiet lanes of St Mary Mead, the golden spires of Oxford and the killing fields of Midsomer. On the way it unearths the clues that reveal how our fascination with the long arm of the law owes much to the uncertainty, experimentation and innovation of the early days of television and reveals who has kept us obsessed with crime dramas for over 80 years.

Pete Allen is the Director of The RC Sherriff Trust, a charity set up through the Will of the playwright and author RC Sherriff. Prior to this he was The Arts Development Officer for Elmbridge Borough Council where he was responsible for The Royston Pike Lecture Series. Previous to his work with Elmbridge Borough Council, Pete was co-founder and artistic director of WhirlygigArts which ran CRYPT (Cranleigh Young People’s Theatre), CMYT (Chequer Mead Youth Theatre) and The Big Picture Young People’s Film Workshop. He co-founded Storm the Stage Young People’s Theatre for Mole Valley District Council and was the Director of The Together in Waddon Community Project. He has also worked extensively as a professional theatre director and film-maker.