The Singing Detective
Season: 1
Episode: 1

Skin
Air Date:16/11/1986
Pulp thriller writer Philip Marlow is in hospital with the skin complaint psoriasis, tormented by his past and threatened by his future. His memories, his 1930s-style gumshoe fiction and his disease weave him an altered reality.

Name: Leslie French
Character: Mr Tomkey
Department: Acting

Name: Lyndon Davies
Character: 10-Year-Old Philip
Department: Acting

Name: Geff Francis
Character: Porter
Department: Acting

Name: Patrick Malahide
Character: Mark Binney
Department: Acting

Name: Imelda Staunton
Character: Staff Nurse White
Department: Acting

Name: Simon Chandler
Character: Dr Finlay
Department: Acting

Name: Kate McKenzie
Character: Sonia
Department: Acting

Name: Mary MacLeod
Character: Sister Malone
Department: Acting
Episode: 2

Heat
Air Date:23/11/1986
Dennis Potter's drama about a patient struggling to keep his sanity, with the help of his alter ego, the singing private eye. Marlow faces a talking cure with a psychologist.

Name: Patrick Malahide
Character: Mark Binney / Raymond
Department: Acting

Name: Leslie French
Character: Mr Tomkey
Department: Acting

Name: Lyndon Davies
Character: 10-Year-Old Philip
Department: Acting

Name: Geff Francis
Character: Porter
Department: Acting

Name: Jim Carter
Character: Mr Marlow
Department: Acting

Name: Alison Steadman
Character: Mrs Marlow
Department: Acting

Name: Imelda Staunton
Character: Staff Nurse White
Department: Acting

Name: Janet Henfrey
Character: Schoolteacher
Department: Acting

Name: Simon Chandler
Character: Dr Finlay
Department: Acting

Name: Bill Paterson
Character: Dr Gibbon
Department: Acting

Name: William Speakman
Character: 10-Year-Old Mark
Department: Acting

Name: Charles Simon
Character: George Adams
Department: Acting

Name: Kate McKenzie
Character: Sonia
Department: Acting

Name: Mary MacLeod
Character: Sister Malone
Department: Acting

Name: Joan White
Character: Mrs Adams
Department: Acting
Episode: 3

Lovely Days
Air Date:30/11/1986
While in hospital with psoriasis, Marlow thinks back to the war when he was a little boy, and remembers seeing his mother having illicit sex in the Forest of Dean. His memories, his 30s style gumshoe fiction and his disease weave him an altered reality.

Name: Patrick Malahide
Character: Mark Binney / Raymond
Department: Acting

Name: Leslie French
Character: Mr Tomkey
Department: Acting

Name: Lyndon Davies
Character: 10-Year-Old Philip
Department: Acting

Name: Geff Francis
Character: Porter
Department: Acting

Name: Jim Carter
Character: Mr Marlow
Department: Acting

Name: Alison Steadman
Character: Mrs Marlow / Lili
Department: Acting

Name: Imelda Staunton
Character: Staff Nurse White
Department: Acting

Name: Janet Henfrey
Character: Schoolteacher
Department: Acting

Name: Simon Chandler
Character: Dr Finlay
Department: Acting

Name: Bill Paterson
Character: Dr Gibbon
Department: Acting

Name: Charles Simon
Character: George Adams
Department: Acting

Name: Wally Thomas
Character: Grandad Baxter
Department: Acting

Name: Ken Stott
Character: Uncle John
Department: Acting

Name: Jo Cameron Brown
Character: Aunt Emily
Department: Acting

Name: Niven Boyd
Character: Soldier
Department: Acting

Name: David Thewlis
Character: Soldier
Department: Acting
Episode: 4

Clues
Air Date:07/12/1986
Marlow as a child visits London, but is not impressed. A film option on Marlow's novel thickens the plot. His memories, his 30s style gumshoe fiction and his disease weave him an altered reality.

Name: Patrick Malahide
Character: Mark Binney / Mark Finney
Department: Acting

Name: Leslie French
Character: Mr Tomkey
Department: Acting

Name: Lyndon Davies
Character: 10-Year-Old Philip
Department: Acting

Name: Geff Francis
Character: Porter
Department: Acting

Name: Jim Carter
Character: Mr Marlow
Department: Acting

Name: Alison Steadman
Character: Mrs Marlow / Lili
Department: Acting

Name: Janet Henfrey
Character: Schoolteacher
Department: Acting

Name: Simon Chandler
Character: Dr Finlay
Department: Acting

Name: William Speakman
Character: 10-Year-Old Mark
Department: Acting

Name: Charles Simon
Character: George Adams
Department: Acting

Name: Wally Thomas
Character: Grandad Baxter
Department: Acting

Name: Ken Stott
Character: Uncle John
Department: Acting

Name: Jo Cameron Brown
Character: Aunt Emily
Department: Acting
Episode: 5

Pitter Patter
Air Date:14/12/1986
Marlow is getting better and the different strands of his fiction and reality begin to occupy the same time and place.

Name: Patrick Malahide
Character: Mark Binney / Raymond / Mark Finney
Department: Acting

Name: Leslie French
Character: Noddy Tomkey
Department: Acting

Name: Lyndon Davies
Character: 10-Year-Old Philip
Department: Acting

Name: Geff Francis
Character: Porter
Department: Acting

Name: Jim Carter
Character: Mr Marlow
Department: Acting

Name: Alison Steadman
Character: Mrs Marlow
Department: Acting

Name: Imelda Staunton
Character: Staff Nurse White
Department: Acting

Name: Janet Henfrey
Character: Schoolteacher
Department: Acting

Name: Bill Paterson
Character: Dr Gibbon
Department: Acting

Name: William Speakman
Character: 10-Year-Old Mark
Department: Acting

Name: Charles Simon
Character: George Adams
Department: Acting

Name: Kate McKenzie
Character: Sonia
Department: Acting
Episode: 6

Who Done It
Air Date:21/12/1986
The young Philip Marlow returns to the country railway station following his mother's death in London. Forty years on, Marlow the hospital patient still dreams about the homecoming and the frightening figure of the scarecrow that now erupts into the ward.

Name: Patrick Malahide
Character: Mark Binney / Raymond / Mark Finney
Department: Acting

Name: Leslie French
Character: Noddy Tomkey
Department: Acting

Name: Lyndon Davies
Character: 10-Year-Old Philip
Department: Acting

Name: Geff Francis
Character: Porter
Department: Acting

Name: Jim Carter
Character: Mr Marlow
Department: Acting

Name: Alison Steadman
Character: Mrs Marlow
Department: Acting

Name: Imelda Staunton
Character: Staff Nurse White
Department: Acting

Name: Janet Henfrey
Character: Schoolteacher
Department: Acting

Name: Bill Paterson
Character: Dr Gibbon
Department: Acting

Name: William Speakman
Character: 10-Year-Old Mark
Department: Acting

Name: Wally Thomas
Character: Grandad Baxter
Department: Acting

Name: Niven Boyd
Character: Soldier
Department: Acting

Name: David Thewlis
Character: Soldier
Department: Acting