Series synopsis
Crown Court is a British drama television series that premiered on ITV1 on October 11, 1972. It stars Richard Wilson, Norman Rossington, Dinsdale Landen and Ewen Solon.
Crown Court is an afternoon television courtroom drama produced by Granada Television for the ITV network that ran from 1972, when the Crown Court system replaced Assize courts and Quarter sessions in the legal system of England and Wales, to 1984.
Premise
Crown Court is an afternoon television courtroom drama produced by Granada Television for the ITV network that ran from 1972, when the Crown Court system replaced Assize courts and Quarter sessions in the legal system of England and Wales, to 1984.
Cast and characters
Leading cast
- Richard Wilson as Jeremy Parsons QC
- Norman Rossington as Benjamin Patch
- Dinsdale Landen
- Ewen Solon
- George Coulouris
- Peter Ellis
- Michael Byrne
- Richard Hurndall
Supporting cast
- Christopher Blake
- Anthony Ainley
- Dinah Sheridan as Mrs. Harper-Frost
- Luan Peters as Dorothy Greenway
- Lewis Collins
- Aubrey Morris
- Sheila Fearn
- Jeff Rawle
- Maureen Pryor
- Geoffrey Hughes
- Cheryl Murray
- Ray McAnally
Guest cast
- Norman Rossington as Benjamin Patch
- Dinsdale Landen
- Ewen Solon
- George Coulouris
- Peter Ellis
- Michael Byrne
- Richard Hurndall
- Christopher Blake
- Anthony Ainley
- Dinah Sheridan as Mrs. Harper-Frost
- Luan Peters as Dorothy Greenway
- Lewis Collins
Episodes
This series spans 17 seasons with 347 episodes.
| Season | Episodes | First aired | Last aired |
|---|---|---|---|
| Season 1 | 72 | November 9, 1972 | May 21, 1975 |
| Season 2 | 151 | January 3, 1973 | March 28, 1974 |
| Season 3 | 53 | January 2, 1974 | December 20, 1974 |
| Season 4 | 21 | January 1, 1975 | May 19, 1976 |
| Season 5 | 3 | December 10, 1976 | |
| Season 6 | 6 | December 22, 1977 | |
| Season 7 | 18 | November 2, 1978 | |
| Season 8 | 10 | May 17, 1979 | |
| Season 9 | 0 | ||
| Season 10 | 3 | March 9, 1981 | March 11, 1981 |
| Season 11 | 3 | May 27, 1982 | |
| Season 12 | 0 | ||
| Season 13 | 7 | February 15, 1984 | |
| Season 1972 | 0 | October 11, 1972 | December 29, 1972 |
| Season 1973 | 0 | January 3, 1973 | December 27, 1973 |
| Season 1974 | 0 | January 2, 1974 | January 12, 1978 |
| Season 1975 | 0 | October 15, 1975 | October 17, 1975 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Doctor's Neglect? (1) Mr Simpson was admitted to hospital following a car crash in Fulchester. He was examined by doctors and treated for minor injuries before being discharged. Moments later, Mr Simpson collapsed on the forecourt of the hospital and was rushed back inside for emergency brain surgery, from which he died. His widow Mrs Simpson is suing the hospital for neglect, claiming that the doctors who initially treated her husband missed the injury. |
November 10, 1972 |
| 2 | Doctor's Neglect? (2) | December 10, 1972 |
| 3 | Doctor's Neglect? (3) |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Regina v Barnes: Whatever Happened to George Robins?: Part 1 George Robins is a second hand car dealer and well-known ladies man. He has disappeared. Blood stains were found at his country cottage. A local car thief, Harold Barnes, is charged with his murder, but Barnes claims that Robins has not been murdered but has faked his own death so that his wife can claim a large insurance pay-out. The prosecution will try to prove that Barnes has indeed murdered Robins even though no body has ever been found. |
January 3, 1973 |
| 2 |
Regina v Barnes: Whatever Happened to George Robins?: Part 2 Detective Inspector Robert takes the stand to describe the investigation into the disappearance of George Robins and the arrest of Harold Barnes. Dr. John Gould gives a breakdown of the forensic evidence and the link to Barnes. |
January 4, 1973 |
| 3 |
Regina v Barnes: Whatever Happened to George Robins?: Part 3 Defendant Harold Barnes alleges that George Robins is still alive. Prosecutor Jonathan Fry QC causes a stir when he calls Robins as a witness. Barnes' wife Catherine denies the she had an affair with Robins and alibis her husband. |
January 5, 1973 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
The Dogs : Part 1 After suspecting that irregular betting patterns had taken place at a greyhound stadium, bookmaker Ronald Charles refused to pay out on a winning betting slip worth over £200,000. A group of men have subsequently been accused of having conspired to cheat the on-track Tote betting system, and Mr Charles, out of thousands of pounds. Barry Deeley leads the prosecution in what is a confusing case for those not familiar with betting procedures. |
January 2, 1974 |
| 2 |
The Dogs: Part 2 Dog track cashier Doreen Tring explains how the accused, Bill Broad was blocking the window so nobody else could place a bet. Punter Mr. Smith tells confirms he was unable to place a bet anywhere because men had blocked the way. |
January 3, 1974 |
| 3 |
The Dogs: Part 3 Bill Broad tells the court that Oakmoor was a minor betting scam, to get even with the bookie but too many people came to help. He denies that he didn't stop people from betting nor know why twenty people turned up to help him out. |
January 4, 1974 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ring In The New Year : Part 1 | January 2, 1975 |
| 2 | Ring In The New Year : Part 2 | January 3, 1975 |
| 3 | Tell the Truth and Shame the Devil | February 25, 1976 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 78 | Lola: Part 1 | December 8, 1976 |
| 79 | Lola: Part 2 | December 9, 1976 |
| 80 | Lola: Part 3 | December 10, 1976 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 28 | Such a Charming Man: Part 1 | March 22, 1977 |
| 29 | Such a Charming Man: Part 2 | March 23, 1977 |
| 30 | Such a Charming Man: Part 3 | March 24, 1977 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 31 |
The Change Part One A post operative transsexual woman is accused of fraud, for marrying without disclosing that she was born as a man. |
March 16, 1978 |
| 32 |
The Change Part Two The case of a transexual woman charged with fraud continues. |
March 15, 1978 |
| 33 |
The Change Part Three The case of a transexual woman charged with fraud concludes. |
March 17, 1978 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 4 | Beyond the Limits: Part 1 | January 9, 1979 |
| 5 | Episode 5 | January 9, 1979 |
| 6 | Episode 6 | January 23, 1979 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Proof Spirits Part 1 Vera Barnes - better known as "Madame Veda Bronski", a spiritualist and professed clairvoyant - is charged with obtaining money by deception from widow Elizabeth Penn. The Prosecution claim that she took advantage of the vulnerable Mrs. Penn and tricked her into donating £17500, supposedly towards a spiritualist centre that was never built. The Defence respond that Madame Bronski does appear to have unusual gifts and even these are disputed she has a sincere belief that she can contact the dead and help people like Mrs. Penn. |
March 9, 1981 |
| 2 |
Proof Spirits Part 2 Vera Barnes - better known as "Madame Veda Bronski", a spiritualist and professed clairvoyant - is charged with obtaining money by deception from widow Elizabeth Penn. The Prosecution claim that she took advantage of the vulnerable Mrs. Penn and tricked her into donating £17500, supposedly towards a spiritualist centre that was never built. The Defence respond that Madame Bronski does appear to have unusual gifts and even these are disputed she has a sincere belief that she can contact the dead and help people like Mrs. Penn. |
March 10, 1981 |
| 3 |
Proof Spirits Part 3 Vera Barnes - better known as "Madame Veda Bronski", a spiritualist and professed clairvoyant - is charged with obtaining money by deception from widow Elizabeth Penn. The Prosecution claim that she took advantage of the vulnerable Mrs. Penn and tricked her into donating £17500, supposedly towards a spiritualist centre that was never built. The Defence respond that Madame Bronski does appear to have unusual gifts and even these are disputed she has a sincere belief that she can contact the dead and help people like Mrs. Penn. |
March 11, 1981 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 28 |
Soldier, Soldier: Part 1 Anarchist and peace campaigner Margaret Anderson is accused of attempting to persuade soldiers to desert from the army. |
May 25, 1982 |
| 29 |
Soldier, Soldier: Part 2 Captain Andrew Crichton and Sergeant Waxloe describe meeting Margaret and being offered leaflets detailing 'pacifism.' The case for the defence begins, Margaret tells the court why Ridley went AWOL and why she had the leaflets. |
May 26, 1982 |
| 30 |
Soldier, Soldier: Part 3 Margaret is grilled by Celia Travers and asked to account for the pacifism leaflets found in her flat, her flatmate suggests where they came from. Margaret's friend, Father Flynn is quizzed over his relationship with her. |
May 27, 1982 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 13 |
Citizens: Part 1 Joseph Kiernan, a scrap metal dealer from a traveller background, is accused of the theft of a copper cylinder from the shed of Ronald Sibley. The Prosecution say that Kiernan was seen after midnight in the garden of Mr. Sibley and the next morning was seen by a police officer hiding the cylinder under his lorry. Kiernan does not deny handling the cylinder or being in Mr. Sibley's garden but says the cylinder was planted to incriminate him and he was simply retrieving it - the case against him is motivated by hostility towards travellers. |
January 31, 1984 |
| 14 |
Citizens: Part 2 Gordon Sibley is asked if he intentionally planted the missing item on Kiernan. PC Franklin explains how he came to find the missing cylinder on Kiernan. The defence begin with Kiernan explaining why his prints were on Sibley's shed. |
February 1, 1984 |
| 15 |
Citizens: Part 3 Mr. Parry makes an application to question Kiernan about his previous crimes. Kiernan puts forward the defence that his back would have been too bad to lift a hefty metal cylinder. Fulchester's traveller liaison officer gives evidence. |
February 2, 1984 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Doctor's Neglect? (1) | October 11, 1972 |
| 2 | Doctor's Neglect? (2) | October 12, 1972 |
| 3 | Doctor's Neglect? (3) | October 13, 1972 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Medium (1) | January 3, 1973 |
| 2 | The Medium (2) | January 4, 1973 |
| 3 | The Medium (3) | January 5, 1973 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Dogs (1) | January 2, 1974 |
| 2 | The Dogs (2) | January 3, 1974 |
| 3 | The Dogs (3) | January 4, 1974 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 141 | An Evil Influence (1) | October 15, 1975 |
| 142 | An Evil Influence (2) | October 16, 1975 |
| 143 | An Evil Influence (3) | October 17, 1975 |
Production
Release
| Original network/platform | ITV1 |
|---|---|
| First aired | October 11, 1972 |
| Last aired | February 15, 1984 |
| Runtime | 23 minutes |
| Status | continue |