ITV barred me from Prime Suspect prequel’s set, says writer La Plante

SHE is one of the most successful crime writers of all time, with 35 international bestsellers and 170 hours of Emmy-winning TV to her name.

But in an astonishing tirade against senior executives at ITV, Lynda La Plante, the screenwriter behind Prime Suspect, has revealed that she was barred from the set of her prequel after falling out with the show’s producers.

Speaking candidly about the feud for the first time, La Plante claims that senior executives at the corporation showed “utter disrespect,” and “rudeness” towards her throughout the production of Prime Suspect 1973, the show’s reincarnation.

Despite being asked to become the writer and executive producer, La Plante claims that significant changes were made to the plotline, and that producers rejected “every single actor” she recommended during casting. ITV’S head of commissioning told her that “you don’t own Jane Tennison. We do,” she told Event magazine.

Her treatment led La Plante to walk out during the first week of filming. But when she saw the quality of “what was coming out”, she claims she asked to return to the set only to be “barred” from any further involvement.

A spokesman for ITV said: “Inevitably, when novels are adapted, the scripts don’t always follow the work of the author. We were very happy with the casting and performances of the leading actors.”