The Trial is sensational but a first-rate whodunit too
The tension was at pressure-cooker levels as the third episode of Channel 4’s unorthodox courtroom drama The Trial: A Murder in the Family cut to the gruesome chase. Had violent academic Simon Davis slain his estranged wife Carla. Or might the culprit be her new lover – an ex-copper with a history of lashing out?
Channel 4 has fashioned an absorbing murder mystery – but this is titillation in service of a higher purpose. The goal is to explore the inner working of the court service in an entertaining yet illuminating fashion.
As with the previous two instalments, veracity was the watchword here. Though Davis and other witnesses were portrayed by actors, the legal representatives are all practicing barristers, judge Brian Barker is a retired member of the bench and the jury consists of a cross section of the general public.
Yet, far adding to the plausibility of the scenario, the larger-than-life character of the defence and prosecution teams poured fuel on the melodrama. The former was represented by dashing John Ryder QC, a figure out of a middlebrow police procedural who was never lost for a pithy aside.
Determined to put Davis (a persuasively slithering Michael Gould) behind bars was the more reserved Max Hill QC. He was a boffin in black vestments whose passive demeanour transformed into righteous fury as he pressed the accused in the witness box. At full tilt he resembled an incandescent Harry Potter.
Carla’s lover Lewis Skinner (Kevin Harvey) initially seemed a plausible alternative killer, with a witness for the defence claiming to have seen the former policeman in the vicinity of the crime scene. With beady eyes and a clipped tone, Ryder certainly had fun flensing the witness, extracting from Skinner the potentially damning bombshell that he had been dismissed from the police some years earlier for beating a suspect. Next to testify was Davis himself, who came across as snivelling yet not quite a menace to society.
With two episodes left, the fun will be in guessing where the cracks will show and whose version of events comes crashing Earthward. For a supposedly sober portrayal of the legal system, The Trial is a little too sensational for comfort. As a lusty whodunit, however, it is first rate.
Ed Power
If anyone deserves to be lucky in love, it’s surely Sara Rowbotham. The social worker who uncovered the Rochdale sex abuse scandal – and was recently played by Maxine Peake in gut-wrenching BBC dramatisation Three Girls – bravely ventured into the restaurant of First Dates (Channel 4) after being single for eight years.
Rowbotham was made redundant in the wake of the culprits’ convictions, now 284,000 people have signed a petition calling for her to be recognised for her tireless work to get justice for the underage victims.
It was a lump-in-throat moment when 50-year-old Rowbotham tearfully revealed: “I’m coming out of a very difficult, dark time. I’m ready to live my life again, to have a nice time and not be so worried or angry. To be carefree, you know?”
Sadly, no-nonsense dog trainer Nicky wasn’t quite the right woman – despite clearly being impressed that Rowbotham’s own Yorkie cross knew 110 commands. These two strong characters clearly admired each other but there was no romantic spark.
On the neighbouring tables, double-divorcee Jo from Essex managed to upset Irish construction boss Robbie by guessing his age at “late 50s” when he was actually 51. He settled the bill in cash, like a good builder should, before getting his own back by declining a second date.
There were promising pairings, though. Classical singer Zoe and am-dram enthusiast Tim hit the right notes while sharing “cheese, steak and singing – all the good stuff ”.
The teasing flirtation between young Becky and Ryan was sweet, if a tad too much like watching an unscripted episode of Hollyoaks.
As always, the reality TV trimmings were the sole annoyance here. Contrived banter between the waiting staff and fortune-cookie philosophising from maître d’ Fred Sirieix wasn’t nearly as worthy of screen time as the voyeuristically riveting dates themselves. But if they’d found love for Sara Rowbotham, I frankly would have forgiven them anything. Michael Hogan
The Trial: A Murder in the Family First Dates