# King and Castle > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/King_and_Castle > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/King_and_Castle.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_and_Castle > Source revision: 1348642822 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) 1985 British TV series or programme King and Castle Genre Crime drama Created by Ian Kennedy Martin Written by Ian Kennedy Martin Andy De La Tour Nigel Planer Starring Derek Martin Nigel Planer Mary Healey Andrew Cruickshank Laura Davenport Rowena Roberts Theme music composer Sound Lab Country of origin United Kingdom Original language English No. of series 2 No. of episodes 12 Production Executive producer Lloyd Shirley Producers Chris Burt Peter Duguid Cinematography Philip Blowers Running time 60 minutes Production company Thames Television Original release Network ITV Release 20 August 1985 (1985-08-20) – 14 June 1988 (1988-06-14) ***King and Castle*** is a British television [crime drama](/source/Crime_drama) series, made by [Thames Television](/source/Thames_Television) and screened on [ITV](/source/ITV_(TV_network)), that first broadcast on 20 August 1985.[1] The series stars [Derek Martin](/source/Derek_Martin) as Ronald King, a Detective Sergeant with the Metropolitan Police, who is obliged to leave the force when he is investigated by the anti-corruption squad. His first venture outside of the police involves setting up his own Debt Collection Agency, known as 'The Manor', where he partners with mild-mannered martial arts expert David Castle ([Nigel Planer](/source/Nigel_Planer)). Created by [Ian Kennedy Martin](/source/Ian_Kennedy_Martin),[2] who had previously devised *[The Sweeney](/source/The_Sweeney)* for Thames, along with *[Juliet Bravo](/source/Juliet_Bravo)* and *[The Chinese Detective](/source/The_Chinese_Detective)* for the [BBC](/source/British_Broadcasting_Corporation), *King and Castle* started out as an episode of Thames' *Storyboard*, a series of stand-alone dramas intended as potential pilots for series.[3] Described as a combination of the rough-and-tumble of *The Sweeney*[4] with the knowing wit of *[Minder](/source/Minder_(TV_series))*,[5] two series of six episodes each followed in 1986 and 1988. In 1986, a paperback tie-in novel was also released to accompany the first series.[6] The complete series of *King and Castle*, including the *Storyboard* pilot, was released on [DVD](/source/DVD) via Network in April 2011 and July 2012 respectively. ## Cast - [Derek Martin](/source/Derek_Martin) as Ronald King - [Nigel Planer](/source/Nigel_Planer) as David Castle - [Mary Healey](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Mary_Healey&action=edit&redlink=1) as Miss Willmott - [Andrew Cruickshank](/source/Andrew_Cruickshank) Mr. Hodinett - [Laura Davenport](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Laura_Davenport&action=edit&redlink=1) as Deidre Aitken (1986) - [Rowena Roberts](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Rowenan_Roberts_(actress)&action=edit&redlink=1) as Hilary McLean (1988) - [Paul Brooke](/source/Paul_Brooke) as Edward Hallday-Mostyn (1986) - [Shirley Stelfox](/source/Shirley_Stelfox) as Betty (1988) - [Lucy Speed](/source/Lucy_Speed) as Susie (1988) ## Episodes ### Pilot (1985) No. Title [7] Directed by Written by Original release date 0 "King and Castle" Richard Bramall Ian Kennedy Martin 20 August 1985 (1985-08-20) A dissatisfied young martial artist teams up with maverick ex-cop in a new debt collecting venture. ### Series 1 (1986) No. overall No. in series Title Directed by Written by Original release date 1 1 "Exodus" Peter Cregeen Ian Kennedy Martin 3 September 1986 (1986-09-03) King and Castle are asked to trace a man who has sawn his house in half following the break-up of his marriage. Meanwhile, a local villain has a score to settle with King. 2 2 "Villains" Henry Herbert Ian Kennedy Martin 10 September 1986 (1986-09-10) A bereaved family hire King to find a substantial some money that disappeared after their relative died in a car crash. 3 3 "Partners" Alan Bell Ian Kennedy Martin 17 September 1986 (1986-09-17) A man called Devas hires King and Castle to secure debts owed to him by a Rodney Finch-Courtney. 4 4 "Friends" Peter Cregeen Ian Kennedy Martin 24 September 1986 (1986-09-24) King and Castle turn detective when the friend of a man they are chasing for large debts is imprisoned for a robbery he did not commit. This episode featured Terence Morgan's last ever acting role; it was noted that he gave a 'haunting performance'.[8] 5 5 "Romance" Henry Herbert Ian Kennedy Martin 1 October 1986 (1986-10-01) Castle pursues a woman for £10,000 of debts, but King finds himself attracted to her. King discovers Medley's long-lost son. 6 6 "Rivals" Alan Bell Ian Kennedy Martin 8 October 1986 (1986-10-08) Castle deals with a child custody case. A rival debt collection agency moves into the area and successfully employs strong-arm tactics. ### Series 2 (1988) No. overall No. in series Title Directed by Written by Original release date 7 1 "Kicks" Peter Sasdy Ian Kennedy Martin 10 May 1988 (1988-05-10) King has a cashflow problems, and Castle and Miss Willmott are owed nearly £2,000 in back pay. 8 2 "Dim Sums" Laurence Moody Ian Kennedy Martin 17 May 1988 (1988-05-17) A woman dies and leaves behind a lot of I.O.U.s signed by a Tony Chen. King and Castle are hired to find him. 9 3 "Hams" Jan Sargent Ian Kennedy Martin 24 May 1988 (1988-05-24) Castle acquires a wonderful recipe for cooking hams. Hilary and Carol clash. 10 4 "Floppy Discs" Peter Tabem Nigel Planer & Andy de la Tour 31 May 1988 (1988-05-31) King is hired to help find a stolen floppy disc that contains extremely valuable information. 11 5 "Class" Laurence Moody Nigel Planer & Andy de la Tour 7 June 1988 (1988-06-07) A friend of King's needs a touch of class, but is King the right man for the job? 12 6 "Cons" Jan Sargent Ian Kennedy Martin 14 June 1988 (1988-06-14) ## References 1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** Evans, Jeff (2011). *The Penguin TV Companion* (4th ed.). London: Penguin. p. 532. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [9780241952917](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/9780241952917). 1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** ["King and Castle"](https://web.archive.org/web/20170605142306/http://www.iankennedymartin.com/page7.htm). *Ian Kennedy Martin official website*. Archived from [the original](http://www.iankennedymartin.com/page7.htm) on 5 June 2017. Retrieved 23 April 2017. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** ["BFI Collections Database"](https://collections-search.bfi.org.uk/web/Details/ChoiceFilmWorks/150213414). *British Film Institute*. Retrieved 23 April 2017. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** Cornell; Day & Topping (1996). *The Guinness Book of Classic British TV* (2nd ed.). Enfield: Guinness Publishing. p. 397. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [0851126286](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0851126286). 1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** Rogers, Dave (1988). *The ITV Encyclopedia of Adventure*. London: Boxtree. pp. 297–298. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [1852832177](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/1852832177). 1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** ["Paperback tie-in book"](http://www.trashfiction.co.uk/king_castle.html). *Trash Fiction*. Retrieved 23 April 2017. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** ["BFI Collections database"](https://collections-search.bfi.org.uk/web/Details/ChoiceFilmWorks/150780858). *British Film Institute*. Retrieved 23 April 2017. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-8)** [The Daily Telegraph](http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/1497269/Terence-Morgan.html) Retrieved 29 June 2020. ## External links - [*King and Castle (Storyboard Pilot)*](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0946679/) at [IMDb](/source/IMDb_(identifier)) - [*King and Castle (Series)*](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0181235/) at [IMDb](/source/IMDb_(identifier)) --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [King and Castle](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_and_Castle) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_and_Castle?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.