Love Means Nothing in Tennis (1 Oct. 2012)

When junior tennis champion Alice Kemp fell to her death from a balcony in 2010 it was assumed she killed herself as she had lost a crucial match but now a cleaner recalls hearing raised ... See full summary »

Director:

Robin Shepperd

Writers:

Julian Unthank, Roy Mitchell (creator),

Stars:

Alun Armstrong, Amanda Redman, Dennis Waterman

Cast

Episode cast overview, first billed only:
Alun Armstrong	...	Brian Lane
Amanda Redman	...	Det.Supt.Sandra Pullman
Dennis Waterman	...	Gerry Standing
Denis Lawson	...	Steve McAndrew
Susan Jameson	...	Esther Lane (credit only)
Jayden Chamberlain	...	Gerry Junior
Kurt Barling	...	News reporter
Georgie Castle	...	Alice Kemp
Martha Mackintosh	...	Fawn Brammall
Brana Bajic	...	Irina Brammall
Alexa Davies	...	Jess Kemp
Tamzin Outhwaite	...	Victoria Kemp
Alexei Sayle	...	Anthony Marshall
Benjamin Wilkin	...	Nick Hoyle
Paula Jennings	...	Paula Standing

Storyline

When junior tennis champion Alice Kemp fell to her death from a balcony in 2010 it was assumed she killed herself as she had lost a crucial match but now a cleaner recalls hearing raised voices just before the death and the case is reopened. Alice's agent Anthony Marshall claims he lost a valuable client but admits Alice was considering a change of representation whilst Victoria,Alice's mother,tells the team that David, her estranged husband,a gambling addict,had visited Alice before the fatal match. He admits that he was betting against her for money and asked her to lose the march but denies any foul play. Fawn,the player who beat Alice and took her place as Number One,was nonetheless good friends with her and helps the team find the person responsible for Alice's death though Brian is less successful in trying to get his dog in with a model agency.

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Genres:

Comedy | Crime | Drama | Mystery

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Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

1 October 2012 (UK)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Wall to Wall, British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)

Technical Specs

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Quotes

[first lines]
Gerry Standing: Oh, well played, Junior. Now give it, give it and go. No, right wing, right wing! Go, go go!
[Ball is kicked into Junior' leg, and he falls]
Gerry Standing: Uh! You all right son? Gerry?
Gerry Junior: I'm okay, Grandad.
Gerry Standing: You sure? Good boy, you're playing well. Keep it up.
Father of Opposing Team Player: Come on, son! Go in hard! The way we spoke about!
Gerry Standing: [mutters] Berk.
Brian Lane: He's a good little player, your grandson.
Gerry Standing: Oh, well played, well played! Ah, nice, very nice! Gets it from his mum.
[...]

User Reviews

Anyone for tennis?

When young tennis hopeful Alice Kemp was found dead below her apartment it was assumed that she killed herself because she had just lost the championship match before she intended to announce that she was going to turn professional. Two years later UCOS are taking another look at the case and they have no shortage of suspects; her manager, whom it was rumoured she was going to replace; her deadbeat father who was desperate for money or even somebody close to her great rival Fawn Brammall. As the case progresses Steve has a run in with some local debt collectors, Brian thinks his dog has a chance of becoming a movie star and Gerry wonders if he didn't push his daughter enough when she decided to stop playing football. As the case draws to a close there are some fairly shocking revelations involving child abuse and just what some parents will allow to happen to get their offspring to the top of the game.

This was a pretty good episode with an interesting case, plenty of suspects and an impressive guest list that included Tamzin Outhwaite as Alice's mother and Alexei Sayle as her former manager. Given the generally light hearted tone of the series the revelation that children were being abused came as a bit of a shock although it did fit in with the story and gave it a chilling end… not that a child was being abused but that one of her parents considered that a price worth paying to get her to the top. Trying to avoid spoiling the finale I'll just say that the person who played the killer did a brilliant job portraying somebody who honestly couldn't believe they had done anything wrong. It wasn't all gloom though; there were some cheerful scenes when Gerry visited his daughter and Brian's attempts to get his dog into films were hilarious.