Death of an Expert Witness 

When Dr. Edwin Lorrimer, a forensic scientist working at a private laboratory is found killed, Detective Superintendent Adam Dalgliesh is sent to investigate. Dalgliesh had been in the area... See full summary »

Stars:

Roy Marsden, Barry Foster, Ray Brooks

Cast

Complete series cast summary:
Roy Marsden	...	Adam Dalgliesh 7 episodes, 1983
Barry Foster	...	Dr. Maxim Howarth 7 episodes, 1983
Ray Brooks	...	Dr. Henry Kerrison 7 episodes, 1983
Ivor Roberts	...	Inspector Blakelock 7 episodes, 1983
Andrew Ray	...	Clifford Bradley 6 episodes, 1983
Brenda Blethyn	...	Angela Foley 6 episodes, 1983
Malcolm Terris	...	DI Tom Doyle 6 episodes, 1983
Chloe Franks	...	Brenda Pridmore 6 episodes, 1983
John Vine	...	DS John Massingham 5 episodes, 1983
Fiona Walker	...	Stella Mawson, aka 'Star' 5 episodes, 1983
Stephen Thorne	...	Paul Middlemass 5 episodes, 1983
Valerie Testa	...	Claire Easterbrook 5 episodes, 1983
Meg Davies	...	Domenica Howarth 4 episodes, 1983
John Bryans	...	Chief Superintendent Mercer 4 episodes, 1983
Annabelle Lanyon	...	Nell Kerrison 4 episodes, 1983
Geoffrey Palmer	...	Dr. Edwin Lorrimer 3 episodes, 1983
Rhoda Lewis	...	Miss Willard 3 episodes, 1983
Kate Lansbury	...	Mrs. Pridmore 3 episodes, 1983
Wendy Gifford	...	Anne Kerrison 3 episodes, 1983
Sheridan Ball	...	Sue Bradley 3 episodes, 1983
Maryann Turner	...	Mrs. Bidwell 3 episodes, 1983
Richard Foxton	...	Sergeant Reynolds 3 episodes, 1983
Carl Adams	...	Police Constable 3 episodes, 1983
Toby Scopes	...	William Kerrison 3 episodes, 1983

Storyline

When Dr. Edwin Lorrimer, a forensic scientist working at a private laboratory is found killed, Detective Superintendent Adam Dalgliesh is sent to investigate. Dalgliesh had been in the area a few months previously investigating the murder of a young woman found in an abandoned car. There are several suspects: Lorrimer's subordinate, Clifford Bradley, who despises him; the new head of the laboratory, Maxim Howarth, who is jealous of his sister's relationship with him; a colleague, Paul Middlemass, who had a fight with Lorrimer. There is also a gruff and likely unethical policeman who was on the grounds of the laboratory at the time of the killing and a local pathologist who is raising his two young children after his wife leaves him for another man. When one of the suspects is also murdered, Dalgliesh learns a key piece of information.

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Plot Keywords:

laboratory | detective | murder | tv mini series | investigation | 

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery

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Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

8 April 1983 (UK)

Also Known As:

Døden i laboratoriet

Company Credits

Production Co:

Anglia Television

Technical Specs

Runtime:

50 min (7 episodes)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Martin Jarvis was offered Dr. Kerrison.

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Alternate Versions

When the series was repeated on ITV3, it was edited into six episodes, each with a revised cast list.

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Connections

Followed by Original Sin (1997)

User Reviews

Good story let down by poor direction and uneven acting

Having very much enjoyed "Original Sin" (one of the later P D James adaptations in this series), I was disappointed by "Death of an Expert Witness". The main actors - Roy Marsden, Geoffrey Palmer, Cyril Cusack, Brenda Blethyn, Fiona Walker - are very good, as one would expect, but most of the minor characters are played really badly - sometimes so badly as to be embarrassing or amusing. This may well be in part down to the direction, which is inexplicably poor from the normally excellent Herbert Wise, who must have been going through a bad patch. Also I hated the device of occasionally making Dalgleish's thoughts audible: it simply doesn't work.

A pity the team didn't remake this adaptation in later years.