The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency 

A Botswanan woman starts up the country's first female-owned detective agency. Based on the series of novels by Alexander McCall Smith.

Director:

Anthony Minghella

Writers:

Richard Curtis (teleplay), Anthony Minghella (teleplay)

Stars:

Jill Scott, Anika Noni Rose, Lucian Msamati

1 nomination.

Cast

Episode cast overview, first billed only:
Jill Scott	...	Precious Ramotswe
Anika Noni Rose	...	Grace Makutsi
Lucian Msamati	...	JLB Matekoni
Nikki Amuka-Bird	...	Alice Busang (as Nikki Amuka Bird)
Desmond Dube	...	BK
Tumisho Masha	...	Lucky Sesana
Bongeka Mpongwana	...	Happy Bapetsi
David Oyelowo	...	Kremlin Busang
John Kani	...	Daddy Bapetsi
Vusi Kunene	...	Doctor Gulubane
Harriet Lenabe	...	Mma Notshi (as Harriet Manamela)
Colin Salmon	...	Note Makoti
Idris Elba	...	Charlie Gotso
Lindani Nkosi	...	Hector Lepodise
Vasco Shoba	...	Obed Ramotswe

Storyline

After her father dies, Botswanan Precious Ramotse decides to sell her inheritance - 180 cows - and move to the capital Gaborone and open a detective agency. From a young age her father had trained her to develop her memory skills and she has a keen sense of observation. Business is slow, but Precious soon has a secretary, Grace Makutsi and fits in well with her neighbors. Slowly, clients begin to trickle in: a woman who thinks the man who claims to be her father - he had abandoned the family when she was just a young child - is actually an impostor; a woman who thinks her husband is having an affair - a view Grace enthusiastically generally supports since she thinks all men are liars and cheaters; and a factory owner who thinks an employee claiming compensation for an accident is scamming him. Her interest is also drawn to the case of a missing boy but she she must face a powerful local gangster to get the information she needs.

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Plot Keywords:

impostor | tv series pilot | orphanage | missing finger | kidnapping | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Crime | Drama | Family | Mystery

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Certificate:

TV-PG

Details

Official Sites:

BBC [UK]

Country:

UK South Africa Botswana USA

Language:

Tswana English

Release Date:

29 March 2009 (USA)

Filming Locations:

Gaborone, Botswana

Box Office

Budget:

$40,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Film Afrika Worldwide, British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), Cinechicks

Technical Specs

Runtime:

109 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Grammy Award winning singer, Jill Scott, eventually won the role of Precious Ramotswe over American actresses Oprah Winfrey, Whoopi Goldberg, Queen Latifah, and 18 African women considered for the lead

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Quotes

Grace Makutsi: [after meeting BK for the first time] That man is very much like a woman.

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Soundtracks

Ditshwanela
Written by Tumediso Kagiso Loeto
Licensed courtesy of So Hype Records
Performed by Shanti' Lo
Licensed courtesy of Tumediso Kagiso Loeto

User Reviews

Good Easter Sunday Fayre

The No 1 Ladies Detective Agency was the first novel in the series by Alexander McCall Smith and as such the first to be turned into a television adaptation. It was aired on BBC1 on Sunday 23rd March 2008, Easter Sunday. This time-slot has traditionally been a chance for the BBC to show a production which will appeal to all the family and N1LDA fitted the category very well.

After a slow start to help introduce the characters, the work of Precious starts in earnest. Over the remaining hour and a quarter we see how she solve cases relating to unfaithful husbands, idle fathers, insurance fraud and missing children. There are some comic moments and some heart breaking moments.

Overall the adaptation stayed very loyal to the book and remained a light hearted look at life in Botswana. The production quality was very good with the Botswanian Tourist Board probably very happy at the positive light their country is portrayed under. For those people wanting something grittier, you'll be disappointed, but for everyone else looking for 1¾ of escapism, this is what you're looking for.