Kidnap and Ransom
Encyclopedia
Kidnap and Ransom is a three-part television miniseries which aired on the ITV
in January 2011. The series revolves around the latest case for expert British hostage negotiator
Dominic King. The show was written by Patrick Harbinson and directed by Andy Wilson
; it was produced by and starred actor Trevor Eve
, and also starred John Hannah
, Helen Baxendale
, Emma Fielding
, and Patrick Baladi
.
, botanist Naomi Shaffer (Fielding) is kidnapped by two men during a violent encounter which results in her taxi driver being killed. Her employer in London, Jane Wickham (Sharon Maughan
), calls upon King to negotiate her release. He does so successfully, travelling to South Africa to oversee the exchange of the ransom for Shaffer. All seems to be going well until the very trade-off when a second group of violent kidnappers appears, attacking and killing one member of the first group, stealing Shaffer and her second original kidnapper away, and leaving King where he stands, dumbfounded.
Wickham puts Willard in touch with King, who again negotiates her release. He is surprised when he is able to quickly reduce Willard's demands from $2 million to $500,000. However, Shaffer is successfully traded for the ransom money and King delivers her back to her husband Philip (Baladi) and daughter Sally. King remains suspicious of the situation and clashes briefly with Beddoes about keeping an eye on Shaffer.
King personally visits Shaffer at her home. She is distant but polite and assures him that all is well, and he leaves. In his own family, King's daughter has left the family home to live in a religious compound. After King's visit, Shaffer is contacted directly by a threatening Willard who then proceeds to kidnap Sally from the Shaffer home.
that would be very lucrative on the black market. Philip however refuses to give up the formula in exchange for the daughter; King attempts to meet with Willard and trade a bogus formula for Sally but Willard has suspected his ruse and King only finds Sally's finger in a garbage can at the meeting site. Meanwhile, Beddoes realizes that it was Shaffer's boss Wickham that told Willard about the existence of Philip's work during his original phone call and alerts the authorities.
Philip Shaffer is now convinced to give up the actual formula, and King meets Willard in a tense face-to-face, but secures Sally's release in exchange for the formula. After the exchange, King follows Willard a short distance and shoots the man in the hand but allows him to live; Willard is whisked away by his henchmen while King returns Sally to her family and then returns to his office. On the phone with his wife, we see King's daughter in the background of their family home; his wife informs him that the daughter is visiting for dinner, which "is a start."
,24
, Law & Order
), directed by Andy Wilson, and filmed entirely in South Africa, including scenes that were set in London. It was commissioned by the ITV
and produced by Trevor Eve's production company, Projector Pictures, and distributed by Fremantle Media to the BBC
. It was released on DVD on February 7, 2011.
(UK) stated, "Eve is very good at playing the flawed and difficult professional, the maverick taking on the world. Everyone is good here. And everything – it's a proper thriller – grabs you by the goolies and drags you along at 100mph." Alice-Azania Jarvis of The Independent
said, "In all, it was a persuasive drama, the human trauma sufficiently realistic, sufficiently great as to render the viewer hooked."
Viewing figures for the first series were as follows:
Viewing figures are consolidated ratings from BARB
which include ITV1 HD and ITV1 +1 audiences.
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
in January 2011. The series revolves around the latest case for expert British hostage negotiator
Hostage negotiator
Crisis negotiation is a technique for law enforcement to communicate with people who are threatening violence, including barricaded subjects, hostage takers, stalkers, threats, workplace violence, or persons threatening suicide....
Dominic King. The show was written by Patrick Harbinson and directed by Andy Wilson
Andy Wilson (director)
Andy Wilson is a British film, TV and theatre director, born in 1958.-Early career:Wilson began his career as a performer with Circus Lumiere...
; it was produced by and starred actor Trevor Eve
Trevor Eve
Trevor John Eve is a British film and television actor. In 1979 he gained fame as the eponymous lead in the detective series Shoestring and is also known for his role as Detective Superintendent Peter Boyd in BBC television drama Waking the Dead.-Early life:Eve was born in Sutton Coldfield,...
, and also starred John Hannah
John Hannah (actor)
John David Hannah is a Scottish actor of film and television. He has appeared in Stephen Sommers' Mummy Series, Richard Curtis' Four Weddings and a Funeral and Sliding Doors with Gwyneth Paltrow...
, Helen Baxendale
Helen Baxendale
Helen Victoria Baxendale is an English actress of stage and television, possibly best-known for her roles in Cold Feet, Friends and Cardiac Arrest.-Early life:...
, Emma Fielding
Emma Fielding
Emma Georgina Annalies Fielding is an English actress.-Biography:The lapsed Roman Catholic daughter of a British Army soldier, Fielding spent much of her childhood in Malaysia and Nigeria, and a period in Malvern above her grandparents' betting shop...
, and Patrick Baladi
Patrick Baladi
Patrick Baladi was born on 25 December 1971 and is an English actor.Baladi was born in Birmingham, Warwickshire, England. His father is a gynaecologist from Libya, and his mother was a midwife...
.
Episode One
The episode begins with Dominic King (Trevor Eve) realizing that he has just failed at a negotiated ransom, having paid a group of kidnappers for a corpse. He returns home to London to his wife Sophie (Natasha Little) who is encouraging him to cut back on his own work in order to be more supportive of her political ambitions, and to his daughter Tess (Laura Greenwood) who is suddenly very interested in religion. Meanwhile, in South AfricaSouth Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
, botanist Naomi Shaffer (Fielding) is kidnapped by two men during a violent encounter which results in her taxi driver being killed. Her employer in London, Jane Wickham (Sharon Maughan
Sharon Maughan
Sharon Maughan is a British actress.-Life and career:Maughan was born in Kirkby, Liverpool, one of five siblings in an Irish Catholic family...
), calls upon King to negotiate her release. He does so successfully, travelling to South Africa to oversee the exchange of the ransom for Shaffer. All seems to be going well until the very trade-off when a second group of violent kidnappers appears, attacking and killing one member of the first group, stealing Shaffer and her second original kidnapper away, and leaving King where he stands, dumbfounded.
Episode Two
Back in London, King's boss Angela Beddoes (Baxendale) sends his assistant Carrie (Amara Karan) to South Africa to help him figure out what has happened while placating Shaffer's employer. It is revealed that Shaffer is now in the hands of a shadowy figure named Willard (Hannah) and his henchmen, who proceed to beat and then execute the original kidnapper for "getting greedy." After a botched escape attempt, Shaffer is [off camera] raped by one of Willard's henchmen.Wickham puts Willard in touch with King, who again negotiates her release. He is surprised when he is able to quickly reduce Willard's demands from $2 million to $500,000. However, Shaffer is successfully traded for the ransom money and King delivers her back to her husband Philip (Baladi) and daughter Sally. King remains suspicious of the situation and clashes briefly with Beddoes about keeping an eye on Shaffer.
King personally visits Shaffer at her home. She is distant but polite and assures him that all is well, and he leaves. In his own family, King's daughter has left the family home to live in a religious compound. After King's visit, Shaffer is contacted directly by a threatening Willard who then proceeds to kidnap Sally from the Shaffer home.
Episode Three
Contacting King after the kidnap of her daughter Sally, Shaffer reveals that Willard is now after the work of her husband Philip, who has created an anti-obesity drugAnti-obesity drug
Anti-obesity medication or weight loss drugs are all pharmacological agents that reduce or control weight. These drugs alter one of the fundamental processes of the human body, weight regulation, by either altering appetite, metabolism, or absorption of calories. It is common for them to be tried...
that would be very lucrative on the black market. Philip however refuses to give up the formula in exchange for the daughter; King attempts to meet with Willard and trade a bogus formula for Sally but Willard has suspected his ruse and King only finds Sally's finger in a garbage can at the meeting site. Meanwhile, Beddoes realizes that it was Shaffer's boss Wickham that told Willard about the existence of Philip's work during his original phone call and alerts the authorities.
Philip Shaffer is now convinced to give up the actual formula, and King meets Willard in a tense face-to-face, but secures Sally's release in exchange for the formula. After the exchange, King follows Willard a short distance and shoots the man in the hand but allows him to live; Willard is whisked away by his henchmen while King returns Sally to her family and then returns to his office. On the phone with his wife, we see King's daughter in the background of their family home; his wife informs him that the daughter is visiting for dinner, which "is a start."
Cast
- Trevor EveTrevor EveTrevor John Eve is a British film and television actor. In 1979 he gained fame as the eponymous lead in the detective series Shoestring and is also known for his role as Detective Superintendent Peter Boyd in BBC television drama Waking the Dead.-Early life:Eve was born in Sutton Coldfield,...
as Dominic King: A former soldier turned expert hostage negotiator. He has a near-perfect track record for negotiations. - Helen BaxendaleHelen BaxendaleHelen Victoria Baxendale is an English actress of stage and television, possibly best-known for her roles in Cold Feet, Friends and Cardiac Arrest.-Early life:...
as Angela Beddoes: King's boss; she not only organizes his work but also meets with the clients during hostage negotiations. - Emma FieldingEmma FieldingEmma Georgina Annalies Fielding is an English actress.-Biography:The lapsed Roman Catholic daughter of a British Army soldier, Fielding spent much of her childhood in Malaysia and Nigeria, and a period in Malvern above her grandparents' betting shop...
as Naomi Shaffer: A botanist that is working in South Africa when she is kidnapped. - Sharon MaughanSharon MaughanSharon Maughan is a British actress.-Life and career:Maughan was born in Kirkby, Liverpool, one of five siblings in an Irish Catholic family...
as Jane Wickham: Shaffer's boss; her concern is not so much for the welfare of Shaffer as to how to best negotiate the kidnapping through her company's kidnapping insurance carrier. - Natasha LittleNatasha LittleNatasha Little is a British actress. She is best known for her work on British television, but has also featured in many film and theatre roles.- Early life :...
as Sophie King: Dominic's wife; she has career plans of her own and believes Dominic needs to spend less time with his own career and more time with the family, especially in light of their daughter's sudden interest in religion. - Patrick BaladiPatrick BaladiPatrick Baladi was born on 25 December 1971 and is an English actor.Baladi was born in Birmingham, Warwickshire, England. His father is a gynaecologist from Libya, and his mother was a midwife...
as Philip Shaffer: Naomi Shaffer's husband and it is revealed, Sally Shaffer's stepfather. He is a chemist whose work kidnapper Willard eventually asks as ransom. - John HannahJohn Hannah (actor)John David Hannah is a Scottish actor of film and television. He has appeared in Stephen Sommers' Mummy Series, Richard Curtis' Four Weddings and a Funeral and Sliding Doors with Gwyneth Paltrow...
as Alexander Willard: Willard's approach to kidnapping is that it is "just business." He has no hesitation in doing what is necessary to conduct his business but seems to take no special pleasure in the psychological terror of kidnapping. - David JamesDavid James (South African actor)David James is a South African film, theater, and television actor known mainly for playing the villainous Koobus Venter in the 2009 Oscar-nominated science fiction film District 9.- Personal life :...
as Dieter DeVries: One of Willard's brutal henchman. He beats the original kidnapper for his double-cross and is also the one to remove Sally's finger.
Production and distribution
Kidnap and Ransom was written by Patrick Harbinson (Person of InterestPerson of Interest (TV series)
Person of Interest is an American crime drama television series broadcasting on CBS. It is based on a screenplay developed by J. J. Abrams and Jonathan Nolan. The series was officially picked up by CBS on May 13, 2011, and debuted on September 22, 2011. On October 25, 2011 the show was picked up...
,24
24 (TV series)
24 is an American television series produced for the Fox Network and syndicated worldwide, starring Kiefer Sutherland as Counter Terrorist Unit agent Jack Bauer. Each 24-episode season covers 24 hours in the life of Bauer, using the real time method of narration...
, Law & Order
Law & Order
Law & Order is an American police procedural and legal drama television series, created by Dick Wolf and part of the Law & Order franchise. It aired on NBC, and in syndication on various cable networks. Law & Order premiered on September 13, 1990, and completed its 20th and final season on May 24,...
), directed by Andy Wilson, and filmed entirely in South Africa, including scenes that were set in London. It was commissioned by the ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
and produced by Trevor Eve's production company, Projector Pictures, and distributed by Fremantle Media to the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
. It was released on DVD on February 7, 2011.
Reception
The miniseries received generally positive reviews. Sam Wollaston of The GuardianThe Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
(UK) stated, "Eve is very good at playing the flawed and difficult professional, the maverick taking on the world. Everyone is good here. And everything – it's a proper thriller – grabs you by the goolies and drags you along at 100mph." Alice-Azania Jarvis of The Independent
The Independent
The Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...
said, "In all, it was a persuasive drama, the human trauma sufficiently realistic, sufficiently great as to render the viewer hooked."
Viewing figures for the first series were as follows:
| Episode | Date | Official Viewing Figures |
|---|---|---|
| Series 1 | ||
| Episode 1 | 13 January 2011 | 6.68 million |
| Episode 2 | 20 January 2011 | 5.64 million |
| Episode 3 | 27 January 2011 | 5.64 million |
| Average: | 5.98 million | |
Viewing figures are consolidated ratings from BARB
Barb
Barb may refer to:* A backward-facing point on a fish hook or similar implement, rendering extraction from the victim's flesh more difficult* Wind barbs for each station on a map of reported weather conditions...
which include ITV1 HD and ITV1 +1 audiences.
Second series
On May 5, 2011, it was announced that ITV had commissioned a second series of the drama, the plot of which would involve a group of tourists kidnapped in India. Filming began in South Africa in September 2011 with a 2012 release date.External links
- Kidnap and Ransom at ITV
- Kidnap and Ransom at the Internet Movie Database