A Good Thief

A Good Thief is a British television crime drama film, written by and starring Kay Mellor, that first broadcast on ITV on 22 July 2002. The film, directed by Douglas Mackinnon, stars Mellor as Rita Pickering, a working class mother who witnesses a brutal drugs killing. After she testifies in court, she is threatened by a number of gang members, and fearing for her life, goes on the run and is forced to turn to shoplifting to survive.[1]

A Good Thief
GenreCrime drama
Written byKay Mellor
Directed byDouglas Mackinnon
StarringKay Mellor
Liz Smith
Angel Coulby
Martin Reeve
Vincent Davies
Tony Melody
Denise Black
ComposerMartin Phipps
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of episodes1
Production
Executive producerDavid Hart
ProducerPippa Cross
CinematographyPeter Greenhalgh
EditorAndrew McClelland
Running time90 minutes
Production companyGranada Television
Release
Original networkITV
Picture format16:9
Audio formatStereo
Original release22 July 2002 (2002-07-22)

Liz Smith stars as Rita's elderly neighbour Lizzie, while Angel Coulby takes on the role of Rita's daughter Leah. The film was Mellor's first acting role in several years after initially giving up acting and turning her hand to scriptwriting.[2] The film drew 6.06 million viewers on its debut broadcast.[3] Notably, the film has never been released on VHS or DVD.

Casting

The film was shelved for several years after the initial casting fell through. Mellor stated; "A Good Thief was the only script that ended up in my trunk unproduced. I wrote it for Pippa Cross and Granada Television and when the original casting fell through it was something I put to one side whilst I concentrated on other projects." Mellor stated she originally wrote the role of Rita for Julie Walters, although she was unable to commit to the role due to other work commitments.[4]

Reception

The Northern Echo reviewed the film following its debut broadcast, commenting: "This was one of those TV movies that couldn't decide whether to be funny or serious. Mixing killings and beatings up with almost slapstick comic capers is difficult. And A Good Thief lurched uncertainly from comedy to drama, leaving the poor viewer uncertain if to laugh or cry. Or just switch off."[5]

Cast

References
  1. "Drama Queen; Kay Mellor steals the show in more ways than one in her latest TV role, says MERLE BROWN. - Free Online Library". www.thefreelibrary.com.
  2. "Losing the run of themselves". www.irishtimes.com.
  3. "Weekly top 30 programmes - BARB". www.barb.co.uk.
  4. "The many talents of mellor". www.scotsman.com.
  5. "Last Night's TV: A Good Thief (ITV)". The Northern Echo.
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