G. F. Newman

Gordon Newman was born in Kent in 1947. He recounts the story of how, as a child, he was cuffed round the ear by a policeman who accused him of stealing. The blow left Newman deaf in his right ear.[3]

Wanting to be a star, he attended acting school at the age of 16, where he learnt about Stanislavski. His first script was written, at the age of 18, for the ITV police series No Hiding Place (1959–67).[3][4]

Newman's partner, Rebecca Hall is an author of books on animal rights.[5]

Newman has very strong and sometimes controversial views on a variety of subjects, and these are reflected in his choice of subjects for writing.[5] He has little faith in conventional medicine, believing that alternative therapy is far more effective. He claims that doctors are not interested in prevention, and are too close to the interests of the major pharmaceutical companies in just releasing ever more powerful drugs. He does acknowledge the benefits of nursing though, and in The Nation's Health, a newly qualified doctor goes to work at an NHS hospital- with her training taking her through the hospital's various departments, her idealistic aspirations come under threat.

Newman takes interest in animal rights and is a devout vegan.[5][6] When producing or directing television programmes he insists that no meat at all is consumed on the sets.[5][7] He has compared the slaughter of animals to the holocaust.[5] Newman is a believer in reincarnation and takes influence from the vegetarian John Todd Ferrier.[5]

Newman has no political allegiance to either left or right wing and does not vote.[5]

Terry Sneed trilogy

1. Sir, You Bastard aka Rogue Cop (1970) ISBN 9780491002547 - Adapted as a 1974 film, The Take[8]
2. You Nice Bastard (1972) ISBN 9780450011993
3. You Flash Bastard aka The Price (1974) ISBN 9780450021114

Law & Order

TV Series:

1. Detective's Tale (1977)
2. Villain's Tale (1977)
3. A Brief's Tale (1977)
4. Prisoner's Tale (1977)

Books: A trilogy of works consisting of

1. 'A Detective's Tale' ISBN 9780722163498
2. 'A Villain's Tale' ISBN 978-0722163634
3. 'A Prisoner's Tale' ISBN 978-0722163641

An omnibus edition including all three was published in 1984 by HarperCollins ISBN 9780586057834.[9]

The Nation's Health Published in the UK by HarperCollins, ISBN 978-0586052303,[10] and broadcast on Channel 4 in 1983.[11]

1. Acute
2. Decline
3. Chronic
4. Collapse

Number One (1984, 1985 according to IMDB),[12] about the exploitation of a snooker player by a professional promoter[3]

Screen One

Series One

• Nineteen 96 (1989) [3]

Series Four

• Black and Blue (1992)

Screen Two

Series Five

• Here is the News (1989)[3]

For the Greater Good (3 Episodes, BBC, 1991):[3][13]

• Member (1991)
• Mandarin (1991)
• Minister (1991)

The Healer

• The Healer (2 Part TV Movie, BBC, 1994)[14][15] -The Healer received a Bafta award in 1996.[16]

10x10

Series Eight, Episode 9[17]

• Woe to the Hunter (1996)[18]

Judge John Deed

1. Pilot (2001)
2. Series 1 (2001)
3. Series 2 (2002)
4. Series 3 (2003–2004)
5. Series 4 (2005)
6. Series 5 (2006)
7. Series 6 (2007)

New Street Law (2006-2007)

1. Series 1 (2006)
2. Series 2 (2007) NB IMDB credits Newman as 'co-creator' of 4 of the 6 episodes of Series 2.[19]

The Corrupted (2013/2015/2017)[20][21][22]

The Corrupted is an adaption of Newman's novel Crime and Punishment; it was broadcast on BBC Radio 4's afternoon play slot.

Other Novels

• Billy (1972) ISBN 9780722163542 (Broadcast, adapted for TV, in BBC's Play for Today: Season 10, Episode 6, -1979)[23]
• The abduction (1972) ISBN 9780450012716
• The Player and the Guest (1972) ISBN 9780722163566
• Three Professional Ladies (1973) ISBN 9780722163535
• The Split (1973) ISBN 9780450014772
• The Streetfighter (1975) ISBN 0352398337
• The Guvnor (1978) ISBN 9780246108852
• The List (1979) ISBN 9780436307003
• The Obsession (1980) ISBN 9780246110626
• Charlie and Joanna (1981) ISBN 9780586051849
• Men with the Guns (1982) ISBN 9780722163689
• Set a Thief (1986) ISBN 9780718126704
• Testing Ground (1987) ISBN 9780718128685
• Circle of Poison (1995) ISBN 9780671852115 -Originally published as Trading The Future (1992) ISBN 9780356200200
• Crime and Punishment (2009) ISBN 9781849160124
• The Exorcist (A trilogy- part one, 'Dark Heart' ISBN 9781493634606)[24] (2010)

Plays

• Operation Bad Apple (1982) ISBN 9780413502704
• An Honourable Trade (1984) ISBN 9780413578105

Genre Fiction

• Trading the Future (1992) ISBN 9780356200200

The Corrupted is a criminal family saga, starring Toby Jones as Joseph Olinska. Joey, an uneducated Jewish child immigrant from Russia, has a natural instinct for business and a love of money – coupled with a knack for acquiring it. He builds his empire with the help of a corrupt bank manager in the 1950s, starting with small greengrocer shops before moving into tertiary banking and property development (dealing with many corrupt policemen on the way) and befriending both judges and politicians. GF Newman's epic saga weaves fiction with real characters from history as it follows the fortunes of the Olinska family over five decades – from small-time business and opportunistic petty crime, through gang rivalries, to their entanglement in the highest echelons of society.[25]

Series 1,[20] a 10 part radio drama, was the first part of an adaption of his Crime and Punishment novel. Broadcast on BBC Radio 4's afternoon play slot (2013).[26][27]

Series 2, a further 10 part radio drama, formed the second part, first broadcast on BBC Radio 4 starting 19 January 2015.[21]

Series 3 began airing on Radio 4 on Monday 9 January 2017.[22]

Series 4 began broadcasting on Radio 4 on Monday 25 June 2018.[28]

Series 5 began airing on Radio 4 on Monday 20 April 2020.[29]

In May 1994 Newman gave a half-hour Opinions lecture televised on Channel 4 and subsequently published in The Independent as "Wisdom Needs No Votes".[34]

Trading The Future was initially published by Macdonald in the UK in a hardcover edition in 1991. It was subsequently re-released as Circle of Poison, in 1995.[35] See the related topic, Circle of Poison.

A three-part Whitehall drama series, with the titles (Member, Mandarin, Minister) reflecting the perspectives of the three principal protagonists (a British Member of Parliament, a Whitehall Civil Servant, and a Government Minister, respectively). It was first aired on the BBC in 1991.[13][38][39] Theme music was by Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark.[40]

The Nation's Health is a 4 episode series written by G.F.Newman based on his book of the same name, originally broadcast on the fledgling Channel 4 UK TV channel in 1983.

The series consists of four episodes that are, in order, titled: Acute, Decline, Chronic, and Collapse. In it we are faced with a maelstrom of political issues, illnesses, fatalities, personal greed and professional vanities. As may be clear from these titles, the series draws a relentlessly bleak view of the NHS in 1980s Britain.[41]

Newman's first big success was in novels: specifically, with what was to become a series of 3 works featuring a certain Terry Sneed:

• Sir, You Bastard

The story follows Terry Sneed for 36 critical hours in his life during which he attempts to extricate himself from an awkward situation after accepting a bribe to help a criminal. Hitherto, his unscrupulous behavior has reaped nothing but success: in seven years on the force, he has enjoyed meteoric success and begins the novel at the top.[44]

• You Nice Bastard

In which we are introduced to Jack Manso, head of an organized crime group.[45][46]

• You Flash Bastard/The Price

Detective Inspector Sneed 'accepts manipulation as a way of life' and works the system of 'checks and balances' customary in the CID. However, he is uncharacteristically cautious around a 'respected and respectable' American accountant.[47]

• G. F. Newman at IMDb
• The author's site
• 'one-eyed-dog' (film company) site