Safe House (TV series)

Safe House is a British crime drama, broadcast on ITV1, starring Christopher Eccleston and Marsha Thomason as the principal characters, Robert and Katy, who turn their beautiful picturesque guest house in the Lake District into a Safe House after being persuaded by one of Robert's former colleagues.[1]

Safe House
GenreCrime drama
Created byMichael Crompton
StarringChristopher Eccleston
Marsha Thomason
Paterson Joseph
Jason Merrells
Nicola Stephenson
Christine Tremarco
Zoë Tapper
Peter Ferdinando
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of series2
No. of episodes8 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producersJill Green
Paula Cuddy
ProducersAndrew Benson
Susan Dunn
Running time45 minutes
Production companyEleventh Hour Films
Release
Original networkITV
Original release20 April 2015 (2015-04-20) –
present

The first series of Safe House began broadcasting in April 2015, and following successful viewing figures, a second series was commissioned and began broadcasting on 7 September 2017. Each series is made up of four episodes, each following a different set of guests who are forced to take refuge at the Safe House, whilst re-telling the story of how they came to arrive in the first place. The first series was released on DVD on 25 May 2015.[2] The second series was released on 20 November 2017.[3]

Plot

Former police officer Robert (Christopher Eccleston) and his wife, teacher Katy (Marsha Thomason) are approached by one of Robert's former colleagues, Mark (Paterson Joseph), who is looking for a remote location to offer as a safe house to a family who have been forced to go on the run. Robert reluctantly agrees, but finds himself drawn into a game of cat and mouse between a dangerous offender and the family he is trying to protect.[4]

The first series was solely written by creator Michael Crompton, and directed by Marc Evans, known for his work on Hinterland and Collision. The second series was penned by the writing team of Ed Whitmore and Tracey Malone, both known for their work on Silent Witness, while Evans returned to direct.[5]

Cast

Series 1

Series 2

Series 1

Series 2

Episode list

Series 1 (2015)
Episode Title Written by Directed by Viewers
(millions)[6]		 Original airdate
1"Episode 1"Michael CromptonMarc Evans8.4420 April 2015 (2015-04-20)
Still haunted by his inability to save a witness some years earlier, retired policeman Robert and his wife Katy open a hotel in the Lake District and, at the request of his former colleague Mark, they turn it into a safe house. Their first guests are prison warder David Blackwell, his wife Ali and children Louisa and Joe, following the attempted abduction of little Joe at a fairground by a man calling himself Michael, who also stabbed a man to death who tried to intervene. The family has another son, student Sam, whose whereabouts are unclear and who does not seem keen to contact his parents. They fear that Michael will go after him to get to them and their fears appear to be justified.
2"Episode 2"Michael CromptonMarc Evans7.2427 April 2015 (2015-04-27)
Mark identifies the attacker as Michael Collersdale, an ex-convict and drug dealer, as the police locate Sam and bring him to the safe house. He tells Robert that he fell into manufacturing drugs but not for Collersdale, whom he does not recognize. David was a warder at a prison where Collersdale served time but also claims not to know him, though Robert is suspicious that David was receiving large money sums - which he explains away. The Blackwells learn their new identities - they are tourists from Manchester - but Collersdale invades their house, discovering associates he can threaten to get to them.
3"Episode 3"Michael CromptonMarc Evans6.634 May 2015 (2015-05-04)
Ali's drug addicted sister Gemma is found dead in her flat after a visit by Collersdale and Robert is not convinced when Ali claims to have lost contact with her a long time ago. Eventually Ali admits that Joe is Gemma's son, adopted by Ali and David because of his mother's addiction, whilst Collersdale, breaking into the Blackwells' house, gets closer to locating them. At the same time Reynolds, who killed his wife Susan, leading to Robert's resignation, plans an appeal - alleging that the police withheld information at his trial. Mark shows Robert a CCTV film of him kissing Susan but Robert claims that it was platonic. Robert now wonders how Reynolds knew where to shoot at him and Susan and suspects a police officer told him.
4"Episode 4"Michael CromptonMarc Evans6.7811 May 2015 (2015-05-11)
As Collersdale finally catches up with David and his family, his motive for pursuing them becomes clear and it is down to Robert to save the day, following another attempt to abduct Joe. However, after the family return home, Robert still has an unanswered question regarding the death of witness Susan Reynolds, requiring a visit to her husband in prison and a showdown with the person who betrayed him and Susan.

Series 2 (2017)
Episode Title Directed by Written by Original airdate Viewers
(millions)[6]
5"Episode 1"Marc EvansEd Whitmore7 September 2017 (2017-09-07)5.09
6"Episode 2"Marc EvansEd Whitmore, Tracey Malone14 September 2017 (2017-09-14)4.31
7"Episode 3"Marc EvansEd Whitmore, Tracey Malone21 September 2017 (2017-09-21)4.23
8"Episode 4"Marc EvansEd Whitmore, Tracey Malone28 September 2017 (2017-09-28)3.82

References
  1. Mangan, Lucy (21 April 2015). "Safe House review – nobody broods better than Christopher Eccleston". The Guardian. Retrieved 1 October 2015.
  2. "Safe House [DVD]". Amazon. 25 May 2015. Retrieved 14 June 2016.
  3. "Safe House: Series 2 [DVD]". Amazon.com. Retrieved 3 October 2017.
  4. "ITV commissions atmospheric thriller Safe House from Eleventh Hour Films". itv.com. 1 May 2014. Retrieved 14 June 2016.
  5. "ITV commissions second series of Safe House". itv.com. 10 September 2015. Retrieved 14 June 2016.
  6. "Top 30 Programmes". BARB. Retrieved 11 February 2016.
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