Tuesday 4th October 2016

Media company UKTV, the largest multi-channel broadcaster in the UK, has announced the launch of a brand-new, six-part podcast series. An in-house UKTV Original production, A Stab In The Dark focuses on the worlds of crime fiction and television crime drama, and in each episode award-winning crime novelist Mark Billingham hosts themed discussions featuring some of the biggest names from the genre.

In the first episode, Mark is joined by legendary, best-selling crime novelist Val McDermid and Managing Director of Euston Films and former BBC Head Of Drama, Kate Harwood. Other guests appearing in the series include David Morrissey, Ann Cleeves, Michael Connelly, Erin Kelly and Lee Child to name but a few.

Host, Mark Billingham said:

Crime fiction, both on the page and on the screen, is more popular than ever. There is a seemingly endless appetite for TV crime dramas, while the novels that often inspire them continue to dominate the bestseller lists. Arguably, this is a Golden Age for crime stories in all their forms and I could not be more thrilled to host A Stab In The Dark, which will see me casting a forensic eye across this dynamic and entertaining genre, interrogating some of its best known practitioners and highlighting those who are guilty of bringing brilliant crime stories to viewers' TVs and bookshelves. I hope that those who love crime drama - both on page and on-screen - will tune in for what I know will be some criminally entertaining discussions.

Producer, Paul Hirons added:

We're absolutely delighted that someone of Mark's standing is hosting A Stab In The Dark and, along with his guests, he does a fantastic job of exploring a genre that has always been so popular. Here at UKTV our mission is to give viewers more of what they love, and by producing this podcast we're adding real value to our already impressive slate of crime drama that plays out on our channels Alibi, Drama and W.

Launched on Tuesday 4th October, the podcast is available via iTunes here, as well as other podcast providers.

UKTV regularly broadcasts the best crime drama on Alibi, Drama and W, and A Stab In The Dark follows the company's successful entry into the podcast market with Dave's The Magic Sponge, which regularly tops the iTunes charts.

Mark Billingham is available for interview.

For all press enquiries please contact:

Paul Hirons or Katie Sheldrake in the UKTV Press Office

Note to editors:

A Stab In The Dark is recorded at UKTV's state-of-the-art, in-house broadcast facility in London, and is produced by Sam Pearson and Paul Hirons.

About UKTV

UKTV is the biggest multichannel broadcaster in the UK.

The award-winning independent has eleven imaginative brands - UKTV Play, Dave, W, Gold, Alibi, Yesterday, Drama, Really, Home, Eden and Good Food. These include the two most popular non-PSB channels in the UK and account for 9.31% of the British commercial TV market. The company's most recent financial results showed record-breaking year-end revenue of £319m and EBITDA of £82m. It invested £148m in programming and related launches last year, and is becoming an increasingly significant investor in UK creativity.

UKTV has a truly innovative model, curating brand-defining commissions, high-profile acquisitions and the very best of BBC, alongside programmes originally shown on ITV and Channel 4. The network embraces technology to deliver inspired channels to audiences through Freeview, Sky, Virgin Media, BT, TalkTalk, YouView, Freesat, Amazon Fire and UKTV Play, and distributes its highly valued original programmes to 200 territories.

Now celebrating its 23rd year at the forefront of digital television, UKTV - an independent commercial joint venture between BBC Worldwide and Scripps Networks Interactive, Inc. (SNI) - is proud to be the only British television broadcaster in The Sunday Times top 100 companies list.