14 December 2016

Mark Billingham welcomes Dalziel and Pascoe actor Colin Buchanan into the studio to talk about his time on the long-running crime drama and what it was like to work with co-star and legend of the screen Warren Clarke.

We hear about Colin's close relationship with Warren, the development of the series and his career in general.

Dalziel and Pascoe was adapted from a series of books by novelist Reginald Hill, an author many from the genre hold in very high esteem, and Colin's opinion of the great man is no different.

Meanwhile, our man with the spy glass Paul Hirons gets Rebus author Ian Rankin on the phone to talk about the influence Reginald Hill had on his own writing career.

Guest Recommendations

In each episode we ask our guests to bring a recommendation for a good read and a good watch when it comes to crime, and Colin brought two excellent options for your Christmas list.

Colin begins by recommending a book which contains one of the most intriguing opening lines: Ruth Rendell's Judgement in Stone.

Eunice Parchman killed the Coverdale family because she could neither read nor write.

However, Colin's main suggestion for your next crime read is the Man Booker Prize 2015 winner A Brief History of Seven Killings by Marlon James, a book which Mark describes as a rare Man Booker Prize that's "thoroughly readable."

From there Colin suggests the recent series Fortitude as your next watch. As Colin puts it, it is not a whydunit or a whodunit, but more of a "what the hell is going on here." A perfect summary summed up by Colin's inexplicable pig.