Watching the Detectives – A History of British TV Crime Fighters
a talk by Pete Allen
Murder! It’s not big and it’s not clever. 
But without it our little grey cells would have missed some of the most popular television programmes to ever grace the small screen. This Talk walks the beat through the quiet of St Mary Mead, the golden spires of Oxford, the cliffs of Broadchurch and the killing fields of Midsummer. On the way it unearths the clues that reveal how our fascination with the long arm of the law owes much to the uncertainty, experimentation and innovation of the early days of television.
Pete is the Director of The RC Sherriff Trust, a charity set up through the Will of the playwright and author RC Sherriff. Prior to this he was The Arts Development Officer for Elmbridge Borough Council where he was responsible for The Royston Pike Lecture Series. Previous to his work with Elmbridge Borough Council, Pete was co-founder and artistic director of WhirlygigArts which ran CRYPT (Cranleigh Young People’s Theatre), CMYT (Chequer Mead Youth Theatre) and The Big Picture Young People’s Film Workshop. He co-founded Storm the Stage Young People’s Theatre for Mole Valley District Council and was the Director of The Together in Waddon Community Project. He has also worked extensively as a professional theatre director and film-maker.