麻豆约拍

Showtrial is a five part drama written by (Cobra, The Tunnel, Strike) and directed by (Poms, Dian Fossey: Secrets in the Mist) which explores how prejudice, politics and the media distort the legal process, in a timely drama full of dark humour.

When Talitha Campbell, the estranged daughter of a wealthy property developer, is charged with conspiring to murder fellow university student Hannah Ellis, the trial that follows places victim and accused - and their families - in the eye of a media storm. Into that storm enters Cleo Roberts, the duty solicitor on the night of Talitha’s arrest. Refusing her father’s help, Talitha wants Cleo to lead her defence against a prosecution weaponising Talitha’s gender and social privilege against her.

From arrest to verdict, Cleo and the defence team vie with the prosecution to convince us of the truth about Talitha: Damaged scapegoat? Or cold-blooded killer?

Find out more about the show from Ben and Zara below.

Showtrial begins on 麻豆约拍 One and 麻豆约拍 iPlayer on Sunday 31st October from 9pm

Screenwriter Ben Richards introduces Showtrial

Trials – and the cases that produce them – have always fascinated me both because of their social and moral implications but also because of the drama of uncertainty that they produce. What can we ever say we know for certain? Can we really get to a stage of knowing it beyond reasonable doubt? How do our prejudices affect the outcome of justice? To what extent should the right to a fair trial take precedence over our need for a culprit and understandable instincts for revenge?

All these issues played out in the writing of Showtrial (which began several years ago and was completed and shot during the pandemic). Trials of course are the result of a criminal investigation and so we wanted to show all the elements from the moment of arrest to the delivery of the verdict. Along the way, the prosecution and defence will grapple with the same evidence, seeking to build a case where the stakes for those accused could not be higher – the potential exchange of freedom for a prison cell.

The scripts were informed by elements of many trials that I have avidly followed and that have gripped the public consciousness. I was especially interested in defences where one suspect tries to blame another to minimise their involvement, or defences based around dubious claims to “games gone wrong” as well as cases where there was a very strong body of evidence against a suspect but still a kernel of doubt remained. Feeding into all of this were issues of privilege of one sort or another. In the case of Talitha Campbell I was fascinated by the way in which her social class, which normally afforded her status and freedom, became a trap when it was linked to her gender and sexual history through the media-created figure of ‘Lady Tease’. And while we catch only glimpses of Hannah Ellis whose murder leads to the trial, I also wanted to show the misery of the relatives of victims – condemned to the agony of knowing that no punishment will ever bring back the child they miss so much and whose final suffering they can never undo.

Ultimately, I think this show reflects or touches on a number of issues, but it is not driven by any single one of them. They are part of a complex matrix of factors which inform any criminal trial, and they are treated with humour as well as seriousness. My central concern with all the characters is their moral core – whether that is through Cleo (Talitha’s solicitor) and her insistence on due process for all, or James (the CPS lawyer) whose essential gentleness (a rare quality in male characters on television) is allied with a troubled conscience, or DI Cassidy (the chief investigating officer) with her determination to punish those she believes responsible for Hannah’s death. Where Showtrial is, I think, different from many legal shows is in trying to show the angle of view of all sides of the case without necessarily privileging or demonising any of them.

I am so grateful for such a talented cast and a brilliant director in Zara Hayes who turned the scripts into everything I could have hoped for with flair and humour and the critical understanding that in the end – whatever the jury decides - you must make your own minds up based on the evidence with which you have been presented.

Interview with the Director - Zara Hayes.

Tell us the story of SHOWTRIAL?

SHOWTRIAL starts in a classic way; a missing girl in a city. We feel we’ve heard this story a million times before, a whodunnit. What it turns into is a twisty, knotty, legal thriller, the fates of all these fascinating characters whose stories circulate this legal case. It evolves from a legal thriller into a legal drama that asks some fascinating questions about what justice means, about the legal system in the UK and what constitutes a fair trial which is all wrapped up in an entertaining story.

What attracted you to directing SHOWTRIAL?

I have been reading a lot of scripts thinking about what TV drama I wanted to do. My background is documentaries and feature films. TV is such an attractive space as you engage with character over a longer time period which is what I’m really interested in. A lot of the scripts I thought I’d seen before or they were so out there I thought no one would watch it. SHOWTRIAL arrived in my inbox and I read it all in one sitting, I know it’s a cliché, but it’s so true. It’s such a quick read and it was so gripping and I heard myself as an audience member asking if she did do it. It was sophisticated, intelligent writing and I felt gripped and that it would be appealing to a mainstream audience. It wasn’t an easy thing for me as I was living in LA at the time and it was clear this was filming in the UK. It was the middle of the pandemic and I have a child and there were a lot of reasons this wasn’t a good idea! But I was drawn in by the story and that says a lot.

Which of the themes resonated with you the most?

Lots of my films have been about women and how they are perceived. I was obviously connected to it via that – the main characters are women and it’s about relationships between them. Talitha is very privileged with her gilded place in society, but can still have her womanhood weaponised against her by the media and the legal system in the way that doesn’t quite happen to men. I thought I wanted to be a barrister when I was a child until I was eight and I said to my mum, what happens if the person is guilty and you have to defend them? To which my mum said I shouldn’t be a barrister as I wouldn’t be very good!

The legal system is this man-made construct that we think of as objective but it is the most corruptible subjective thing that is influenced by all these factors. Identity politics and the social class divide are the issues at the forefront of the consciousness and to be able to explore them in an entertaining story format is really valuable and will make people think. I’m interested in challenging people’s perceptions of how people are judged based on what you know about them due to who they are or where they are from.

What was your vision for this series?

I come from a documentary background and I think people often assume that I have a handheld, grungy, aesthetic and that I’m realist and grounded but I saw this as an opportunity to be heightened in places.

Who is SHOWTRIAL for?

Anyone who enjoys a good thriller or courtroom drama. That’s what I think is very clever; it does potentially appeal to a lot of audiences and also a younger audience because of Talitha, Dhillon and Hannah who are in their early 20’s. The subject matter has the potential to be younger but the themes that are explored are cross-generational. Basic questions are explored, such as what is justice, but it also uses age-old whodunnit story techniques to hook people in and hopefully keep them!

Watch Showtrial on 麻豆约拍 One and 麻豆约拍 iPlayer from Sunday 31st October at 9pm