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Introduction

Alun Armstrong, James Bolam, Amanda Redman and Dennis Waterman return as an unlikely team of crack detectives in hit drama New Tricks, made for ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ ONE by Wall to Wall Television.

Following its success as the channel's highest rating new drama series last year, New Tricks is back with an extended eight-week run.

The hour-long episodes follow the antics of three retired cops recruited by Superintendent Sandra Pullman (Amanda Redman) to reinvestigate unsolved crimes.

Gerry Standing (Dennis Waterman), Jack Halford (James Bolam) and Brian Lane (Alun Armstrong) have for a variety of reasons handed over their badges and accepted premature retirement.

But their hunger to right the wrongs of the past is still strong, and they're willing to resort to the most unconventional methods if it means they can close a case.

The series has attracted a host of big-name guest stars including Jenny Agutter, Keith Allen, Jane Asher, Honor Blackman, Anita Dobson, Lisa Faulkner, Nicholas Jones, Kieran O'Brien, Victor Spinetti, Gillian Taylforth, Stephen Tompkinson, Rita Tushingham, Anthony Valentine, Harriet Walter and Timothy West.

Susan Jameson returns as Lane's long-suffering wife Esther and Anthony Calf plays the team's tough new boss Strickland.

The violent death of a top QC in Soho, the abduction of two boys during a fishing trip, a heist involving rare red diamonds and the gruesome identification of a woman's remains in woodland are among the cases tackled by the Unsolved Crime and Open Case Squad (UCOS).

Other episodes see the team probing the kidnap of a teenage girl, the death of a bookie outside a greyhound track, a seemingly racially-motivated attack on an Asian bride and allegations that a celebrity chef killed her husband at the height of their TV fame in the Sixties.

As they investigate, the detectives each battle their own problems – Standing is trying to quit smoking, Lane is obsessive compulsive and Halford needs a heart monitor.

Meanwhile Pullman struggles to rein them in – while at the same time being forced to accept that their unorthodox approach sometimes wins the day.

Producer Tom Sherry (Murphy's Law, Burn It) says: "Each episode of New Tricks goes into a different world – from greyhound racing to celebrity chefs to the moving story of an Asian girl who has been in a coma for eight years.

"Some are dark, others are more frivolous – our team is sent to interview a record carp and dig up a dead dog as well as interrogate murderers and interview victims – but in each one, their rule-breaking attitude brings about an interesting result."

Adds Tom: "It's a delight to work with four leading actors who bring a wealth of talent and experience to the screen.

"Alun, James, Amanda and Dennis have made the roles in New Tricks their own and I'm sure their credibility, together with strong writing, is what has attracted such a high calibre of British actors as guest stars."

Alex Graham, chief executive of Wall To Wall, says: "Wall to Wall has a proud record of producing award-winning drama, but it is particularly exciting to have broken through and created an authentic returning hit.

"It's a privilege for us to be working with some of the best actors, not just of this, but of any television era, and we hope New Tricks will be around for some years to come."

Created by Roy Mitchell and Nigel McCrery, New Tricks is written by Roy Mitchell, Nick Fisher, Karen Maclachlan, Howard Overman and Danny Miller.

The directors are Jon East, Martyn Friend, Juliet May and Graham Theakston and the executive producer is Mike Dormer.

Wall to Wall Television's previous credits in drama include the award-winning A Rather English Marriage, Our Boy, Sex Chips & Rock 'n' Roll and Glasgow Kiss.

A new series of New Tricks is now in development.

Wall To Wall Television

Founded in 1987, Wall To Wall has a global reputation for innovation and is the winner of almost every major international award.

Headed by CEO Alex Graham, the company supplies broadcasters in both Europe and the United States and its programmes have sold in over 80 countries around the world.

With a strong reputation for factual programming, its latest productions include the acclaimed series Who Do You Think You Are? in which the story of Britain is told through the family history of 10 popular UK celebrities, including New Tricks' Amanda Redman.

The series was ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ TWO's highest rated show of 2004 and recently won Best Historical Documentary at the 2005 Indie Awards.

Other acclaimed productions include the multi-award-winning special, Orwell: A Life In Pictures for ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ TWO, the real-life history experiments The 1900 House, The Edwardian Country House, 1940s House and Colonial House, the spectacular mini-series Ancient Egyptians, Bafta-winning documentary series Baby It's You and docu-dramas Smallpox, The Day Britain Stopped and The Man Who Broke Britain, winner of the Wincott Award.

The factual entertainment format Things I Hate About You, reality game show SPY and observational documentary series The Reclaimers are among other recent successes, while upcoming programmes include The Mafia, telling the real story of the modern mafia, for Five and the National Geographic Channel.

Wall To Wall's other drama productions include A Rather English Marriage, which won four Baftas and the prestigious Peabody Award, as well as You, Me And It, A Statement Of Affairs, Our Boy, Plotlands, Sex Chips & Rock 'n' Roll, Glasgow Kiss and Agatha Christie.