The Interrogation: The Complete Series 1-5

By: Roy Williams

Narrated by: Alex Lanipekun, full cast, Kenneth Cranham

Length: 10 hrs and 51 mins

Publisher's summary

Kenneth Cranham and Alex Lanipekun star in these 15 hard-hitting crime dramas.

Chalk and cheese coppers Max Matthews and Sean Armitage are from different generations and different worlds, but together they make a remarkable team. In this powerful, unconventional police procedural, we join the detective duo in the interview room as they practise their unique style of interrogation in a bid to extract a confession. 

These 15 dramas all focus on a different suspect, each with their own story and version of events. Among the varied characters we hear from are Rod, a Premier League footballer accused of rape; Jermaine, a ruthless gang leader; Marc, an ex-policeman suspected of domestic violence; and Beverley, who has come into the station to report her elderly father as missing. As the details of their crimes are revealed, we get under their skin and come to understand what motivated them to do what they did.

Compelling and compassionate, these dramas probe some of today’s most troubling moral issues, inviting us to face hard truths but holding out the possibility of redemption. With razor-sharp dialogue and characters that feel entirely authentic, they’ll linger in your mind long after you’ve finished listening.

Series 1
1. Rod
2. Jermaine
3. Sarah 

Series 2
1. Marc
2. Grace
3. Simon 

Series 3
1. Colin
2. Jonny
3. Kellie 

Series 4
1. Tom
2. Riz
3. PC Joanne Laverty

Series 5
1. Beverley
2. Micky
3. Neil 

Cast and credits
DS/DI/DCI Max Matthews…Kenneth Cranham
DC/DS Sean Armitage…Alex Lanipekun
Rod Tyler…Joe Sims
Helen Cottol…Katie Angelou
Mother…Tracy Wiles
Jermaine…Anthony Welsh
Sarah…Claire Louise Cordwell
Danny…Carl Prekopp
Marc Johnson…Ben Crowe
Lisa Johnson…Philippa Stanton
Operator…Hannah Wood
Grace Buffong…Noma Dumezweni
Stephen Buffong…Jerome Holder
Simone Parker…Amaka Okafor
Simon Barnes…Sam Swann
Jason…Michael Shelford
Damien…Will Howard
Wendy Harris…Joanna Brookes
Mr Renshaw/Football fan…Nicholas Murchie
Colin Hamilton…Michael Bertenshaw
Gemma…Amy Metcalf
Jonny Foster…Gawn Grainger
Nancy…Dinah Stabb
Kellie…Cush Jumbo
Alan Parke…Clive Hayward
Tom…Luke Norris
Debbie Ross…Susan Brown
Riz….Nabil Elouahabi
Tara…Joanna Horton
Derek…Chris Pavlo
Reporter…Stephen Critchlow
Jordan…Gershwyn Eustache Jr
Joanne…Sally Orrock
Beverley…Adjoa Andoh
Marcel…Jason Maza
Micky…Danny Webb
Neil…Joseph Millson
Sally…Catriona McFarlane
Sarge…Karen Bartke
Football fan…Finlay Robertson

Written by Roy Williams
Produced and directed by Jessica Dromgoole (series 1 and 2) and Mary Peate (series 3 to 5)
Music composed by David Pickvance

©2018 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2018 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

great book

I loved this .great cast.wonderful atmosphere.i couldn't stop listening..excellent performance of the cast.Made me think.

I didn’t appreciate the Social Justice Theme

I had to finally stop listening when it devolved into a homosexual story. Disgusting. Also a lot of time is wasted by the reading of the credits after each chapter.

The Bill

Takes me back to the old days of the TV show the Bill. (A UK ) Cop show. Great banter all the way. I guess I miss the ol UK accent.

Surprised

When I 1st began to listen to this book, I thought I would not enjoy it.. After 2 stories I was hooked the voice actors were great and the story is very well written. I was upset when when the book ended, I could have listened to 10 more stories.

THE Police Procedural for the 21st Century!

Every story grips the listener tightly and holds tight until the final truth is revealed.

Fantastic

A brilliant production that has your attention from the start. Well produced and each episode stands alone perfectly.

enjoyed every story!

Lots of little Crime Stories where you get to meet the main characters and learn about them as individuals .
Really enjoyed listening to this when I was doing other things it wasn't too taxing .

Typical bbc brilliance

Brilliant writing and acting.
The interplay between the main protagonists is perfect.
love it

So so.. good to have on in background

Overall the performances are reasonably good. The stories in parts are quite interesting, however they range from the ludicrously high profile (a rape case involving a premiership footballer, which would be HUGE) down to the downright benign. The first case comes up later in the series where the main characters struggle to remember the name of the player and the outcome! Which given he plays for the team one of them supports and which would of no doubt be one of the most scandalous cases in Football is just simply lazy writing. The rapport with the main characters is a little strained and seems to involve them always sharing a pint and skirting around how much they respect each other.

You get the sense that the author is of a particular generation, there's a lot of 'not in my day' and 'it was different back then'. All the younger characters are heavily stereotyped and undeveloped. There's never really a wow moment where you didn't see the truth of the case coming. Very linear, they interview someone and they turn out in the most part to be guilty, with a few notable exceptions.

It has the potential to be a really good premise for a series but i found it boring after a while, but it is good to have on in the background when you're doing things.

Not for everyone

OK the outcomes tend to be rather predictable but love the Max & Shaun double act.

Too much banter for me

The cast are good and a few of the stories were excellent but was not long before I was tired of the consistent banter. Perhaps this is how interrogations are done but somehow I doubt it. The detectives are far too clever and their 'victims' too dim - and I doubt that is a true picture of police procedure in the real world.

Be careful what you say....

They will definitely hold it against you!
Thoroughly enjoyed all stories.....Great stuff, nicely done all round.

Sublime

Absolutely superb acting ,superb storylines,great tempo and utterly realistic.
This is a must for any generation....

I didn't do it.. Yes you did.. OK I did it...

Not great but it's free so that's why I score 3 instead of 2.

Acting was dialled in. Story's were rushed and it felt like the 2 main actors couldn't stand each other in real life and that bled through into the play. Shame. The acting from some of the smaller actors was far superior to the main actors.. So they deserve a shout out. I'd have swapped some roles around in a heart beat..

Sorry to Alex lanipekun. He was Dreadful... I couldn't tell if he was angry or tired or upset or happy in most scenes... I don't want to bash him too hard.

Also hardened criminals folding after 2 questions? What's that about? One scene a lady bursts into an emotional tyrade and I had to rewind to hear what I'd missed because it came out of nowhere.. .. I'd missed nothing.. It was like she had an unprovoked breakdown but we are led to believe the two main characters broke her.... They didn't, but the end of the show was 10 mins away so they had to rush the story through.
A lot of weak lefty writing to. White people are x. Gay people are x. Black people are x. Come on.. That isn't the real world.
Like I say, it was free and OK to have in the back ground. But no awards here.
Sorry everyone. I listened right to the end hoping it would get better....

Excellent series

Thoroughly entertaining and top notch BBC drama at its best.
Great performances by the cast in particular the two leading detectives. Highly recommend.