The Locksmith (TV series)

The Locksmith is a six-part British television drama series, created and written by Stephen Bill, that first broadcast on BBC1 on 25 September 1997. The series, which stars Warren Clarke and Chris Gascoyne, follows Roland Pierce (Clarke), a locksmith-turned-vigilante who tries to track down the man responsible for a brutal attack on his estranged wife, Carla (writer Stephen Bill's wife, Sheila Kelley), which leaves her with brain damage. The police suspect a local junkie, Paul (John Simm) is responsible, but Roland remains unconvinced and sets out on his own quest to discover the truth.

The series was broadcast at 9:30 pm on Thursdays, and notably broadcast concurrently alongside another series featuring Simm, The Lakes. The series was released on DVD via Simply Media on 19 October 2015.

Reception
Mark Cunliffe for Letterboxd reviewed the series upon its release on DVD, writing; "The cast for The Locksmith is brilliant; Clarke, Kelley and Polly Hemingway perform the central triangle of husband, estranged wife and current, long suffering lover, whilst a younger generation of actors including Chris Gascoyne, Sarah-Jane Potts and John Simm are equally capable in the other roles."

He added; "Watching it back, I'm wondering if The Locksmith was actually intended to be a recurring series as opposed to a one-shot series or mini-series. There was certainly more mileage for a second run of six further episodes, but whether it was ever the intention to or not, it was just not to be."

Cast

 * Warren Clarke as Roland Pierce
 * Chris Gascoyne as Barry Forrester
 * Sheila Kelley as Carla Pierce
 * Sarah-Jane Potts as Alice Pierce
 * Polly Hemingway as Lesley Bygrave
 * Kenneth Hadley as Det. Sgt. Crossman
 * James Vaughan	as Nigel Cadwallader
 * Paul Reynolds as Dixie
 * John Simm as Paul
 * Julian Kerridge as Ian
 * Nirjay Mahindru as PC Tandon
 * Rebecca Raybone as WPC Fields
 * Stella Moray as Hilda
 * James Warrior	as Peter