Cracker (The Mad Woman in the Attic) (1993)

The pilot episode of the 1990's detective series Cracker. When a woman's body is found slashed to death on a train, police believe it may be another work of a suspected serial killer stalking Manchester. They finally believe they may have a breakthrough when one officer, trawling the rail tracks for clues, discovers an unconscious man on the embankment and he is taken to hospital. DCI Bilborough and his team believe they have the killer, though the man himself claims to have amnesia. But one man is watching the TV news intently - psychologist Dr Edward "Fitz" Fitzgerald, who knew the murdered girl. He offers his help to the team in order to help crack the suspect, but as he starts questioning him he gets the uneasy feeling that the man may be innocent and the real killer still at large. Starring Robbie Coltrane, Christopher Eccleston, Geraldine Somerville, Lorcan Cranitch, Barbara Flynn, Adrian Dunbar, Ian Mercer, Paul Copley, Kieran O'Brien, Tess Thompson, Kika Markham, John Grillo, Peter Faulkner, Kathy Jamieson, Phillippa Howell, Alan David, Louise Downie, Edward Peel, David Crellin, Tony Xu, Andy Devine and Sunetra Sarker. This was a huge hit for writer Jimmy McGovern and ITV when it was first broadcast on September 27th 1993. A psychological thriller, it saw Robbie Coltrane - usually known for his comedy work - cast in the lead role and he was so good he ended up winning the first of what would be 3 Best Actor BAFTA awards in a row. It was also nominated for Best Drama Serial, but lost out to Between the Lines. It would however pick up the BAFTA the following two years. Equally as good in my opinion is Barbara Flynn as Fitz's long suffering wife, while this made star names out of Christopher Eccleston, Geraldine Somerville and Lorcan Cranitch. There is also an early role for Line of Duty star Adrian Dunbar, who is very good in this. However, the police here wouldn't give you much faith in them looking at this bunch. They are not the most likable of people! This I came across in a charity shop, and while the original format was a 2 part thriller, in the DVD format they have done them as feature length, so apologies in advance. Please note that this contains swearing, violence and nudity.