An Unsuitable Job for a Woman an Episode Guide by kingkong Last updated: Thu, 25 Oct 2018 21:00
aired from: Oct 1997 to: May 2001	4 specials	ITV	180 / 120 min	stereo	closed captioned

regulars:

• Helen Baxendale as Cordelia Gray
• Annette Crosbie as Edith Sparshott

  recurring characters:
  

  production credits:

• Colin Ludlow, producer [ Episodes 1 & 2 ]
• Debbie Shewell, producer [ Episodes 3 & 4 ]

Irregular series

1. "Sacrifice" (3 x 60 min)
   gs: Ian McDiarmid [ Ronald Callender ], Rosemary Leach [ Miss Markland ], Phyllis Logan [ Elizabeth Leaming ], Struan Rodger [ Det Ch Supt Fergusson ], Jeff Nuttall [ Bernie Pryde ], Frank Middlemass [ Mr. Markland ], Andrew Clover [ Hugo ], Saskia Mulder [ Isabelle ], Clare Bullus [ Sophie ], Rick Warden [ Davie ], Bob Barrett [ Patrick Smith ], Mark Heap [ Det Sgt Marskell ], Georgine Anderson [ Mrs. Goddard ], Oliver Montgomery [ Edward Horsfall ], Joel Beckett [ Lunn ], Allan Surtees [ Benskin ], Pat Keen [ Mrs. Gladwin ], Michael Hadley [ Coroner ], Barry Woolgar [ Middle-aged man ], Helena McCarthy [ Neighbour ], Ken Bones [ Ted Fulton ]

   Cordelia Gray inherits the detective agency she works for, after the death of her boss. Her first case is when she is hired by Ronald Callender, an eminent scientist, to investigate why his son, Cambridge University student Mark Callender, has committed suicide. She soon discovers the case is more dnagerous and complex than it at first appeared. She moves into the summer house where he was found hanged, and finds herself threatened. The investigation ends in nightmarish fashion.

   b: 24 Oct 97 w: William Humble d: Ben Bolt

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2. "A Last Embrace" (3 x 60 min)
   gs: Gemma Jones [ Julia Hampson ], Leigh Lawson [ Andrew Hampson ], Julian Rhind-Tutt [ Philip Hampson ], Andrew Bicknell [ Peter Forbes ], Matilda Ziegler [ Hilary Hampson ], Debbie Chazen [ Joanna ], John Normington [ Lawrence Brightwater ], Mark Dexter [ Barry ], Martin Glyn Murray [ Hilary's lover ], Phillipa Price [ Erica Goodwin ], Emma Roberts [ Sandra White ], Amanda Tingle [ Receptionist ], Kwame Kwei Armah [ CID officer #1 ], Siobhan Stanley [ CID officer #2 ], Roger Alborough [ Barman ]

   Cordelia Gray goes undercover as a holiday relief at the Claircourt Park Hotel when the proprietor is accused by his wife of sexually harassing female staff. But when she arrives, the woman has disappeared. Then a murderer strikes, throwing the Hampton family into discord.

   b: 19 Feb 98 w: William Humble d: John Strickland

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3. "Living on Risk" (2 x 60 min)
   gs: Gwyneth Strong [ Det Insp Richards ], Steve John Shepherd [ Lee ], Craig Fairbrass [ Jason ], James Hiller [ Dave Crawford ], Ginny Holder [ Cheyney ], Silas Carson [ Simon Wright ], Claudia Blakly [ Kirsty ], Mark Wilkes & Peter Wilkes [ Jordan ], Lucy Speed [ Sandy ], Jason Barry [ Mickey ], Joe Dixon [ Alan ], Edward Laurie [ Artist ]

   With the agency struggling, and now pregnant, Cordelia Gray welcomes a seemingly straightforward job. But is the man she is hired to follow a killer or a victim?

   b: 27 Aug 99 w: Christopher Russell d: David Evans

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4. "Playing God" (1 x 120 min)
   gs: Struan Rodger [ Det Ch Supt Fergusson ], Flora Montgomery [ Laura Fergusson ], Anna Madeley [ Petra ], Billy Keating [ Keith ], Paul Bhattacharjee [ Krish ], Gerard Butler [ Tim Bolton ], Jack Ellis [ Stephen Childs ], Catherine Russell [ Caroline Childs ], Azim Majid [ Harish ], Leon Black [ Maan ], David Harewood [ Det Insp Peterson ], Colin Tierney [ Det Sgt Clacey ], John Bowler [ Det Const Wilton ], Paula Hamilton [ Shirley Roberts ], David Begg [ Tony Roberts ], Jonathan Hackett [ Immigration officer ]

   Now heavily pregnant, and facing an uncertain future, Cordelia Gray accepts a job from her an adversary, DCS Fergusson, who hires her to spy on his daughter's boyfriend, Tim Bolton, but then abruptly breaks the job off. Then she is hired by his daughter, Laura.

   b: 16 May 01 w: Barbara Machin d: Mary McMurray

The novels by P D James on which the series is based are: An Unsuitable Job for a Woman [1972], and The Skull Beneath the Skin [1982].