The Murder Game (TV series)

The Murder Game was a British reality television series that aired on BBC One from March to May 2003. The show was based on the American FOX television show Murder in Small Town X. Though classified as a reality television series, it was more accurately a hybrid of reality TV, game show, and mystery drama. The series was narrated by Rupert Smith. Although there was no host in the traditional sense the Chief, Bob Taylor, acted as a sort of host for the show.

The Murder Game
Genre	Reality / Murder mystery
Created by	George Verschoor, Robert Fisher, Jr., and Gordon Cassidy (for FOX)
Developed by	FOX/BBC
Directed by	Ewen Thomson
Presented by	Bob Taylor (The Chief)(Author of Crimebuster)
Narrated by	Rupert Smith
Composers	Sophia Morizet, Helene Muddiman
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Original language	English
No. of seasons	1
No. of episodes	9
Production
Executive producer	Conrad Green
Producers	Ewen Thomson, Nichola Hegarty, Aidan Hansell (reality producer), David Newcombe (drama producer)
Production locations	Maldon, Brentwood, Essex, England, UK
Cinematography	Janet Tovey
Editor	David Tibballs
Running time	60 mins
Release
Original network	BBC One, BBC Three
Picture format	PAL (576i)
Original release	29 March – 17 May 2003
Chronology
Related shows	Murder in Small Town X
External links
Website

Premise

In the town of Blackwater a fictional woman named Catherine Prior had been murdered. Ten contestants from the British public were set the challenge of becoming investigators and finding the killer. The investigators were led by Bob Taylor, known as the Chief Investigator or Chief, who was in real life a retired Detective Chief Superintendent from the West Yorkshire Police.[1] The people from the town, played by actors, formed the suspects, some of whom later became victims.

At the beginning of each episode, one investigator would be appointed as the Lead Investigator, who would have specific responsibilities and powers. The investigators would be split into teams by the Lead Investigator, and sent down different lines of inquiry determined by the Chief. These lines of inquiry would involve hidden tests, which the teams would either pass or fail as judged by the Chief.

The Killer's Game

At some point during the investigation days in each episode, the killer would leave some form of message showcasing two locations, usually accompanied by the taunting words 'coming out to play?'. This signaled the start of each episode's elimination segment, The Killers Game. The investigators were then passed or failed on their lines of enquiry and those who failed were put up for a group vote. Every investigator except the lead investigator could vote and the investigator with the most votes would be chosen as the first person to play the "Game" The Lead Investigator would then choose any investigator to be the second person for the Killer's Game. The two chosen investigators pick from two envelopes to decide who will go to either of the two locations given, for example the first locations for the show were "The Old Oaks" and "The Power Museum". "The Chief" then says to the players that they have one hour to pack their bags and get ready to play the "Killer's Game". In Episode 9, as the finale episode, two killer games were played. The game with the final three had a different approach to the selection process. The Chief decided that the investigators who failed their enquiries the most would play the "Killer's Game".

In the Killer's Game, the two selected investigators would be sent to two different remote locations completely alone, with their movements recorded only by a head-mounted camera and a torch, they also had to follow a map to where the "clue" would be located. One of the chosen investigators would discover an important clue that would help solve the mystery, whereas the other investigator would be eliminated from the show by being "murdered by the killer." The survivor of the two came through the doors at the entrance, notifying that he or she chose correctly and would continue on.

The eliminated contestant would choose the Lead Investigator for the next episode, by means of a prerecorded "last will and testament".

Story

By being given £20,000 and the Wilmington Jewel by her father Tony, Catherine plans to leave the town of Blackwater forever taking her daughter Anya with her, but Trevor Dobie heard about Catherine's plans on leaving and started to threaten her, Catherine left home and broke into Jay Wilmington's barge where she would spend the night taking the navigation dividers with her as protection. The following day Goldie was due to marry Jay Wilmington. Catherine was picked on the way to the church by Jennifer Wilmington and she saw that Catherine was wearing the priceless neckless that they thought it was missing, she called Jay to try to get it back but failed. Jay called Goldie and tried to get her to persuade Catherine to give her the necklace but Catherine refused. Meanwhile, Trevor was still pestering Catherine over Anya.

Later Trevor arrived at the church to get Catherine as she practiced for the wedding to admit on camera that he is Anya's father. As he entered the church his phone rang and he rejected the call. The call was from Jay in the phone box calling Trevor to stop hassling Catherine. Jay was the guy in the brown checked shirt seen by witness Edward Green. Jay was wearing the same shirt when Sam, Nick, and Christine saw him at the morgue the day after Catherine was attacked and he said then that he hadn't changed for twenty-four hours. Jay had an alibi without realising it. Trevor demands that Catherine admit that Anya is his daughter which she does. However, she tells him that he's never been a proper father to her and he never will as her and Anya plan to leave Blackwater. When Trevor asks how she can afford to do this she tells him that Tony Wilmington is her father and he has given her the money to get away. Trevor has always hated the Wilmingtons because Felicity Wilmington killed his mother's baby to try to save the family name. He attacks Catherine who tries to defend herself with the navigational dividers she stole from Jay's barge, however Trevor manages to get them off her and use them to stab her. He then took the necklace hoping to use it to frame Jay or Jennifer and he's had the necklace ever since the murder. Why he chose to play the killers game with the investigators is unknown.

Voting history

• A * Indicates there was a tie in the group vote, resulting in a revote between the people who was in said tie.

Episode	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	Finale
Eliminated	Christine	Sarita	Samantha	Mervin	Meryl	Ruairi	Richard	Nick	Melanie
Group Vote	Sarita*	Sarita*	Andrew	Andrew	Andrew	Ruairi*	Andrew	N/A
Lead Investigator's Pick	Christine	Andrew	Samantha	Mervin	Meryl	Richard	Richard
Group Voting
Andrew	Meryl	Meryl	Melanie	Mervin	Nick	Melanie	Richard	Six Failed	Winner
Melanie	Ruairi	Sarita	Andrew	L.I.	Andrew	Ruairi	Andrew	Four Failed	Runner-Up
Nick	Sarita	L.I.	Ruairi	Mervin	Andrew	Ruairi*	Andrew	Five Failed
Richard	L.I.	Ruairi	Nick	Andrew	Nick	Ruairi	Melanie
Ruairi	Meryl	Meryl	Melanie	Andrew	L.I.	Melanie
Meryl	Ruairi	Sarita	Andrew	Andrew	Andrew
Mervin	Nick	Richard	L.I.	Andrew
Samantha	Sarita	Sarita	Andrew
Sarita	Ruairi	Meryl
Christine	Sarita

• The first episode included training for the investigators. The Killer's Game was not introduced until episode 2.
• Beginning in episode 8, the Lead Investigator was no longer immune from playing the Killer's Game. This meant that he or she would participate in line of inquiries and the group vote.
• In the finale, the final three investigators were told how many times they had failed their inquiries. The two with the most played the Killer's Game.
• In the finale, the second Killer's Game required the two remaining contestants to declare who they believed to be the killer and why. Melanie answered incorrectly and became the killer's final victim. Andrew answered correctly, solved the case, and won the £25,000 reward.

  The investigator's team passed their line of inquiry.

  The investigator's team failed their line of inquiry.

  The investigator was the lead investigator.

  The investigator was the lead investigator and failed their line of inquiry.

  The investigator was spared from playing the Killer's Game due to having the fewest failed lines of inquiry.

  The investigator played the Killer's game because they did not have the fewest failed lines of inquiry.

  The investigator became the runner-up.

  The investigator won the game.

Sarita* = In both of the first two votes, a tie occurred, first between Sarita and Ruairi, then between Sarita and Meryl. In both cases, a revote was performed, and Sarita received the most votes both times.

Ruairi* = The group vote resulted in a tie between Ruairi and Melanie. As Lead Investigator, Nick broke the tie and sent Ruairi out to play the Killer's Game.

Teams

Teams	Episode 2	Episode 3	Episode 4	Episode 5	Episode 6	Episode 7	Episode 8	Finale
Team 1	Christine, Nick, and Samantha	Mervin and Richard	Meryl and Richard	Meryl and Nick	Melanie, Meryl, and Richard	Melanie and Ruairi	Melanie and Nick	Andrew, Melanie, and Nick
Team 2	Andrew, Melanie, and Mervin	Meryl, Samantha, and Sarita	Andrew, Nick, Ruairi	Richard and Ruairi	Andrew and Nick	Andrew and Richard	Andrew and Richard	No Team 2
Team 3	Meryl, Ruairi, and Sarita	Andrew, Melanie, and Ruairi	Melanie and Samantha	Andrew and Mervin	No Team 3
Lead Investigator	Richard	Nick	Mervin	Melanie	Ruairi	Nick	Andrew	No Lead Investigator

  The team failed their line of inquiry

  The team passed their line of inquiry

  There are no fails nor passes

Investigators

Investigator	Eliminated	Final Killer's Game Location
Christine Rose	Episode 2	The Power Museum
Sarita Raval	Episode 3	The Tyre Yard
Samantha Matthews	Episode 4	The Grain Silos
Mervin Merchant	Episode 5	The Fortress
Meryl Holt	Episode 6	The Old Docks
Ruairi McNally	Episode 7	The Quarry
Richard Sharrocks	Episode 8	The Bottling Plant
Nick Sykes	Episode 9	The Nuclear Bunker – Living Quarters*
Melanie "Mel" Sainz	Runner-Up	The Grain Store
Andrew Weaver	Winner	The Construction Warehouse

• The Nuclear Bunker had two locations. Andrew went to the Operational Zone and Nick went to the Living Quarters.

Suspects

Suspect	Played By[2]	Job	Outcome	Notes
Frank Prior	Colin Spaull	Catherine's and Goldie's father	1st suspect cleared	At a petrol station doing a dodgy deal
Vanessa March	Unknown	The Babysitter	2nd suspect cleared	Was buying a pregnancy test
Tina Wells	Joanne Adams	The Vicar's Wife	3rd suspect cleared	Murdered while retrieving her husband's inhaler
Dean Garretty	Graham Bryan	The Best Man	4th suspect cleared	At his showrooms sending an e-mail
George Hawick	Alan David	The Music Teacher	5th suspect cleared	Was chopping wood at his home
Jennifer Wilmington	Unknown	Jay's Mother	6th suspect cleared	Was visiting her solicitors about the Wilmington jewel
Gillian "Goldie" Prior	Jo-Anne Stockham	The Bride and Catherine's sister	7th suspect cleared	At a cash point withdrawing £50 to buy flowers for Jennifer
Jay Wilmington	Luke de Lacey	The Groom	8th suspect cleared	In a telephone booth trying to call Trevor
Trevor Dobie	Guy Scantlebury	The Builder	Not Cleared	The Murderer

Episodes

No.	Title
1	"Episode 1"
The investigators undertook training for five days to learn the techniques of police investigation work and self defense. Short biographies of the individual investigators were included between the footage of the training. This episode saw no lines of inquiry or the use of the Killer's Game.
2	"Episode 2"
Lead Investigator: Richard Team 1: Christine, Nick, and Samantha Day 1: Gather evidence at the crime scene. Hidden Test: Remember their training on gathering evidence. The investigators gathered evidence from the crime scene which included a noose that was left outside the church that introduced the investigators to the Killer's Game and ringing mobile phone. The investigators consulted the Lead Investigator, Richard, for advice on if they should answer the phone. Richard advised them to answer it, which they did through the evidence bag but the call was silent. The Chief asked if the phone had been answered to which Nick denied having done so; this initially went unnoticed but the truth was discovered on the second day after a review of the teams work. Day 2: Go to the morgue and collect Catherine’s possessions. Hidden Test: Do not give away too much information to Goldie and Jay The investigators went to the morgue and met Jay and Goldie upon leaving. The suspects asked numerous questions for information, including the whereabouts of a necklace, yet the investigators gave nothing away. Result: Fail, Nick answered Catherine’s mobile phone which could have affected the records. Team 2: Andrew, Melanie, and Mervin Day 1: Visit Frank and Goldie Prior and inform them of Catherine’s murder. Question them on their movements at the time. Hidden Test: Remember their training on family liaison. Melanie started to question Goldie and Frank until a child came into the room who was identified to be Catherine's daughter, Anya. Mervin advised against continuing while Anya was in the room, to which Melanie requested privacy before continuing. The investigators questioned both suspects on their movements throughout the day. Day 2: Visit Frank Prior and verify his story from yesterday. Hidden Test: Notice that Frank has changed his story and follow-up on it. The investigators asked Frank for confirmation of his movements. It was noted that Frank omitted his previous statement that he had visited a petrol station. Due to this, CCTV footage from the petrol station that was identified as the one Frank had said he had visited was requested to ascertain if he was there or not. Result: Pass, the team made sure Anya was out of the room, and they caught Frank changing his story, which subsequently clears him. Team 3: Meryl, Ruairi, and Sarita Day 1: Visit Dean Garrety and get his video tape from him. Hidden Test: Recognize the fact that the theft of Dean's camera makes his office a crime scene and act accordingly. Upon the request of the video tape, Dean realized the camera containing it had been stolen. In the confusion that followed, Sarita allowed Dean to leave the scene and the investigators returned to HQ. Day 2: Visit Dean again Hidden Test: Do not tamper with the camera The investigators were to visit Dean at his home address but upon their arrival the previously missing wedding car pulled out of the drive way at high speed. The investigators pursued the car until the driver stopped at a disused railway and threw an object off the bridge into the overgrowth below it. Further pursuit of the car was hindered by a tractor blocking the route. Sarita coordinated a more systematic search of the area which led to Ruairi finding Dean's missing video camera. The investigators discussed watching the tape contained in the video camera but Meryl successfully argued against doing so. Result: Fail, the team failed to recognize the crime scene on day one. Team's Pick: Sarita (3-3-2-1) Note: The group vote was tied between Sarita and Ruairi, but was split due to a group re-vote. Location: The Old Oaks Lead Investigator's Pick: Christine, for (in the Lead Investigator's opinion) not possessing any individual qualities which would be required late on. Location: The Power Museum Eliminated: Christine Killer Clue: Sarita returns with a key to "Mill Fields". The key is believed to unlock Catherine's Caravan. It does not open it as it is later revealed that Frank Prior, Catherine's father, had changed the locks.
3	"Episode 3"
Lead Investigator: Nick Team 1: Mervin and Richard Day 1: Go to Catherine’s caravan Hidden Test: Find a clue The clue was discovered to be a scribbled note on an envelope that was perceived to be a meeting that was arranged to take place the following day. Day 2: Follow up on clue found at Catherine’s caravan. Hidden Test: Observe without being spotted The investigators are spotted by Dean who flees the scene, yet they are able to hide in time to witness Vanessa appear for the meeting. They hear her contact Dean via mobile phone and question him about not arriving for their long scheduled meeting. Result: Fail, the team is spotted by Dean Garrety. Team 2: Meryl, Samantha, and Sarita Day 1: Check Dean’s abandoned car for evidence. Hidden Test: Remove the car tracker as evidence. The investigators search the now burnt out car for evidence and Samantha identifies the tracker, however none of the investigators are aware of the purpose of a tracker so leave it in the car and return to HQ. The Chief sends out his special team to recover the tracker and it is shown to provide evidence that the car was driven to the Sluice Pond in the early hours of the morning before returning. Day 2: Search the Sluice Pond for murder weapon. Hidden Test: Find the right object. The Sluice Pond was expected by the investigators to be the dumping ground of the murder weapon. Unbeknown to the investigators, it contained four metal items. Three dummy items and the murder weapon. One of the four was found, a bent iron pipe, before Sarita broke both of the metal detectors. This resulted in the investigators needing to perform a fingertip search of the Pond. Upon finding the second of the four items, a trowel, the investigators believed they had found the murder weapon and returned to HQ. Result: Fail, the team did not retrieve the tracker and brought back the wrong item from the pond. The Chief sent out his special unit again to retrieve the actual weapon, which was a pair of Navigational Dividers which were later identified as belonging to Jay Wilmington. Team 3: Andrew, Melanie, and Ruairi Day 1: Go to Creeksea Place and interview Jennifer Wilmington. Interview Jay Wilmington at his barge and investigate the break in. Hidden Test: Be thorough and remember the correct procedure for collecting fingerprints. While Andrew interviewed Jay, the other two investigators only dusted the exterior handle for prints. Melanie collected the only print they were able to find on the door handle leading them to believe they had completed their task and return to HQ. Day 2: Return to Creeksea and plant a bug on Jennifer Wilmington. Hidden Test: Don’t get caught. The investigators placed the hidden bugs around the living room as requested and opted to place the personal bug in a cardigan belonging to Jennifer. While they were not caught placing the bugs or spotted later when under cover in the old shed, they did leave behind several items which indicated that someone had been in there recently. Namely a camera battery in a zip-lock bag, an earpiece and a bottle half full of urine. Result: Fail, the team did not thoroughly dust for prints and missed the ones that were on the glass that the perpetrator had picked out of the frame to be able to open the door. The Chief sent in his special unit who collected the missed fingerprints. Forensics discovered that there were two prints, one came from Jay Wilmington, the owner of the boat and the second belonged to Catherine Prior Team's Pick: Sarita (3-3-1-1) Note: The vote was tied between Sarita and Meryl, but was split due to a group re-vote. Location: The Tyre Yard Lead Investigator's Pick: Andrew, for (in the Lead Investigator's opinion) not being as involved in the inquiry as much as the other investigators, particularly when the killer visited HQ overnight and left blood stained Polaroids with the next two locations of the Killer's Game attached to the windows. Location: Dead End Farm Eliminated: Sarita Killer Clue: Andrew returns with a pill box that belongs to Jennifer Wilmington. It is later discovered that she reported it missing a month ago. It has the inscription "Death And His Brother", a quote from a Mary Shelley story
4	"Episode 4"
Lead Investigator: Mervin Team 1: Meryl and Richard Day 1: Interview Trevor Dobie, ask if he knows he is Anya’s father. Interview Jennifer Wilmington about Pill Box. Hidden Test: Protect the Evidence. The investigators question the suspects separately. First asking Trevor about his knowledge of being Anya's father, to which he denies but appears to be surprised but happy. They then ask Jennifer about the Pill Box, she states it is hers and has been missing for some time. She requests it back but the investigators assure her that it is best being kept with them. Day 2: Make air reconnaissance of area. Hidden Test: Spot a vital piece of evidence. The investigators spot the vital evidence, which is a red coat hanging in a tree that contains an invitation to the wedding addressed to Tina Wells. They also realize that the area is quite large and suspect that Catherine may have needed assistance to get to the church on time to rehearse. Result: Pass Team 2: Andrew, Nick, and Ruairi Day 1: Go and interview Jay Wilmington about Catherine breaking into his barge. Hidden Test: Follow the procedure for interviewing multiple suspects. The investigators did not separate Jay and Goldie when they asked Jay about the discovery that it had been Catherine that broke into his boat. Due to the investigators questioning Jays relationship with Catherine in front of Goldie, she decided to leave, resulting in Andrew attempting to catch up with her to enable them to interview her. Day 2: Interview Vanessa March about her relationship with Dean. Hidden Test: Confirm her story by checking credit card receipt. Vanessa tells the investigators that she had sent Dean out to purchase a pregnancy test, which was negative but she has told Dean that it was positive. The investigators obtain the credit card receipt from the chemist that the pregnancy test was purchased from, finding that it has been signed by someone and the purchase time would provide whoever signed it with an alibi. They request copies of the signatures of both Dean and Vanessa. Ruairi spots during the nightly meeting that the requested copy of Vanessa's matches the chemist's receipt. The investigators are able to clear Vanessa as she has an alibi for the time of the murder but it is discussed that she has also attempted to provide a cover story for Dean. Result: Fail, the team did not separate Goldie and Jay. Team 3: Melanie and Samantha Day 1: Interview George Hawick about his movements on the day of Catherine’s murder as phone records show he was the caller when Nick answered the phone. Hidden Test: Establish if George has an alibi. The investigators deduce that even though George said he was cut off by the tide over the causeway, he could have used a boat to get to the mainland before the time Catherine was murdered. This leads them to establish that the tide does not provide George with an alibi. Day 2: Hold a press conference. Hidden Test: Only reveal what is in the public domain. The press asked a series of questions, of which all but one could be answered. The investigators had previously asked Mervin, the Lead Investigator, on how they should approach the press conference. He advised to refuse to answer any general questions and focus only on using the press conference to appeal for information on the last known movements of Catherine prior to her murder. Due to this, the press posed questions to Frank and Goldie only but they left the press conference when the questions became intrusive. Result: Fail, the team did not answer any questions at the conference. Team's Pick:: Andrew Location: The Deserted Railway Lead Investigator's Pick: Samantha, for (in the Lead Investigators opinion) not being fully prepared for the press conference. Location: The Grain Silos Eliminated: Samantha Killer Clue: Andrew returns with an old newspaper clipping of Catherine's birth.
5	"Episode 5"
Lead Investigator: Melanie Team 1: Meryl and Nick Day 1: Interview Tina Wells about the coat found by Meryl and Richard with Tina’s wedding invitation inside. Hidden Test: Look out for anything suspicious. Tina tells them about a secret that Catherine had divulged to her two weeks before her murder involving the Wilmington House and 'Alice's Room' and something contained within it which will 'change everything'. While Tina is telling the investigators she receives a phone call that appears to be a silent nuisance call. Meryl asks about the phone call and Tina admits that she has been receiving them at home and on her mobile before insisting that she is allowed to leave as she needs to carry on with what she was doing. Meryl asks her if she owns a red coat which Tina confirms that she does but she keeps it at the church as a spare and it is still there if they want it before cycling off. Day 2: Observe the suspects at the wake. Hidden Test: Gather any relevant information. The investigators are approached by Vanessa and Tina. Vanessa tells them that Anya said that her father used to be violent towards Catherine. Both Tina and Vanessa states that they do not know who the father is as Catherine never told them although Tina then adds that she feels it is a coincidence that she was being threatened by the father and now she has been murdered. Tina also states that Catherine was seeing Dean before she died and Dean was also seeing Vanessa, due to this Tina feels that he is not trustworthy. Result: Pass Team 2: Richard and Ruairi Day 1: Interview the witnesses. Hidden Test: Identify the correct statement. The investigators interview three witnesses and use the killer's tape and the pathologists report to confirm or deny their statements. They conclude that the first witness, Zoe, is mistaken as Catherine was not right handed but left handed as shown in the killer's tape. They also establish that the second witness, Mary, is mistaken as Catherine was wearing contact lenses as reported by the pathologist so could not have pulled out glasses to put on at the same time as Mary. This leave the witness statement of Edward as the correct statement and provides the investigators with clues as to who else may have seen Catherine before she died. Day 2: Attend the funeral and interview Jennifer Wilmington about her being seen by Edward dropping Catherine at the church. Hidden Test: Keep the suspects separate when interviewing them. The investigators confronted Jennifer with the eyewitness statement and she started to tell them about what had happened and what the witnessed argument was about when Trevor Dobie, another suspect, started to approach them. After trying to move Jennifer away from Trevor failed to increase the distance between the two suspects, Richard left Ruairi to continue listening to Jennifer's statement and led Trevor away. Result: Pass Team 3: Andrew and Mervin Day 1: Interview Jay Wilmington about navigational dividers. Hidden Test: Keep the case details about the murder weapon confidential. The investigators establish that the dividers belong to Jay but they have been missing for a few days and he thought he had misplaced them. Day 2: Visit Felicity Wilmington and search Alice’s Room. Hidden Test: Remember their training and act accordingly. The investigators gained access to the room and discovered the secret to be the mummified remains of a baby. They decided to photograph the scene but also to close the door to the adjacent box room where it was found and return to HQ to take the secret with them before the rest of the Wilmington family returned home. Result: Fail, They failed to remember the process for dealing with a crime scene, as a result the evidence and the corpse could have been destroyed by Jennifer if she had discovered it for herself, rendering the photographs they had taken as inadmissible in court. The Chief sent in his special unit to seal it off and collect the evidence. Team's Pick: Andrew Location: The Hospital Lead Investigator's Pick: Mervin, for (in the Lead Investigator's opinion) causing divides amongst the group and poor decision making in the past. Location: The Fortress Eliminated: Mervin Killer Clue: Andrew returns with the necklace Catherine from the murder video. It is the Wilmington Jewel, but the main pendant of the necklace is missing.
6	"Episode 6"
Lead Investigator: Ruairi Team 1: Melanie, Meryl, and Richard Day 1: Interview the Wilmington’s about the dead baby. Hidden Test: Check Felicity's story for inconsistencies. Felicity informs the investigators that the baby was hers and that it was premature. While the early forensic report given to them before the visit to Felicity stated that the baby appeared full term, they believe her until the full post mortem comes through and confirms that the baby is not premature. They are then able to use the box of family tree information collected from Tina and the knowledge about Trevor's mother to establish that the dead baby is likely to have been Dorothy's and not Felicity's. During the night of Day 1 the Chief is told that there has been a disturbance at a local farm and a search team has been sent out with sniffer dogs and a piece of Tina's clothing. The investigators are to accompany them and investigate the find. They follow the dogs and locate the body of Tina Wells. However, they fail to spot a message sent by the killer which consists of a knife through an animal heart and the locations of the next Killer's Game. Day 2: Visit the nursing home of Trevor’s mother Dorothy. Hidden Test: Remember the date on the Dictaphone tape. The investigators establish what nursing home Dorothy was residing in before she died and speak to a resident that may remember Catherine's visit. The date on the Dictaphone tape enables the resident to look up the date in his diary and confirm that Catherine was there speaking to Dorothy. Result: Pass Team 2: Andrew and Nick Day 1: Confront Trevor Dobie about threatening Catherine. Attend to the break in and vandalism at Tina's property. Hidden Test: Look out for a key visual clue. The break in is phoned in before they can confront Trevor. The investigators attend the property, Tina states that she is still receiving silent calls including some before the break in. The investigators gather evidence before moving onto their main line of enquiry. The Lead Investigator, Ruairi, informs them that Catherine's phone records have arrived and Trevor called her minutes before she was murdered. Trevor admits that he did call her but can't remember much of the conversation. Andrew spots the visual clue, it is the same picture that was discovered in a photo album that had been buried by the killer for the investigators to find previously. Trevor informs them that his mother, Dorothy, is the maid in the photo. This new information leads the investigators to fail to confront Trevor about the threats he has been making to Catherine. During the night on Day 1 the investigators are sent to protect Tina Wells. She feels she is being watched and is scared. She receives another silent phone call while Andrew is in attendance but he fails to notice that there are eight new messages on the voicemail. Tina's husband suffers an asthma attack upstairs and Tina and Andrew go to assist him. Tina runs downstairs to get an inhaler for him but he is grabbing onto Andrew, preventing him from being able to follow Tina. During this time Tina is murdered and dragged out through a back door. Day 2: Return to Trevor Dobie and confront him this time. Visit Dean Garrety confront him about the threatening voicemail he left for Tina and establish if he has an alibi for her abduction. Hidden Test: Spot the evidence to prove Dean's alibi. When confronting Trevor the investigators told him that there had been accusations of him threatening and being violent towards Catherine. Due to not mentioning the threats and violence were levelled specifically at the father of Anya they were unable to gain a valuable piece of information until Trevor asked if he is being questioned by the investigators as he is Anya's father. He informs them that he didn't know he was Anya's father but he always believed it was Jay who was the father, thus pointing the finger of suspicion at Jay for threatening Catherine. When questioned by the investigators, Dean claims to have been at the Car Showroom working on his laptop at the time of the abduction, as he had 'a lot of work to catch up on'. He receives an e-mail from Jay while the investigators are there which is announced with an audible standard e-mail receipt tone. Due to Dean appearing to be uncooperative, the investigators leave for HQ with Dean shutting his laptop forcefully while they exit the office. Result: Fail, the team did not realize that Dean's laptop could provide him with an alibi. The Chief sent in his special unit to recover the laptop. It was discovered that Dean had sent e-mails from the Car Showroom at the time of Tina's abduction and also when Catherine was murdered providing him with an alibi for both events. Team's Pick: Andrew Location: The Dark Woods Lead Investigator's Pick: Meryl, for (in the opinion of the Lead Investigator) tactical purposes as Ruairi perceived Meryl to be the strongest Investigator. Location: The Old Docks Eliminated: Meryl Killer Clue: Andrew came back with a strip of 4 passport photos of Anya, Trevor and Catherine's daughter. They believe that Catherine is taking Anya somewhere.
7	"Episode 7"
Lead Investigator: Nick Team 1: Melanie and Ruairi Day 1: Visit Jay Wilmington ask him what he knows about Anya's paternity and ask if he has threatened Catherine. Hidden Test: Do not reveal the source of the information. Jay denies both being Anya's father and threatening Catherine and asks the investigators who has been telling them that he is involved in these issues. The investigators do not reveal that they had been told by Tina Wells and Trevor Dobie. Day 2: Interview Felicity Wilmington about lying about the baby. Hidden Test: Caution Felicity and take a statement. Felicity informs the investigators that she killed Dorothy's baby, therefore confessing to murder. The investigators question her further on the death, asking if it was accidental and how she can be sure she was the one that killed the baby. Felicity clearly states that she knows she is the one that killed it as she allowed it to die and then asks if the investigators are going to arrest her. Melanie informs her that they are not, stating that they are gathering information on Dorothy, Felicity and the baby and Felicity is not in any trouble before returning to HQ. Result: Fail, the team did not caution Felicity. Team 2: Andrew and Richard Day 1: Visit George Harwick Hidden Test: Notice the significance of date the photograph was taken. While being questioned by the investigators George has a friend, Rodney 'Rod' Lewis, stop by and show off the back of the daily paper which contains a photo of Rod holding a large fish. When George asks him when it was taken, he states that it was taken exactly two weeks ago. Richard notices that it would have been the day of the murder and asks Rod how long he borrowed George's boat for. Rod replies that he took the boat at approximately 6:00 am and returned with the fish at about midday. The investigators were left stranded on the island by their driver and then unable to walk back to the mainland as they were cut off by the tide. After waiting for the tide to go out they then made their way on foot over the causeway when the killer sent a flare up to draw attention to the taunting message left on a gate which contained the location of the next Killer's Game locations. Day 2: Visit newspaper office. Hidden Test: Spot the vital evidence in the original photograph. The investigators discover that the photo in the paper was cropped from a larger photo, which shows George Harwick in the background chopping wood. The time stamp on the photo reveals that the photo was taken at 12:04 pm, giving George an alibi for the murder of Catherine. Result: Pass Other: On the afternoon of day 1 Nick, the Lead Investigator, was sent a video of a kidnapped Goldie Prior reading a ransom note to the investigators demanding the necklace in return for Goldie. Both teams worked together to make the exchange with Melanie picked by Nick to be the negotiator. The bag containing the necklace was bugged by team 2 to enable it to be tracked. however, the investigators lost sight of the car and only recovered the empty bag from the area the tracker located. Team's Pick: Ruairi (Both Melanie and Ruairi were tied) Note: The Lead Investigator was tasked with breaking the tie rather than asking the group to recast their votes. Nick, chose Ruairi to play the Killer's Game as he believed that Melanie did better over the last two days than Ruairi. Location: The Quarry Lead Investigator's Pick: Richard, for (in the opinion of the Lead Investigator) it being a process of elimination of whom to pick. Ruairi was already picked, Andrew was given a 'night-off' and Melanie had been successful negotiator for the kidnap. This left Richard as the other investigator to play the Killer's Game. Location: The Derelict Barn Eliminated: Ruairi Killer clue: Richard returned with a Jeweler's drawing of the necklace. It showed the original design of the jewel, including the large pendant at the bottom of it.
8	"Episode 8"
Lead Investigator: Andrew Note: Due to only four investigators remaining, the Lead Investigator has to join the investigators in the field and as such could be nominated by the group to face the Killer's Game. Team 1: Melanie and Nick Day 1: Visit Jennifer Wilmington and confront her with the evidence of Goldie's kidnapping found in the enhanced ransom note tape. Hidden Test: Spot the date on the newspaper in the back room of Jennifer's shop. The investigators asked Jennifer about who had access to the shop and if she had seen or heard anything about Jay and Goldie in the last few days. Jennifer provided them with the information that Jay and Trevor had access to the shop and that she had not seen or heard from Jay or Goldie recently. She gave the investigators permission to access the store room, which they believed was the setting for the ransom video but the investigators did not spot that days paper on the table which would have cast doubt on Jennifer's story about not accessing the store room for several days. Melanie asks Nick if it is a crime scene but Nick incorrectly states that it isn't. The investigators did not confront her with the evidence that Goldie was held in the store room. Day 2: Set up surveillance at Jennifer's shop observe Jennifer and Trevor. Follow up on Jennifer's alibi. Hidden Test: Ask for the confirmation of Jennifer's visit to the solicitor. The investigators are using surveillance to see why Jennifer is scared of Trevor but they are unable to see any behavior from Trevor that would indicate that Jennifer is correct to be concerned about him. They do hear her telling Trevor that she has told the investigators that he was in the store room recently but he questions why she would tell them that when it is not true. Jennifer retaliates by saying she thought she he was in there and tells him that she could have said that he was at the church on the say Catherine was murdered. Trevor confronts her asking why she is telling the investigators things about him and what is her reasoning. Jennifer states that she thinks he should leave. Upon his exit, the investigators surveillance van is shaken and banged on from the outside. When they attempt to leave they realize they are locked in. The killer has left a message on the van and polaroids of the locations that the next Killer's Game will be played at. Due to being trapped in the van, the investigators also see Jay enter the shop flustered and trying to make his way to the store room. Jennifer tries to hush him and get him to exit the shop before he can say or do anything as she is aware the shop is under surveillance but Jay is not. Jennifer instructs him to meet her at the local pub and Jay leaves. Jennifer finds the investigators in the van and upon releasing them from being locked inside she confesses to the kidnap and tells them what it was all regarding, which was the necklace. She gives them a potential alibi by saying that she was at her solicitors at the time of the murder. When the investigators follow this up the solicitor believes she was there earlier than the time stated by Jennifer. However they ask for the visitor log and see that the solicitor had made an error in recalling the time and Jennifer was at the solicitors at the time of the murder, providing her with an alibi. Result: Fail, the team did not confront Jennifer and failed to spot the significance of the newspaper in the store room. Team 2: Andrew (as the Lead Investigator) and Richard Day 1: Search the flooded grain store. Hidden Test: Keep searching until they find the clue. The grain store was flooded with 10 gallons of dirty water. The investigators needed to systematically search it until they found the item that would be the clue that the killer had supposedly hidden in there. The clue was a shredded letter in a bag that was weighed down with a brick. Upon putting the letter back together, it was discovered to have been written by Charles Wilmington for his son Tony and contained the revelation of the existence of the necklace. Charles provided Tony with instructions on passing down the heirloom, informing him to pass it onto a child he trusts before adding that he never approved of Tony's choice in wife therefore implying that Jennifer was not to have it. Day 2: Visit Tony Wilmington, ask about the Wilmington jewel. Hidden Test: Find out if copies of Tony's taped conversation with Catherine exist. Tony Wilmington has taped a conversation with Catherine four or five days before her death, where he tells her about the necklace and its history. He bequeaths it to her but she doesn't think that it would be appropriate as it is a family heirloom and feels it would be better with Jay or Jennifer. He starts to tell her about his relationship with Catherine's mother and she states that she already knows that he is her father. Catherine states that no one else knows about Tony being her father.Tony tries to give her the necklace again but Catherine refuses once more, informing Tony that it would not be good for herself and Anya. Her reasoning is because Trevor wants Anya due to him being her father. Tony states that Trevor will never have any claim on the necklace and he will make a provision in his will to confirm that. He also tells the investigators that he gave her £20,000 to use for a fresh start away from Blackwater. Before the final briefing team 2 are sent back to Creeksea Place to attend as a fire has broken out. The fire ultimately kills Tony Wilmington as he died in the ambulance on the way to the hospital. However, they are able to get to Tony as he is first rescued from his room and spot that he has a letter in his hand, which they recover as potential evidence. The letter reveals that Jay has heard the contents of the tape before his wedding was due to take place, and the person who enabled him to hear it was Catherine herself. Result: Fail, the team did not ask if there were copies or who had access to the tape or someone else know about the tape. Note: Anya has also been interviewed by a family liaison officer and tells the officer when questioned that Goldie (her Aunt) left the house on the day of the murder. The investigators realize that Goldie has lied to them about her whereabouts when the first spoke to her and revealed that Catherine had died. Team's Pick": Andrew Location: The Boathouse Lead Investigator's Pick: Richard, for (in the Lead Investigator opinion) not asking relevant questions during Day 2's line of enquiry. Location: The Bottling Plant Eliminated: Richard Killer Clue: Andrew returns with a picture of a sort code and account number from a joint account belonging to Gillian "Goldie" Prior and Jay Wilmington.
9	"Episode 9"
There is no Lead Investigator for the finale, no hidden tests and no passes or fails. Instead, the final three investigators (Andrew, Melanie, and Nick) work together to interview the final three suspects (Goldie, Jay, and Trevor). Final Three Day 1 During the morning briefing the Chief and the final investigators discuss the clue Andrew found at the last Killer's Game. It was two numbers, which Nick concludes looks like an account number and sort code for a bank. It is revealed that the numbers relate to a bank account shared by both Goldie and Jay. It also shows a withdrawal of £50.00 on the morning of Catherine's murder. The investigators realize it may clear Goldie or Jay, or potentially Trevor if he had access to the account but they would need CCTV to identify who made the withdrawal as the pin number and card could have been used by anyone they trusted. The Chief tells the investigators that their first line of enquiry is to attend the reading of Tony Wilmington's last will and testament. Their second line of enquiry is to interview Jay and Goldie to establish who withdrew the money. The investigators hear the last will and testament of Tony Wilmington at the Solicitors Office. Also attending were Goldie, Jay, Felicity and Jennifer. Tony gives Jennifer and Jay the entire estate but via a video testament gives Catherine the Wilmington necklace. Tony Wilmington states that in accordance to Catherine's wishes, Anya would inherit the necklace afterwards but he also states that there is one person who under no circumstances should lay claim to the necklace, that is Trevor Dobie, Anya's biological Father. Jay calls Trevor a "bastard" and hastily leaves before the investigators have a chance to talk to him. While the rest of the family is leaving, Goldie asks to talk to the investigators at the café. At the café she confesses what happened on the morning of the murder. Jay had phoned Goldie at approximately 11 am to ask for her assistance to get back the necklace. He said that he didn't know why Catherine had the family heirloom but he needed to get it back or the wedding wouldn't be able to go ahead, he had tried to ask Catherine for it she had refused to return it. At Jay's request, Goldie asked Catherine for the necklace under the guise that it could be her 'something borrowed' for the wedding but again Catherine refused and when questioned where she had got it from, Catherine refused to say but told her that it would all come out later. While leaving the church after an argument with Catherine, Goldie then overheard a telephone conversation between Catherine and Trevor. She could establish that the two were arguing over the phone but not what it was about. She then said that she saw Jay outside the church but only stopped to tell him she was unsuccessful and that she was not getting involved anymore before driving off. Andrew then asks her about the joint bank account with Jay and the £50.00 withdrawal. Goldie states that she forgot to buy a gift for Jennifer and withdrew £50 for flowers before going home. Nick asks her who instigated the kidnapping and she states it was Jay's idea and gives her reasoning for being an accomplice as if he wanted the necklace then it meant that he couldn't have killed Catherine and provided her with hope that Jay was innocent. Goldie also tells the investigators that she did not reveal what actually happened on the morning of the murder when they first asked about her movements that day because she didn't want to implicate Jay as being the killer. The investigators are alerted by Jennifer that she has seen Trevor moving out of the Annex at Creeksea Place. When they arrive, Trevor has already left and they are let into the property by Jennifer. They investigate Trevor's living area and find that one of the rooms has been boarded up. After they pull down the plasterboard covering, they find the attic room has been prepared for Anya. Jennifer states that she has never seen Anya visit the Annex and Nick spots that there are letters addressed to Anya that have been marked return to sender. The investigators go to Jay's barge to attempt to interview him after they were unable to earlier due to him rushing off from the solicitors. Jay is not there but they enter the boat to investigate the scene. Melanie notices that there is a new answerphone message and upon playing it they hear Goldie telling Jay that she told the investigators everything, Melanie then takes the tape as evidence. Andrew and Nick find a bulletin board with familiar Polaroids. The front side contains pictures of Goldie but when they turn it around they find pictures of Catherine on the back along with a card from her relating to Jay being Anya's Godparent which is dated April 1991. The investigators decide to bring the entire bulletin board back with them and return to HQ. Back at HQ, the investigators find the power has been cut and the killer has broken in. There are messages stenciled on the window, a hanged Barbie-doll, and two pictures with the locations for the next Killer's Game. The power is restored and after being phoned by Nick, the Chief arrives early for the evening briefing. The killer still wants two investigators who must play the Killer's Game, instead of a group vote the investigators who failed the most lines of inquiry are selected. Player 1: Andrew – 6 fails Location: Nuclear Bunker – Operational Zone Player 2: Nick – 5 fails Location: Nuclear Bunker – Living Quarters Eliminated: Nick Killer Clue: Andrew returns with Polaroids which when put in the right order read "who am I, if you are right you live. if you are wrong you die". Note: Melanie only failed four lines of enquiry, allowing her to progress to the last stage automatically. Final Two Day 2 At the morning briefing, the Chief reveals that the bank have sent them CCTV footage from the cash point and Goldie is seen making a withdrawal. This confirms Goldie's story of withdrawing £50.00, and she is cleared. The Chief informs the two investigators that he has reviewed all the evidence that was put before them and he has deduced who the killer is. The investigators are told that they have one hour to do the same before they need to identify to the Chief who they believe the killer is and why. They are reminded that they are now in direct competition with each other for the prize money. However, if they both guess correctly they will share the £25,000 prize but if they are both wrong, they will both get nothing. They separately inform the Chief of who they believe is the killer and give their reasoning. Andrew's Suspect: Trevor Dobie Reason: Trevor killed Catherine to secure custody of his Daughter, Anya. Trevor took the necklace on impulse after spotting Catherine was wearing it while killing her, using the pendant to fund leaving with Anya which is why he need the passport photos of her. The removal of himself and Anya from Blackwater would keep Anya away from the Wilmington's as Trevor knows that Catherine is half Wilmington and therefore Anya is also related, which complicates matters he has a deeply held hatred of due to their treatment of his mother while she was a maid for the family. Melanie's Suspect: Jay Wilmington Reason: Jay killed Catherine as an emotional response to discovering that the relationship he has been having is actually with his sister and due to this he has lost all of his family and friends. A lot of the evidence points towards Jay; The chart dividers as the murder weapon were accessible to Jay but not to Trevor, Jay wrote the ransom note and it included the same phrase that the killer used to taunt the investigators before the Killer's Game, the Polaroids in Jay's boat are the same type used by the killer. Trevor Dobie is also not smart enough to commit a crime like this but Jay Wilmington is. The Chief then sends the investigators out to trail their chosen suspect. Andrew chases Trevor down a river where he is trying to get away by a boat from the Yacht Club and Melanie chases Jay across fields where he is attempting to escape on a dirt bike through the Disused Airfield. Both pursue their suspects, only to lose them due to closed gates leaving them having to wait for information on a new sighting of them. Melanie finds out that Jay's dirt bike has been spotted outside a remote grain store. Andrew receives news that Trevor's pickup truck has been located at a construction warehouse 30 km away from Blackwater. The killer leaves them both a message, "Coming out to play one last time?", Inviting the investigators to play one final Killer's Game. Andrew: Suspects Trevor Dobie Location: Construction Warehouse Melanie: Suspects Jay Wilmington Location: Grain Store Eliminated: Melanie Jay Wilmington is cleared. He had an alibi from the eyewitness Edward who had to use another phone box as the one he was going to use was occupied by a man in a brown check shirt. This is the same shirt that Jay was wearing when he went to the morgue with Goldie and told the investigators he had not changed his clothes in over 24 hours. Jay had gone to the phone box to call Trevor to tell him to stop hassling Catherine, the video made by the killer catches the sound of a phone ringing once before it is rejected. This is the call made by Jay from the phone box right before Catherine was killed by Trevor.

Production

The town of Maldon, Essex was used as the fictional town setting of the series, Blackwater (named after the river upon which Maldon resides).[3] The Kelvedon Hatch Secret Nuclear Bunker was also used in the series, where Andrew Weaver and Nick Sykes went to the Operational Zone and Living Quarters respectively during the second-to-last Killer's Game. Before playing the game, the investigators were sent on a four-day training course at the Police Training Centre in Wakefield.

Andrew Weaver won the game, despite being sent to play the Killer's Game six times (Excluding the final Killer's Game against Melanie "Mel" Sainz). He currently holds the record for the most times a person has been sent out the Killer's Game, breaking Kristen Kirchner's record of five times in the US version Murder in Small Town X. Andrew is the only investigator to fail his line of inquiry while being the lead investigator. In addition, he had received the most votes against him throughout the entire season, 10. He correctly identified builder Trevor Dobie as the killer, whereas Melanie chose groom Jay Wilmington. Andrew was sent to the Yacht Club, where Trevor was last seen, and was "invited" To the final killers game at the Construction warehouse, where he found Bob Taylor at the end, who proclaimed him as the winner of the £25,000 grand prize.

Viewer interaction

Using Sky, Cable or Freeview, viewers could watch additional parts of the show using BBCi's digital interactive features. One feature entitled Blackwater TV was based around reviewing the case and showing mock television news reports. The React feature was where viewers could vote for who they thought was the killer; the voting results would then be shown the following week. The Investigators section featured exclusive footage from the Chief commenting on the contestants' current handling of the case. The fourth interactive feature was the Case File which held all of the details of the case which had currently been uncovered, including timelines, locations, relationships of suspects, and evidence.

References

1. "The Murder Game Press Kit" (PDF). BBC. 11 March 2003. Retrieved 30 August 2008.
2. The Murder Game (TV Series 2003– ) - IMDb, retrieved 28 July 2020
3. "The Murder Game". UKGameShows. Retrieved 30 August 2008.

External links

• The Murder Game at IMDb
• The Murder Game at TV.com
• The Murder Game at BBC Online (No longer active)
  • "The Murder Game at bbc.co.uk". 9 April 2003. Archived from the original on 9 April 2003. Retrieved 10 December 2008.