‘Silk’ bows out at the top of its game

Sad news for fans of BBC One legal drama Silk today, as writer Peter Moffat has revealed series 3 is to be the last of the much loved drama.

Maxine Peake leads the cast alongside Rupert Penny-Jones, Neil Stuke and Frances Barber.

Speaking to the Radio Times, Moffat said: “It has been a complete joy to work with a group of actors as good as this and with a lead actress who I consider to be the best there is.”

“The main characters in Silk all have personal and professional stories which are coming to a natural conclusion at the end of this current series – it would be dishonest as a writer, and unfair to the integrity of the show and everyone involved in it, to prolong the series beyond what I hope is a powerful and compelling denouement.”

Maxine Peake added: “I’ve had a fantastic three years playing Martha Costello. Peter Moffat has created a role I’m so proud to have played”.

The final storyline will see Martha at the centre of the story till the end as her growing personal disillusionment forces her to question everything she stands for. Her instability takes her to a dangerous place, but will logic prevail? The finale will unfold over two episodes, beginning on 24 March and concluding on 31 March.

The TV series may have come to a natural end, however, one of the writers on the series, Mick Collins, will be bringing the show’s clerks back on Radio 4 in three new dramas to air on Tuesday 1st, 8th and 15th April at 2:15pm.

Although Peake and Penry-Jones will not be appearing, Neil Stuke will be reprising his role as as Head Clerk Billy Lamb, with Bethany (Amy Wren), Jake (Theo Barklem Biggs) and John (John MacMillan). Miranda Raison as practice manager Harriet Hammond is also likely to feature.

Kate Harwood, head of BBC drama production England added: “We are immensely proud to have produced three series of Peter Moffat’s highly appreciated legal drama Silk. Maxine Peake’s iconic portrayal of heroic, complex, truth-seeking barrister Martha Costello has won her huge admiration and a loyal following and Martha will be bowing out with one of the biggest and most personal cases of her life in which the personal and professional collide.”