Introduction

Red Cap is a British television drama series, produced by Stormy Pictures for the BBC and broadcast on BBC One. A total of thirteen episodes were broadcast over the course of two series, beginning with a feature-length pilot on 28 December 2001.

The series follows the investigations and personal relationships of a British Army Special Investigation Branch unit of the Royal Military Police based in Germany. The series initially focused on lead character, Sergeant Jo McDonagh (Tamzin Outhwaite), who was nicknamed McDoughnut, but later series played out as more of an ensemble piece, with several notable characters coming to prominence. A number of fictional regiments were featured in the series, including the Bedford Light Infantry, the Royal Cumbrian Fusiliers, the Wessex Regiment and the Derbyshire Light Infantry.

According to BBC sources, Outhwaite spent a week familiarising herself with Army life at the Reserve Training and Mobilisation Centre in Chilwell, Nottingham, prior to filming the series. Training included unarmed combat, 9mm pistol training, driving, drill, and understanding the Army’s labyrinthine hierarchical structure. The series creator and writer, Emmy and Golden Globe nominee Patrick Harbinson, was in the army himself and previously wrote fifteen episodes of the ITV military series Soldier Soldier. A BBC spokesman said; “With such experience, Patrick infuses Red Cap with a tangible sense of realism.” On 13 March 2004 Red Cap was axed by BBC executives, who cited; “At a cost of £10 million and an audience of just 5.5 million, executives thought it would not be worthwhile to renew it for another series.” Notably, the series has never been released on DVD.

Outline of Series 02, Episode 06

Private Simon Barham decides to celebrate his nineteenth birthday by taking the wheel of an armoured personal carrier while blind drunk and tearing through the base like a mad man. When Barham crashes the vehicle into an abandoned communications building, the team arrive at the scene only to discover that the accident has uncovered a mummified corpse hidden in a ventilation pipe. The corpse is identified as one Private Exner, who had supposedly gone AWOL the night before his unit were deployed to Iraq, following a fight with fellow private Stevie Stebbings over his involvement in Cannabis cultivation. His platoon sergeant, Terry Canavan (Bryan Dick), claims to have received a phone call from him three days after he was last seen, but when his version of events is called into question, suspicion turns towards Stevie’s widow Tricia (Georgia Taylor).

Redcap Series

• Pilot:
  • Red Cap.
• Series 01:
  • Episode 01: H-Hour.
  • Episode 02: Crush.
  • Episode 03: Espirit de Corps.
  • Episode 04: Cover Story.
  • Episode 05: Cold War.
  • Episode 06: Payback.
• Series 02:
  • Episode 01: Betrayed.
  • Episode 02: True Love.
  • Episode 03: Red Light.
  • Episode 04: Fighting Fit.
  • Episode 05: Friendly Fire.
  • Episode 06: Long Time Dead.

Production & Filming Details

• Creator: Patrick Harbinson.
• Director: David Richards.
• Writer: Patrick Harbinson.
• Distribution: BBC.
• Released Date: 12 February 2004 (UK).
• Running time: 60 minutes.
• Country: UK.
• Language: English.

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