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   From: YourName@YourISP.com   
      
   :-(   
      
   Two great UK shows (although the camera work on "Silent Witness"   
   recently has been using pointless arty-farty shots).   
      
      
      
       Silent Witness creator Nigel McCrery dies aged 71   
       -------------------------------------------------   
       Nigel McCrery created Silent Witness and co-created New Tricks.   
      
       Nigel McCrery, the creator of the TV crime drama Silent Witness   
       and co-creator of New Tricks, has died aged 71.   
      
       His agent confirmed the news of his death to BBC News "with a   
       heavy heart".   
      
       The screenwriter and novelist was diagnosed with a terminal   
       illness in October 2024.   
      
       Silent Witness, which follows a team of forensic pathologists   
       investigating crimes, is one of the BBC's longest running dramas.   
       New Tricks, about a group of retired detectives helping police   
       with cold cases, ran for 12 series over more than a decade.   
      
       His agent told BBC News: 'It's with a heavy heart that we share   
       the news of screenwriter, author and producer Nigel McCrery's   
       passing.   
      
       "As the creative mind behind such hits as the much loved long   
       running BBC drama series Silent Witness and New Tricks, Nigel   
       captivated and inspired audiences for years with his work.    
      
       "His numerous contributions to the arts will always be   
       remembered. Nigel had an incredible career and will be greatly   
       missed. Our thoughts are with his family at this time."   
      
       Police officer   
       Nigel McCrery served as a police officer with the murder squad   
       in Nottingham before he began his TV career.   
      
       After leaving Nottinghamshire Police, he joined the BBC on a   
       graduate entry scheme in 1990, and soon moved into the drama   
       department.   
      
       He used his background in policing to create Backup, a drama   
       about a police operational support unit. It ran between 1995   
       and 1997.   
      
       He then went on to create the drama Silent Witness in 1996.   
      
       It follows forensic pathologists and scientists investigating   
       crimes and trying to catch the people responsible.   
      
       Initially starring Amanda Burton and then Emilia Fox, it became   
       one of the BBC's most enduring dramas. Its 28th series was   
       broadcast earlier this year.   
      
       McCrery co-created New Tricks in 2005 with Roy Mitchell.   
      
       The show, which focused on three retired police officers who   
       were drafted in to help solve cold cases, and became a starring   
       vehicle for Dennis Waterman, ran for 10 years.   
      
       He also wrote several novels as well as a number of non-fiction   
       books.   
      
          
      
   --- SoupGate-DOS v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)