Edge of Darkness at 40

2 November 2025 18:09

Incredibly, Edge of Darkness, the landmark 1985 BBC drama series about police detective Ronnie Craven’s quest to find his environmental activist daughter’s killers, will be 40 years old on 4 November. Zoë plays the enigmatic intelligence agent Clemmy, the only person Craven (played by the much-missed Bob Peck) grows close to in the run-up to his final, desperate attempt to uncover the truth about the murder.

‘It’s hard to believe this mighty thriller [by Troy Kennedy Martin] turns 40 this week; many will remember it like it was yesterday,’ emphasises the Radio Times magazine (1-7 November edition). Indeed, Edge of Darkness made such a huge impression on BBC Two viewers in 1985 that it was almost immediately repeated on the channel’s mainstream counterpart, BBC One.

The six-part drama’s 40th anniversary is being celebrated on BBC Four. Last night, another member of the cast, Ian McNeice, shared his memories of making what he described as one of the best pieces of work with which he’s been involved. Then the first two episodes were broadcast.

Zoë’s character will be introduced next Saturday, 8 November, when episodes three and four are screened from 9:30pm. If you don’t want to wait till then, you can stream the whole series now on the BBC iPlayer.

Clemmy is beautifully written and beautifully acted, and Edge of Darkness, which was directed by Martin Campbell, is widely regarded as one of the finest TV dramas ever made. 40 years on, the programme feels as fresh – and challenging – as ever.

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Halloween puzzles featuring Poirot’s Ariadne Oliver

29 October 2025 15:55

Fancy curling up by the fire and exercising your ‘little grey cells’ this Halloween? Then you’ll be pleased to hear the official Agatha Christie website has shared some spooky season puzzles that are perfect for Zoë Wanamaker fans.

There’s a digital jigsaw puzzle featuring Zoë as the delightfully eccentric crime writer Ariadne Oliver and David Suchet’s fastidious private detective Hercule Poirot. You may recognise the photo – it’s from ‘Halloween Party’, the 2010 Poirot episode about an evening’s entertainment that takes a dark turn. The programme is available on streaming services such as ITVX – I’m keen to re-watch it as part of my Halloween celebrations!

Plus, there’s an Ariadne Oliver-themed word search to solve.

Enjoy - and I hope all Zoe’s fans have a terrifyingly good Halloween!

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Zoë joins Professor T seasons 4 and 5 as Jasper’s aunt

20 October 2025 13:31

Zoë has joined the cast of the fourth and fifth seasons of ITV’s hugely successful crime drama Professor T. The show focuses on a troubled genius, Cambridge criminologist Prof. Jasper Tempest (Ben Miller), who helps the police solve challenging murder cases. Zoë is introduced at the beginning of season four as Zelda Radclyffe, Jasper’s artistic, quirky aunt, who’s house-sitting for her sister Adelaide (Frances de la Tour) - and soon runs into an old flame...

TV Zone UK reports that season four will air on ITV1 and ITVX during 2026, though specific dates haven’t yet been announced. Filming has been completed for both seasons four and five, with viewers in the US having already been able to watch all six episodes of season four on PBS.

Zelda’s arrival in Professor T comes at a particularly difficult time for her nephew. Jasper is grieving after the tragic death of his colleague and former student, DS Lisa Donckers, and has actively been avoiding working with the police for several months. His therapist, Dr Helena Goldberg (Juliet Stevenson) tries to help him while he wrestles with traumatic flashbacks.

Telly Visions helpfully summarises (with the aid of plot spoilers) the previous three seasons of Professor T for anyone (like me!) who hasn’t seen it before. It also discusses what happens in each episode of season four (again, there are plenty of spoilers).

As well as working on Professor T, Zoe finished filming the second season - another six episodes - of the equally compelling, Jersey-set crime drama Bergerac this summer for broadcaster U. Hopefully that will also grace our screens in 2026. For now, let’s enjoy some of her smart-as-a-whip character Charlie Hungerford’s best moments from season one on YouTube.

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The website’s 23rd birthday ♡

29 July 2025 16:09

I have to take a deep breath as I write this, but unbelievably, 30 July 2025 will mark 23 years since the launch of zoewanamaker.com (or geocities.com/zwsite as it was back then).

To celebrate the occasion, I’ve asked my friend’s daughter, the brilliantly talented young artist Emily (aka ‘E Smi’), to sketch a portrait of Zoë.

You can click on/tap the image for a bigger version.

As her reference, Emily used what must surely be one of the loveliest photos of Zoë ever taken. The finished artwork is even more wonderful than I’d hoped. Emily has captured Zoë’s delicate, distinctive features beautifully.

Sincere thanks to Emily and her mum Debra for making this celebration possible. You can see more of Emily’s fantastic artwork and even purchase prints on her own website.

I’m also extremely grateful to my family, Zoë’s PA Vanessa, and of course Zoë herself for believing in the project I dreamt up as a teenager: to create a website about my favourite actress for the benefit of other fans.

Liz x

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A tribute to the amazing Gawn Grainger (1937 – 2025)

27 May 2025 14:25

You may have heard the very upsetting news that Zoë’s husband, the actor Gawn Grainger, passed away on 17 May at the age of 87.

If you were ever fortunate enough to meet Gawn, you’ll surely remember him as a delightful, incredibly talented soul with the fantastic ability to put everyone at ease (even someone as anxious as me). He and Zoë made an amazing couple – truly a dream team. This very sweet photo was taken on their wedding day. They were married for just over 30 years.

Honouring ‘a wonderful man’

Shakespeare’s Globe, which was of course founded by Zoë’s brilliant dad Sam Wanamaker (who her husband greatly admired), describes Gawn touchingly as ‘an extraordinary actor and a wonderful man’.

To get a sense of the hugely impressive scope of Gawn’s decades-long career – a career that began when he was a plucky 12-year-old and led him to work with giants such as Ivor Novello, Laurence Olivier, Harold Pinter and many more – I encourage you to read theatre critic Michael Billington’s beautiful piece in the Guardian newspaper. It emphasises that Gawn was ‘an engaging raconteur, a fine writer and the kind of dedicated ensemble actor who is the backbone of British theatre’.

Heartfelt words and memorable events

Gawn and Zoë have been on my mind a great deal during the past week and a half. And here I’d like to share some thoughts and memories; a personal tribute. In particular, I’m keen to highlight a couple of wonderful events they took part in together:

National Histories at the National Theatre

Having both worked extensively at the National Theatre, Gawn and Zoë were invited to help this influential institution celebrate its 50th birthday in 2013. They discussed their ‘National Histories’ on the Olivier’s stage.

Zoë actually described the Olivier as her favourite part of the National Theatre, from the perspective of both an actor and theatregoer. It’s a ‘wonderful’ place to be.

Gawn agreed with her about the Olivier’s appeal and named the foyer, where he liked to sit and observe the comings and goings of staff and visitors, as his own favourite part of the National. If you’re rehearsing a play, you’ll surely find your character there, he smiled.

Passion Playing at Hampstead Arts Festival

Also in 2013, Gawn joined Zoë at the stunning Burgh House for a sold-out talk about their work called Passion Playing, which was part of Hampstead Arts Festival. It was an afternoon filled with humour, interest and insight.

Gawn remembered a magical moment shortly before the royal opening of The Globe in 1997 when Zoë was preparing to become the first actor to speak during a performance on that incredibly special stage. She was rehearsing the Prologue to Henry V, which invites audience members to unleash their imaginations on the play. In Gawn’s words, ‘the sun hit her’ as she spoke Shakespeare’s lines and grew brighter and brighter.

Speaking of theatre in general, he pointed out that ‘the audience is another actor’, and their response to a show differs each night.

Zoë emphasised her and Gawn’s commitment to acting: ‘this is a career’, not a path chosen with fame in mind. Their shared passion for their craft is surely one of the many reasons why their partnership was so strong and joyful.

Phenomenal theatre performances

It was joyful, too, to have the chance to watch Gawn perform a number of plays over the years. I most enjoyed The Entertainer, in which he gave a superb portrayal of Billy Rice, a retired music hall star. John Osborne’s powerful, moving play was brought to the West End by the Kenneth Branagh Theatre Company in 2016, which Zoë had herself been part of the previous year.

A long life well lived

I also wanted to draw your attention to Gawn’s contribution to the National Theatre’s Look at You Now exhibition in 2018. As the theatre explained at the time, the aim of the exhibition was to reflect on ‘where people start and what they go on to achieve’. So here we see Gawn as both a young actor in a regal role and a mature, experienced actor recreating that portrait many years later – a king among men.

Gawn once memorably likened his fabulous career to ‘a series of parties’. So it feels entirely fitting to conclude this tribute by asking you to join me in raising a glass to this great man. His was a long life well lived.

- Liz x

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