# Mortimer's Law

Mortimer's Law is a British television crime drama series, first broadcast on 6 February 1998, that ran for six episodes on BBC One. The series starred Amanda Root as Rachel Mortimer, a London-based barrister who finds herself relocating to rural Wales after her defence in a sexual assault case goes horrifically wrong. Taking up the post of Coroner, Mortimer finds herself investigating a series of gruesome cases alongside her loyal partner, Gwil Humpries (Nicholas McGaughey). Initially broadcast at 21:30 on Fridays, a single series was broadcast before being axed by the network. The series was a co-production between Chatsworth television and BBC Wales.
Root said of her role in the series; "When researching the role, I listened to some tapes from a Coroner's Officer where they were trying to establish if someone who had died under the wheels of a train had committed suicide. There was an interview with the train driver, who had to give all the facts about what he saw in the last moments before the train hit this man - how he had run on to the line, how he had braced himself. I will never forget those images. I also went to see a woman coroner in Southwark who was fantastic. She was very centred and self-controlled. She organised her court quite brilliantly, and she was formidable in the best sense of the word."

## Cast

* Amanda Root as Coroner Rachel Mortimer
* Nicholas McGaughey as DC Gwil Humphries
* Gwenyth Petty as Mrs. Morgan
* Shirley King as Sioned
* Clive Merrison as Tegwyh
* Louise Breckon-Richards as Angela
* Valentine Pelka as John Keswick
* Robert Blythe as Bernard
* Gillian Elisa as Jane Harris
* Helen Griffin as Mrs. Watkins
* Margaret John as Megan Jeffries
* Ieuan Rhys as Sergeant Price
* Dorien Thomas as Batty

## Episodes

| No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | British air date |
| 1 | "Trial By Fire" | Moira Armstrong | David Reid | 6 February 1998 (1998-02-06) |
| When London-based barrister Rachel Mortimer visits Wales to defend a man charged with sexual assault, her cross-examination of the key witness, DC Gwil Humphries, affects both their careers. |||||
| 2 | "Dripping Blood" | Moira Armstrong | David Reid | 13 February 1998 (1998-02-13) |
| When a corpse is found in the freezer room of a butcher's shop, Rachel and Humphries suspect a sinister reason behind the man's death. |||||
| 3 | "Martyr" | Peter Barber-Fleming | David Reid | 20 February 1998 (1998-02-20) |
| A young boy's body is found in a ravine and the locals believe that his death is a human sacrifice. A suspect is arrested, but Rachel thinks there may be another explanation for the tragedy. |||||
| 4 | "One Dies Every Minute" | Moira Armstrong | David Reid | 27 February 1998 (1998-02-27) |
| An inquiry is launched when a woman dies in the county hospital after her baby is born. |||||
| 5 | "Long Lost Love" | Peter Barber-Fleming | David Reid | 6 March 1998 (1998-03-06) |
| Rachel and Humphries hear a case that has split a community. Wendy Frampton has been missing for several years, and her mother believes she has been murdered by her husband. But is the truth more sinister than she ever thought? |||||
| 6 | "Sundown" | Peter Barber-Fleming | David Reid | 13 March 1998 (1998-03-13) |
| A disturbing course of events lead Rachel to believe she is being stalked, and she fears it may be the psychopathic Batty. |||||