"DI Charley Mann" novels
Northern TV production company Hell Fire! is developing a high-end TV drama series based on the bestselling "DI Charley Mann" novels by R.C. Bridgestock. The working title is “Mann”. Hell Fire! is also developing multiple new TV drama and documentary concepts based on Bob’s prolific career as a Detective with Walking the Line, R.C. Bridgestock’s TV consultancy company and Production Consultant Sarah Jarvis.
The "DI Charley Mann" novels were created by Former Senior Investigating Officer Bob Bridgestock and his wife Carol, a Senior Clerical Officer, who together have a combined 47 years of policing experience with West Yorkshire Police. He and Carol have consulted on many crime and policing TV series, including the original series of BAFTA winning "Happy Valley," and BritBox original "The Beast Must Die" with Gaby Chiappe.
The true crime novels have been much sought-after for TV rights, and the Hell Fire! series will follow the unconventional female detective protagonist Charley Mann. Mann is an edgy and distinctive lead character who pushes the boundaries of the genre with traits typically associated with hardboiled male characters. Dealing with straight facts and hard evidence, she was raised in a rural farmland area of Yorkshire that is full of superstition and strange folklore, some of which she still holds onto. She has a complicated relationship with men, having endured an emotionally abusive romantic relationship and a difficult history with her father.
Hell Fire! and Walking the Line are also currently developing a true-crime docu-drama series fronted by Bob Bridgestock, examining some of his most gripping and high-profile criminal cases, using never seen before evidence and archival Police footage mixed with interviews and high-end cinematic reconstruction. The working title is Murder Box.
Andy Dorée, co-founder of Hell Fire!, said: “The production relationship we now have with Bob, Carol and their company, Walking the Line, is built on the close and long-standing connection we have developed with them. Charley Mann is a character with deep Northern and working-class roots – she’s not afraid to disrupt and go against the grain, and neither are we. We wanted to be the people to bring her to life, and we’re really proud Bob and Carol agreed. We can’t wait to develop her and her story.”
Nate Camponi, co-founder of Hell Fire!, added: “What we want to avoid is a straight up ‘damaged female copper’ trope. She’s actually a lot more layered than that, maybe even a bit Christian Grey. She’s determined, dominant and promiscuous. She also shares many of the traits of Clarice Starling from ‘Silence of the Lambs’ in terms of drive and fearlessness. She rides this line between super cop and someone on the edge. And her thought process is often aligned to criminals she’s hunting – much like Will Graham again from the Hannibal Lecter genre.”
Bob Bridgestock comments: “Our fictional character Detective Inspector Charley Mann is a brew of all the policewomen who had to overcome rampant sexism in order to build their careers. This is well documented, and we have worked with some of the best of those determined, exceptional women, particularly in the North, to create this character. To bring her to TV we knew we were looking for an exciting, off-beat, high end scripted Northern-connected TV production team, who we could entrust with our name, brand, livelihood, handwork and passion that we’ve built over a lifetime. We found exactly this working with Hell Fire!, through Walking the Line which we co-founded in 2020 with Sarah Jarvis. Our close and long-standing connection with Hell Fire! is built on that trust, and sharing the same values.”