Inspector Alan Banks


Detective Superintendent Alan Banks is the fictional protagonist in a series of crime novels by Peter Robinson. From 2010 to 2016 several of the novels were adapted for television, and other original stories were produced, under the series title DCI Banks with Stephen Tompkinson in the lead role.

Background

Most of the first dozen novels focused on crimes investigated by Banks. In the 1999 novel, In A Dry Season, Banks and his wife, Sandra, are separated and eventually divorce. The character of Detective Sergeant Annie Cabbot makes her first appearance as a member of Banks' team. Subsequent novels have a sub-plot about the on-off romance between Banks and Cabbot.
A colleague of Banks from his time in London, Detective Superintendent Richard "Dirty Dick" Burgess, is another perennial character who appears in many of the novels. Initially hostile to Banks when they first met, they become good friends over time and have established a natural rapport by the early 21st century.
A detective inspector during his London period and a detective chief inspector in most of the books, Banks receives a promotion to detective superintendent at the time of "When the Music's Over."

Awards

The Banks novels have won and been shortlisted for prestigious awards in crime fiction, including the Arthur Ellis Award, the Anthony Award, and the Edgar Award.

Adaptation

In July 2010, ITV commissioned a television adaptation of the novel Aftermath, with Stephen Tompkinson playing the role of Banks. The adaptation was broadcast as two one-hour episodes, airing on 27 September and 4 October 2010. The viewing figures were successful enough for three more adaptations to be commissioned - the novels Playing With Fire, Friend Of The Devil and Cold Is The Grave - under a series title DCI Banks showing as six one-hour episodes, which started airing on 16 September 2011.

Novels