Maxine Peake

Martha Costello is a brilliant, passionate defense barrister with a reputation for defending the poor and downtrodden. She is about to embark on the next step of her career and apply to be a member of the highly prestigious Queen's Counsel. But she's not the only one at her chambers applying. Joining Martha is Clive Reader - charming and ruthless, funny, gifted, and dangerous. Only one is likely to be made QC, so how they perform in court is vital,...

"Martha Costello is incredibly young to have got silk, she is a brilliant and passionate barrister but now the stakes are higher than ever. Tensions are also running high in the chambers, with the still ambitious Clive Reader (Rupert Penry-Jones) having to deal with his failure to become a QC, and Billy Lamb under pressure to keep the chambers afloat. As Martha finds an ambiguous ally in Caroline Warwick, a 50-something, sharp as a stiletto QC, and...