Cast • Ronald Craven was played by
Bob Peck, an actor who was well known in theatre but, at the time he was cast as Craven, had appeared in only minor roles on television. In creating the role of Craven, Peck drew upon his experience gained from the two years he played the title role in
Macbeth for the
Royal Shakespeare Company. Notable roles after
Edge of Darkness included
On the Black Hill (1987),
Slipstream (1989),
Natural Lies (1992) and
Jurassic Park (1993). He died in 1999. •
Joanne Whalley, who played Emma Craven, began acting during childhood, first appearing in the long-running
soap opera Coronation Street (1960–present) in 1974 at the age of 13, and eight years later had a small part in
Alan Parker's music-drama
Pink Floyd – The Wall. She had also appeared in supporting roles in several series including
Juliet Bravo (1980–1985),
Bergerac (1981–1991) and
Reilly, Ace of Spies (1983). Following
Edge of Darkness, Whalley was cast in the equally well regarded BBC television serial
The Singing Detective (1986), written by
Dennis Potter. Moving to
Hollywood, she appeared in such films as
Willow (1988),
Scandal (1989) and
Shattered (1991) as well as television mini-series such as
Scarlett (1994) and
Jackie Bouvier Kennedy Onassis (2000). During her eight-year marriage to the actor
Val Kilmer, between 1988 and 1996, she was often credited as Joanne Whalley-Kilmer. • Cast as Darius Jedburgh was
Joe Don Baker, who had been acting since the 1960s and was known for his roles in
Westerns such as
Gunsmoke (1955–1975) and as the lead in the detective series
Eischied (1979–1980). He also starred as Sheriff Buford Pusser in the original 1972 film
Walking Tall. The script of
Edge of Darkness so impressed him that he agreed to take the part at lower than his usual fee. He was later cast, by
Edge of Darkness director Martin Campbell, as CIA agent
Jack Wade in the
James Bond film
GoldenEye (1995), a role he reprised in
Tomorrow Never Dies (1997). Baker died in May 2025. •
Charles Kay, who played Pendleton, was a well established character actor who had appeared in
Fall of Eagles (1974),
I, Claudius (1976) and ''
The Devil's Crown (1978). He has since acted in many television productions such as Fortunes of War (1989), The Darling Buds of May (1991–1993), Jonathan Creek (1997–2004) and Midsomer Murders'' (1998 and 2006). Kay died on 8 January 2025, at the age of 94. •
Edge of Darkness was an early role for
Ian McNeice, who played Harcourt. He went on to act in a wide variety of film and television parts including
The Englishman Who Went up a Hill but Came down a Mountain (1995),
Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls (1995) and ''
Frank Herbert's Dune (2000), as well as regular roles in Doc Martin (2004–present), Rome'' (2005–2007) and regular appearances as Winston Churchill in the BBC's revived
Doctor Who. Several other faces familiar to British viewers appeared during the course of the episodes, including
John Woodvine (as Craven's superior DCS Ross),
Tim McInnerny (as Emma's boyfriend Terry Shields),
Hugh Fraser (as IIF chief executive Robert Bennett),
Kenneth Nelson as Grogan,
Zoë Wanamaker (as intelligence agent Clementine),
Allan Cuthbertson (as Chilwell of the Investigation Committee) and ''
Blake's 7'' cast members
David Jackson (as Colonel Lawson),
Jack Watson as James Godbolt and
Brian Croucher (as Northmoor security chief Connors). Playing themselves were television reporters
Sue Cook and
Kenneth Kendall, weatherman
Bill Giles and
Labour MP Michael Meacher. Long-standing BBC visual effects designer
Mat Irvine, who contributed visual effects to the series, received a brief cameo as a police diver in "Breakthrough".
Crew • Writer
Troy Kennedy Martin was the creator of the long-running BBC police drama
Z-Cars (1962–1978). He also wrote the screenplays for the films
The Italian Job (1969) and ''
Kelly's Heroes (1970) and scripts for television series such as Colditz (1972–1974), The Sweeney (1975–1978) (which was created by his brother Ian Kennedy Martin) and Reilly, Ace of Spies
(1983). Following Edge of Darkness
, he wrote the screenplays for the films Red Heat (with Walter Hill) (1988) and Bravo Two Zero'' (1999). He died in September 2009. • Director
Martin Campbell had developed a reputation for handling action thrillers with credits including
The Professionals (1977–1983),
Minder (1979–1994) and
Shoestring (1979–1980). A few years after
Edge of Darkness, Campbell moved into feature films, directing the James Bond films
GoldenEye (1995) and
Casino Royale (2006) as well as
The Mask of Zorro (1998),
Vertical Limit (2000) and
The Legend of Zorro (2005). • Producer
Michael Wearing had worked on
Play for Today for which he had produced
Alan Bleasdale's
The Black Stuff (1978) and which he and Bleasdale subsequently spun off into the highly acclaimed
Boys from the Blackstuff (1982). He also produced the conspiracy thriller
Bird of Prey (1982). Following
Edge of Darkness he continued to be one of British television's most high profile and successful producers, appointed Head of Serials at the BBC between 1989 and 1998 where he was responsible for such programmes as
Pride and Prejudice (1995),
Our Friends in the North (1996) and Dennis Potter's final two plays
Karaoke (1996) and
Cold Lazarus (1996). •
Walt Patterson, who acted as series adviser, was a leading commentator on nuclear affairs, best known for his book
Nuclear Power (Penguin, 1976–1986). Following
Edge of Darkness, he acted as specialist adviser to the British House of Commons
Select committee on Environment for their 1986 study,
Radioactive Waste. He continues to contribute to the policy debate about energy and environmental issues. Advice on the policing aspects of the serial was provided by the
West Yorkshire Police and former
Scotland Yard detective
Jack Slipper, famous for his pursuit of the
train robber Ronnie Biggs.
Music The musical score was provided by
Eric Clapton and
Michael Kamen. Clapton was approached to provide the score by producer Michael Wearing. Shortly afterwards, when Michael Kamen brought Clapton to a screening of
Brazil (1985), which Kamen had scored, Clapton suggested a collaboration between the two on
Edge of Darkness. Kamen became one of Hollywood's most successful film composers, writing the scores for many blockbuster films including the
Lethal Weapon series (1987–1998) (also with Clapton), the first three
Die Hard films (1988, 1990, 1995),
Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991) and
X-Men (2000). He died in 2003. Aside from the Clapton/Kamen soundtrack,
Willie Nelson's "The Time of the Preacher",
New Model Army's "Christian Militia", and
Tom Waits' "16 Shells From A Thirty-Ought-Six" are featured in the series. "Christian Militia" is on the record player when Terry's body is found. Craven listens to "The Time of the Preacher" when he is in Emma's room in the first episode. It later emerges Jedburgh is familiar with the song and both he and Craven sing it on two occasions, the lyrics being significant. The
Australian Broadcasting Corporation used the music to illustrate stories on the
Chernobyl disaster the following year. Eric Clapton and Michael Kamen performed the movie's main theme with the
National Philharmonic Orchestra during the
24 Nights period in 1990 and 1991. ==Background==