Episode 2 Silk

You are this close to extinction.

I'm the only reason you're allowed to carry on existing,

so get used to me, Billy.

-Well, I can't get a visitor's order.

-Why?

-Because David won't ask for one.

Probably it's too upsetting for him to see you.

Do you want a career prosecuting

or the odd bone tossed your way by a clerk running Shoe Lane on booze and bullshit?

I've got Nicola at the CPS all set to make you her main man.

-I can't be only a lawyer, Clive.

-But, Martha...

-Will you just leave me alone?

SIREN WAILS

Look at that, Jake.

Heritage to die for.

Absorb and aspire.

Elizabeth I was here, Jake,

the third-greatest virgin of all time.

-Who are the...?

-The Madonna and Madonna.

HE CHUCKLES

Maybe she stood right here, Jake.

Hm?

And her thoughts?

"Who comes after me? I'm childless.

"To whom do I bequeath my throne and isle?"

There comes a time, Jake,

when a man in my position has to turn his thoughts to legacy.

Our two greatest inventions are today incorporated in one woman.

Law and football.

You all set, miss? Oi!

-Wahey!

-Fancy a mortgage fraud, sir? Good.

Because I've got you one.

PHONE RINGS

Legacy.

Le-ga-cy.

-(Legacy.)

-How do you spell it, Jake?

-I-T...boom!

-JAKE CHUCKLES

-Jesus Christ.

-Oh, my God.

What's up, Beth? Oh, time of the month?

-Out of her nose, Billy?

-Well, it's hard being a woman, John.

Right, no team colours today, boys. Today we are neutral.

-But we're West Ham.

-And we will be again. But for now...we're Swiss.

-Swiss?

-Neutral.

We have a visitor this morning. You all right, Beth?

I tell you what, why don't you take the day off?

No, what is it? It's a week, isn't it, basically, give or take?

No, I'm fine. Really.

Oh, I love women!

-Hello, miss.

-Billy, a word?

Yes, miss.

BIRDSONG

-I was thinking of giving up.

-So was I.

Got down to two lighters a day.

But what's a life without vices?

Mm.

Talking of which, I'm off to Bury St Edmunds, Billy,

to avenge the newly molested of Suffolk.

-Then the molesters will soon regret their molesting, miss.

-There's the thing.

-Miss?

-I'm back on sex, Billy.

And you so loved fraud.

-It's a return, isn't it?

-Yes, miss.

-And whoever it's returned from is doing something bigger and better?

-Yes, miss.

I've been in silk six years. Sloppy seconds are a bit...

I'm so glad we took you on at Shoe Lane, miss.

It was touch and go for a while.

There was a small concern about one of your vices getting out of hand.

I was able to reassure them. "She'll be fine," I said.

"I'll make sure of it."

Beautiful cathedral in Bury,

should you feel like a little purifying of the soul, miss.

Worth a visit.

-Big day, miss.

-It's only a con, Billy.

Legal and football history. My three raison d'etres.

Jordan Sinclair elbowed Dean Trent in the face, breaking his jaw.

-Jordan Sinclair here?

-This very morning.

-Sickening. There's no place for violence on a football pitch.

-Thank you, Jake.

Need any help, Marth? Only my grandfather played in goal for Port Vale. So, it's in the blood.

-Mm. And, er...who do you support, Clive?

-Chelsea.

LAUGHTER So, er...not really in the blood, then.

CLOCK CHIMES

-Alan?

-Martha.

Not in court?

No, legal conference.

Most people would look forward to a couple of days at Hogwarts.

But...

Most people don't have a son with schizophrenia.

I'm sorry.

I've had lots of hugs from clients who've got off over the years,

but none like the hug your son gave me.

David wants help.

Give it to him.

The trial's listed for a week.

Five days of famous footballers rubbing shoulders with Shoe Lane

all over the front pages.

Me against Martha.

Oh, um...Nicola wanted me to tell you, again,

just how talented she thinks you are.

-I didn't, by the way.

-Mm-hm.

Ah!

There you go, sir - one big, fat mortgage fraud.

It clashes.

-With?

-Prosecuting Jordan Sinclair.

-Oh. Yeah.

-You didn't know?

-Yeah, yeah. Must have just...

-Slipped your mind?

-Yeah.

BILLY CHUCKLES

I'm withdrawing my offer of help.

Ah, no, I didn't mean it about Chelsea. They're a lovely football club.

-Who's your second favourite team?

-I'm prosecuting you.

Right.

-Sinclair?

-Yep.

SHE CHUCKLES Right.

It's Manchester City, isn't it?

-Your second team?

-I was going to ask you - want to go for a drink later?

We probably shouldn't if we're against each other.

-There's that bar in Exmouth Market that's got table football.

-SHE SNORTS

-Imagine if the press got hold of it.

-Miss? Your client's here.

(He's gorgeous.)

-Oh, and this is Amy, the new pupil.

-Hi.

-Hello.

-She's roaming.

-Not attached to anyone in particular.

-So, up to you.

We're against each other in the same trial.

Who do you want to be with?

I think that's an unfair question, don't you? How is she supposed to decide?

Would you like to meet Jordan Sinclair?

PHONE RINGS

Harriet! A word.

Billy?

There are things you need to understand.

Whenever you talk to someone, you talk to me afterwards,

because if I'm not in the loop, then we're dead in the water.

That's a lot of metaphors.

When you get silk, your caseload goes just like that,

and all your old junior work goes to feed the huddled masses who missed out.

I'm getting famine, death and violins, Billy.

I'm killing myself to keep Clive Reader busy.

-In the pub.

-Where I got him a nice, big mortgage fraud.

-So?

When I come back and find that Clive Reader is already doing a case,

all my work is wasted, and all because you didn't tell anyone!

It's the 21st century. Computers do the talking.

The case is in the system, logged and booked. You can see it on your phone, even in the pub.

-You undermined me.

-You went to the pub.

Because if you're a serious clerk, that's what you do.

Do you think I like doing what I do to my liver? I do it for chambers.

So, all the clerks together, drinking selflessly,

scribbling in diaries like you're all in Bleak House.

I made two phone calls to Nicola at the CPS,

got the brief, logged it on the system,

and if we don't all start operating like that, then we're all dead.

Oh...

You don't have to be in the pub to see it on your phone,

because, unlike you, it works without a drink.

You're unique, Jordan,

the first footballer in this jurisdiction to face criminal proceedings

for something physical that happened on the pitch.

You elbowed Dean Trent in the face, and they throw the kitchen sink at you.

-Why me?

-Wrong question.

We won't be going anywhere near the fairness issue.

Why's that?

Because English juries have waited a very long time to try a footballer...

TEXT ALERT ..for the kind of bad behaviour

that everyone else goes to prison for.

They look at you and your money...

TEXTING ..and your attitude,

and they say, "About bloody time!"

-TEXTING

-So, self-defence.

Yeah, I knew he was coming.

-KEYPAD CLICKS

-Big lump like that. And I knew he was going to do me.

-KEYPAD CLICKS

-And that's when your elbow...

-Yeah. Self-protection.

-PHONE BEEPS

"I've done your mum and I'm going to do you." Trent was threatening you earlier.

-I went to take a throw-in and he was off the bench, warming up.

-TEXT ALERT

And?

Well, he gave me the ball, which was a bit weird, cos they were 1-0 up and in no hurry...

KEYPAD CLICKS

..but as he did, he said that thing about my mum.

KEYPAD CLICKS And he smiled as he did it?

There's cameras everywhere. He's not stupid.

-KEYPAD CLICKS

-And when he came on...

-PHONE BEEPS

-You won't know this. No disrespect...

-Look,

why don't you put your phone away and try me?

There's a difference when an opponent's going to hurt you.

You can sense 'em looking for the right kind of 50/50 challenge

so they can break your leg.

The right kind, meaning a tackle that can be made to look,

what, clumsy or committed or wholehearted?

And you can't know the difference unless you've been there and felt it.

Now, did you do anything to provoke him?

TEXT ALERT

I mean, was there a moment when you made him feel, "You know what?

"I really, really hate this cocky little bastard."

PHONE BEEPS

Well...after he came on, I did this trick.

Right, you know that...that drag-back thing that Johan Cruyff did?

Well, I made a bit of a mess of it, actually,

but it sort of worked and it made him look stupid.

Players like Trent think that's taking the mickey.

There's no call for skill like that in his book.

He got angry and he started intimidating you?

I know what you're saying.

"Tell the jury that you were scared of Trent,

"and it will help self-defence stand up better in court."

Dean Trent...

doesn't scare me.

Hm.

PHONE RINGS Prison will.

-PHONE RINGS

-I need to take this.

It must be important.

DOOR SHUTS

SHE CLEARS HER THROAT

Sorry. He's...young.

Yeah, and it's very hard for him earning 90 grand a week at his age.

I mean, how much do you earn, Amy?

Um...well, nothing.

Not yet.

Trent's a psycho.

-But Madden doesn't let it get out.

-His agent?

No-one wants to hear it, because they're all in his pocket.

So...so he and Trent share the same agent?

They did, along with half of football, until he dropped him.

Why?

Jordan wouldn't plead, and Madden wanted to protect Trent.

Who was that?

No-one.

-Yeah, but who was it?

-Nobody.

So, Jordan, who's more important in your life than me right now?

My mum.

Caroline?

Yes?

Anthony Ashton. Tony.

-Sorry. Have we met?

-Probably, in passing.

We're against each other.

Oh, darling, I'm sorry.

I didn't know.

Don't you start young these days?

David, it's Dad.

Er...they don't let you out of these places once you're in.

So, I won't be around for a couple of days.

But you can ring me and, um...

OK. Bye.

It's me again. Um...

I love you.

PHONE BEEPS

So, why are you doing a bog-standard rape out in the sticks?

I'm sorry?

I wasn't expecting to be up against a silk.

A favour to my senior clerk.

I'm hoping sex leads to money.

Hm. Much like Stacey Grant.

Really?

Oh, please.

A girl from the back office has a few too many, makes eyes at the boss,

and then cries rape when he doesn't want to get engaged the next morning.

A toast.

To first impressions.

If she looks like she'd drop her knickers for an alcopop,

he may live to pull another day.

If she turns up like Miss Jean Brodie at a job interview,

you're as screwed as she was.

I couldn't have put it better.

I've been hearing those jokes for as long as I can remember.

The reaction is like a litmus test.

So, what does this one tell you?

That you've never been up against a silk before.

Come on, we're off.

Oh, I can't. I'm in court.

Right. OK.

-First time?

-Yeah.

What is it?

Everything. Um...warrants, lots of shoplifting and no instructions.

It's going to be fine.

Absolutely, yeah.

Um...what's a warrant?

An arrest warrant's issued when someone fails to turn up at court.

Right, yeah.

Now, listen. Just get the basics right. Everything else will follow.

Go and see your client, ask for instructions,

and if you don't feel ready, get an adjournment.

OK.

Don't rush, deep breaths...

-Mm.

-..stand up for yourself.

You'll be great.

Clive, read this.

HE CHUCKLES

-Are you staying?

-Just for the kick-off.

Nicola, listen. I've just got to say thank you for this brief. Honestly. It really means a lot.

-My grandfather played for Port Vale, so it's in the blood.

-Wow. Really? Wow.

Who do you support?

-Chelsea.

-Brilliant. Me too.

HE CHUCKLES

I'm just going to, um... My opponent.

HE CHUCKLES

-Bit senior to come to court.

-Jealous, Marth?

-What was she saying?

-Oh, um...

Six weeks before this incident,

you go to a hotel, hire a suite, trash it,

and the manager who tries to get you removed gets punched.

-Yeah, that wasn't...

-Ah, no, hang on. It gets better.

Your agent, who is now giving evidence against you,

takes out an injunction to stop it getting in the papers.

I mean, why didn't you tell me?

I cannot work in the dark.

They said it couldn't be mentioned.

From now on, you tell me everything and you say it as it is.

OK?

That wasn't how it looks. Right.

I treated some mates from back home,

only some of them got rowdy and people complained.

Oh, how unreasonable of them(!)

Well, it wasn't me. I tried to calm them down.

Then Madden paid off the hotel manager but only to be quiet about me.

So, my mates got done, and I didn't.

We fell out, they went to the papers, and Madden got an injunction.

TEXT ALERT

How do you feel about home?

Do you miss it?

You've come a long way fast.

When I first came to London, it was in my early days at the Bar.

I was frightened of everyone - judges, other barristers, clerks.

So, I put on this kind of angry front to compensate.

PHONE RINGS

RINGING STOPS

Thanks.

Mr Rankin?

I'm Amy.

-I'm Amy.

-Yes.

Your barrister.

HE PANTS

Sort my warrants and my methadone.

Get my script, yeah?

-Right. Script?

-Yeah.

-Script?

-Yeah.

Right.

OK.

How many warrants are there? And from where?

Yeah. Methadone, yeah...

Er...why did you fail to appear at court last time?

Um...too ill.

When was the last time?

The 16th at Camberwell Green?

Right.

My methadone. Thanks.

HE GRUNTS

DOOR SLAMS

I need a doctor.

Christopher Rankin. Cell four.

He's been seen.

-When?

-This morning. Fit to attend court.

Yeah, but he's not well.

-Has he collapsed?

-No, but...

Self-harm, suicide, vomiting, threats or fainting?

No.

Then he's well.

Do I look like a social worker?

Do I?

-You can't use this.

-Similar fact evidence. Shows how he loses his temper.

It's never similar fact.

I know.

What?

Your client's not talking to you, is he?

-See you later, Clive.

-Yeah.

-We're doing all right, wouldn't you say?

-Sorry?

Keeping the professional and the personal separate.

I just felt it.

Bang on the side of my jaw, and I went down, sparko.

Broken jaw, fractured cheekbone, lost three teeth.

-You've seen the pictures.

-You were hit by something?

Jordan Sinclair's elbow.

He waited for me and he flung it. I didn't even see it coming.

-Was it thrown deliberately?

-Er...don't lead.

Your Honour, I apologise. My learned friend is quite right.

I'll rephrase the question.

What were you thinking at the time?

That it was deliberate.

Did you do anything to, er...provoke the attack?

Nothing.

You spoke to him from the touchline before you came on, when you were giving him the ball back.

It was just banter.

You've been a footballer at the very top level for over a decade.

Has anything like this ever happened to you before?

Never. It's cowardly.

Not what the game should be about. The game's better than that.

So, a bottle of white wine...

four cocktails, that you can remember,

and six or maybe seven shots?

-Yes.

-You made it up, didn't you? Embarrassed and needing to save face.

You've invented this rape allegation.

No. I didn't. I didn't!

Miss Grant, have you ever suggested that you weren't drunk?

-Never.

-Thank you.

Could it have been more shots?

Might it have been eight or nine?

It could have been.

Thank you.

MARTHA: "I've done your mum and I'm going to do you."

-Do you recognise those words?

-No.

That's what you said to Jordan Sinclair, isn't it?

Here's the ball, big smile, vicious insult.

I wouldn't use a phrase like that. It's offensive.

When were you coached on what to say in that witness box?

I've not been coached.

So, no sitting around discussing the evidence with, say, Ben Madden?

I've not spoken to Ben about this.

You turn questions round, don't you, into denials?

I don't turn them round into denials.

You threaten people you're playing against.

I don't do threats.

How did you feel when he did that Johann Cruyff trick on you?

50,000 people in the ground. Millions on the telly.

Embarrassed, Mr Trent?

-Humiliated?

-I know what you're after.

I wasn't wound up by him and I didn't try and use threats to control him.

Like I say, the game's better than that.

Ben likes that phrase, doesn't he?

He's right.

So, it WAS his phrase?

He might have said it first.

And you repeated it... but you weren't coached?

No, I wasn't.

I was elbowed.

We need to nail Madden.

Him and Trent are as tight as you like. He's more than just an agent.

We need an angle. You said he's got journalists in his pocket?

Yeah, loads.

Tonight, find me a story about yourself that you can't explain,

that got in the paper by magic.

BIRDSONG

I'm just very quietly tipping you off.

I'm sorry?

You've got a big decision to make.

Your shoulder is about to be tapped, as they used to say.

How do you know?

Terrible gossips, judges, when it comes to new colleagues.

Oh...

-PHONE RINGS

-Oh.

David. It's Dad.

Yes, sorry, of course, you know it's Dad cos you're calling me.

Miss Grant was drunk, wasn't she?

-FLINDERS:

-She was.

-Very drunk?

Yes.

Unsteady? Red-eyed? Slurring?

She was, yes.

In fact, she'd drunk so much, she'd been sick on her dress.

To be fair to you, that's the sort of witness we're dealing with, isn't it?

I think it's important that we get that clear.

And of all the women in that bar, she was the one you wanted to have sex with?

The slurring, drunk, weepy one, who smelled of vomit?

No, no, it wasn't like that. She was drunk, OK...

And you chose her because of her drunken state, not despite it.

She wasn't attractive, she was a mess.

But she was vulnerable,

and because of that, you hunted her down and you raped her,

didn't you, Mr Flinders?

-Um...Your Honour.

-Madam.

You are not wearing a wig, nor am I.

This is not the crown court. You call me madam.

Madam, um...

..a number of pieces of information have come to light

which, um...which mean I've been unable

to take full instructions and I...I...

You've had all day.

But there have been, um...difficulties.

Let me give you some advice, Miss Lang.

Don't dress up what you say in court

by making it sound like how you think lawyers are supposed to sound in court.

Try and sound like yourself, or your career won't work.

Plain speech, Miss Lang.

Can I have an adjournment, please?

No.

SHE RUSTLES PAPERS

Um...

Christopher Rankin, I've been told, is in need of a DIP and a PSR.

An FDR is a possibility and maybe a DDR too.

I don't know what they're on about and I'm the barrister.

Mr Rankin, as a-a-a long-term heavy heroin user,

finds it hard to take on board.

Frankly, he finds it hard to take anything on board.

He neither knows nor cares if it's day or night,

or whether he's remanded in custody or released on bail.

There are far too many lawyers in his life, madam, and not enough doctors.

-I'll adjourn this case for a week.

-Thank you.

Thank you very much.

And when you come back,

as you insist you have insufficient instructions to proceed today,

you can explain to the court in plain speech,

why your solicitors should not pay the cost of today's hearing.

I'm sorry I punched you in the face.

Can we be honest with each other?

I like you, Jake.

-I like you.

-Yeah, but not the way that I like you.

You're my friend. Let's not mess that up.

We could try.

Let's not try to mess it up, OK?

But one day I'll be...

It's a family thing.

Billy and me.

Family.

No, Jake. Billy's going to be here for ever.

Then it's going to be John or Harriet, not you.

Work, family.

Not family, family.

-You're winning, aren't you?

-Sorry.

Is it really awkward when celebrities come to chambers, and we send them to prison?

Don't feel awkward, sir. It's me. It's unconditional.

Out of interest, why do you dislike Dean Trent?

I'm West Ham, sir. We pass. We love players who can pass.

Dean Trent can't. He stops people passing.

He's anti-football.

I can't love him.

-Night, sir.

-Yeah, night.

And the real reason? He didn't get you the brief.

So, like the big child he can sometimes be, he's not on your side.

What's going on?

Word has it Alan Cowdrey's heading upstairs...the bench, full-time.

Right. Really?

So, there'll be a vacancy for head of chambers.

Another drink?

William Lamb.

Er...the results, please.

The PSA is down? That's great! Thank you.

Thank you. When...when do I have to come in for the next test?

Great. OK. Thank you. Bye.

Liverpool Football Club have played over 5,000 matches in their history.

Only once ever have they come back from three goals down at half-time to win.

-Istanbul.

-Mm. The miracle of.

So...

Whatever Rafa Benitez said to them at half-time, that's you now.

Oh, I'm a dumpy Spaniard?

-HE LAUGHS

-With a shot at ultimate glory.

Are you all right, Billy?

Yeah.

To summarise, then, Mr Madden,

Jordan Sinclair told you that he'd attacked Dean Trent deliberately,

that Trent was history now,

and that you should concentrate all your efforts on his career instead?

He did, and I was shocked.

Thank you.

(Boom.)

How long have you represented Dean Trent?

Since he was a kid, more than a decade now.

-Very successfully.

-Very.

And he has some huge sponsorship deals, doesn't he?

You probably helped broker them?

I think I did more than just help.

And doubtless... they've got morality clauses in them?

So, if he's found to, say, well, hurl foul abuse at someone

or be publicly offensive,

he'd be seen as toxic in the eyes of the people who pay him,

and those contracts could be null and void?

He didn't, though, did he?

That's you, or Jordan, mud-slinging.

I don't represent thugs.

Your evidence about Jordan Sinclair inventing Dean Trent's threats

is completely manufactured and self-serving.

No.

Your suggestion's a smear, and you know it.

Sinclair admitted it to me, and I wasn't having it.

Dean Trent's been with you a long time, hasn't he?

He's seen you in action. Is it that he knows where the bodies are buried?

Hm?

Best keep him happy, because he knows everything,

whereas Jordan Sinclair, new kid on the block, knows nothing?

Look, I've got no bodies. You've got no defence.

-Right pair, aren't we?

-RIPPLE OF LAUGHTER

If we could let Miss Costello ask the questions, Mr Madden?

Last year, according to FIFA,

28% of all transfer fees went to football agents.

Footballers aren't the only people with agents, Miss Costello.

If I broke the law, or told lies, and needed your services,

I could contact Billy Lamb to negotiate your fee.

Talented people need agents. Fact of life.

But barristers prefer to call 'em clerks.

Dean Trent's got one. You've got one. Same thing.

Your Honour, if I could just take instructions for a moment?

Please.

I'm talking to you for effect. Nod.

Did you find the story?

Yeah, me out at four in the morning the night before a game,

drinking and kissing some girl.

And you couldn't explain it?

-No, it didn't happen.

-Sure?

-I'm positive.

-He's slippery.

He is.

-Well, two can play at that game.

-Do it.

Mr Madden, you keep stories out of the papers, don't you?

You also put them there.

I influence it.

I can't control it.

Have you ever given a journalist a smear story about Jordan Sinclair?

Not that I can remember.

Are you sure?

Mr Madden?

Maybe...once. Like I say, it's, er...my job to take care of things.

You're smearing, I'm smearing?

We're a right pair, aren't we?

JOHN: 'Interesting, the two of them, Mr Reader and Miss Costello.'

They're like cat and dog in court.

-And?

-Well, maybe not when they're outside.

You know,

-or...?

-I just heard.

You heard because you're a clerk.

You hear things before people even say 'em.

Is it awkward, if the cat-and-dog thing doesn't leave court with them?

You see and then you try and work out what those silent moments might mean,

whether it's good or bad.

I think it's manageable.

I don't think good or bad has to come into it.

-Don't do it, John.

-What?

Shuffle papers, write business plans and all that bollocks.

You're a clerk. Duck, dive, prosper.

Don't waste your gift.

Back you, not Harriet?

When I go, I'm leaving Shoe Lane clerked.

Not administered.

Yeah?

DOOR OPENS

COURT CLERK: Will the foreman please stand?

Will the defendant please stand?

Have you reached a verdict upon which you are all agreed?

-FOREMAN:

-We have.

On count one, that of rape,

do you find the defendant, Gary Flinders, guilty or not guilty?

-Guilty.

-Thank you.

I thought you were good with Madden.

He's tough.

We didn't hurt him enough.

But, well, thank you.

Well, I think you're being hard on yourself.

I thought I was the one who gave the team talks.

I'm just saying you stood up for me.

Thank you.

Jordan, it's my job.

Now, when you go in the witness box, there is nothing I can do.

So, if you want to thank me, help yourself.

It's hard. You don't understand football.

I used to go with my dad to Burnden Park, see Bolton...

..and we used to talk about life through talking about football,

and then I went to university, moved away, and he got ill...

..and after going for four seasons every fortnight,

we never went again, which meant we never spoke again, really.

See, our common language had gone.

So, no, I don't. I...I...you know,

and I don't think I want to know about the business of it.

But I do understand football and what it means.

OK?

Yeah, my dad used to watch me play when I was a kid,

all the time, every week.

And then he just left...

..left us, me and my mum,

didn't come back.

And then I got signed, and then I got signed, like, big,

and the money came, and I got a house and a car.

Four cars.

Mad.

And then he came back or he tried to.

My mum wouldn't have it. She said he wanted to know the money and not me.

So, she made me choose.

So, obviously I had to choose her, cos I owed her.

I wish that was different.

You know what? What Trent said...

-About your mum.

-Mm.

It wasn't just that.

What?

Well, he...he said,

"I've done your mum and I'm going to do you."

And one more word.

What was the word?

About a year ago,

er...I was...

out with a friend.

We left the bar...

..and out of nowhere, from behind us...

..there they were,

screaming abuse.

About ten of 'em.

What did you do?

Well, I can do about 10.4 on the 100 metres.

And your friend?

He's...

..he's not so quick.

What kind of bar?

What was the abuse?

What Trent said...

..what was the word?

Faggot.

It's a very ugly word, but it's the 21st century.

Is it such a terrible secret?

It is if you're a footballer.

Football's 21st century when it comes to money...

..18th century when it comes to being gay.

And Trent doesn't even know.

It's just a normal insult in his world, you know.

If you've got quick feet, you're a faggot.

If you read the Guardian, you're a poof.

If you go to the theatre, you're...you're queer.

That's how his brain works. That's how football's brain works.

I mean, if I get "faggot" when he doesn't even know...

..what do I get when he does?

Right, Manchester City because of their away kit, you know, the red and black stripes.

And I was Chelsea a long time before the money came.

Ah, the romance of football. HE SNORTS

What's he like? Sinclair?

Shall we stay away from talking about the case?

No, I mean as a person.

Well...

..he's fond of his phone and his mum.

You always end up liking them, don't you?

Spoiled-brat footballers. Nasty armed robbers.

Martha Costello sees the good side in everyone.

You can't generalise like that.

Oh, what? Not all armed robbers are horrible?

Lots of Premiership footballers are kind, sensitive human beings?

Not all Chelsea supporters are wilfully blind.

Manchester City play very attractive football in a very attractive kit...

and are still everyone's second-favourite team.

-I'll see you in the morning.

-OK.

I love it, you know, how deep you go,

how much passion and conviction you put into everything you do...

when you've got a wig on.

DOOR OPENS

DOOR CLOSES

I want you to listen very carefully...

..and when I'm finished, I don't want you to say anything.

You elbowed Dean Trent in the face,

because you'd had enough of him and everything he stood for.

There might have been a dangerous tackle coming your way,

but that's not why you hit out.

It's bigger than that.

You hit out at the prejudice,

ignorance and the silence that football demands from you.

In law... Now, forget about life and fairness and justice.

In law, that's an admission of guilt.

So, if those were your instructions,

I would have to advise you to plead guilty,

in which case, being who you are,

doing what you did...

..you would go to prison.

So, what do we do?

You're the client. I'm the lawyer.

Now I'm going to ask you,

what are your instructions?

He was going to hurt me.

I feared for my safety,

and although the results were regrettable...

..my response was proportionate.

I was...scared.

I do listen sometimes, you know.

-CLIVE:

-Putting the extraordinary evolution of your defence to one side,

and the change from "I ain't scared of him" in interview

to fully fledged terror in the witness box,

self-defence based on what?

Maybe you thought a few lies,

smearing the victim, blaming the agent, might provide the basis for it?

Nobody else backs up your story, do they?

Loads of people heard him threaten me. But nobody will speak out.

What, so Dean Trent and Ben Madden can silence players,

the coaching staff and the whole of the media,

-can they?

-Yes, and they do.

Er...you invented a story...

about Dean Trent abusing your mother.

Where would you get something like that from?

I haven't got it from anywhere. It's true.

Well, even if it is true, it wouldn't have scared you, would it?

-It would make you angry.

-No.

Dean Trent was going to hurt me.

I felt threatened, so I defended myself.

Nonsense. You were angry.

Right, come on, then, what...

what did he say or do

that scared you?

What?

Is this where it all falls apart?

Jordan? Anything?

Anything at all?

I won't let him win.

HARRIET: Clive.

I've, um...I've drafted a press release.

-What for?

-Well, there'll be publicity.

One trip out in silk, and one win. I can trade on that.

I'm not done yet. I've still got a speech to do.

It's a draft. It can sit and wait, like Jordan Sinclair.

Only it'll be released tomorrow, and he won't.

-Seems a bit premature.

-We own the story.

The story doesn't own us. It's about communication.

I didn't do enough yesterday.

No.

-And they have to believe I was scared?

-Yes.

What if...

What if there's someone who can explain why I was scared?

-Why didn't you say?

-Well, he's gagged.

He's signed away his right to speak out.

Uh-uh-uh. In there, in court, democracy.

If the judge says they can talk, they can talk.

Who is it, Jordan?

-I want to call another witness.

-What? Now?

-Who?

-A footballer.

It's just a character witness, OK?

Clutching at straws, Martha?

MARTHA: Your Honour, the defence calls Tom Stephenson.

LOW CHATTER

Mr Stephenson,

on the day this incident took place,

um...could you tell the court where you were?

I was in the dugout, next to Dean Trent. We were warming up on the touchline.

(You said he was a character witness.)

He is, the character of football.

-JUDGE BARNABY:

-Miss Costello?

Your Honour.

And it's agreed that, at some stage,

Jordan Sinclair came over to take a throw.

Did you hear anything?

Trent just started at him. The usual stuff.

Abuse about his mum. His usual routine.

Is Dean Trent often abusive?

Dean Trent is always abusive.

Now, what was your view of the incident at the heart of this case?

-He tried to do him, tried to break his leg.

-Why?

He's jealous. Jordan is the future.

He can pass. He's got good feet.

Trent's the past. He's all blood and thunder. He can't play.

Jordan plays like he's Spanish. Trent plays like an Englishman in the 1950s.

And are you the only one who thinks like this?

Of course not. They all do.

They're all scared of him cos he's a bully.

Even the club's scared.

If they upset him, Madden will cut 'em out of transfers in the future.

It's a stitch-up.

And will you be part of that future?

No.

My knee's gone.

What happened?

Dean Trent happened.

We had an argument before training, and then he said he'd do me, and he did.

But the press won't print it, so the public don't know it.

But the players talk. We all know.

Five years in the limelight and then oblivion.

One more big headline, now you're finished?

Well, I didn't think I was allowed to talk about it until yesterday,

because I'd signed this.

They said I'd never be able to discuss it.

But in here, it might be OK.

Might I take a look?

Very interesting.

It would appear, Mr Stephenson,

that, standing there, you can indeed talk about it.

LOW CHATTER

So, that's a financial arrangement you've reached?

A bit of the commercial stuff you... you claim to dislike so much?

Dean Trent said, "I'll do you, you bastard,"

and then broke my leg in training.

Madden made the club keep it quiet,

so they paid me off, some on the top,

just so I'd sign a confidentiality clause,

so nobody would see what Trent's like.

But, standing here, I can talk about it, and he can't stop me,

and that's killing him, trust me.

A press release?

-Are you for real?

-It's a draft.

-It leaked.

-How?

I've spent 20 years building Clive Reader.

Five minutes after he gets silk, you make him look stupid.

-But how did it get out?

-I don't care!

I'm not the idiot who wrote it!

You don't understand. It's about winning. It's all about winning!

So, it just magically got out?

You play the hand you've got, John.

It's called clerking.

BACKGROUND CHATTER

TANNOY: 'Will all parties in Sinclair please go to Court 1?'

If it's guilty, I promise I'll try and keep you out on bail until sentencing.

-JUDGE:

-The jury in, please.

-COURT CLERK:

-Would the foreman please stand?

Would the defendant please stand?

On count one, that of grievous bodily harm with intent,

have you reached a verdict on which you are all agreed?

-FOREWOMAN:

-We have.

Do you find the defendant Jordan Sinclair

guilty

or not guilty?

PHONE RINGS

Oh, yes.

-Yes.

-PHONE BEEPS

Yes. Yes.

Top class.

Top bloody class.

DOOR OPENS

MARTHA: So, what now? DOOR CLOSES

You can play again.

If I want to.

Do you?

Well, if I play, I can't be me, and I've made enough to leave it behind.

-You'd give it up?

-Maybe.

I've been someone else since I was 15.

I want to find out...

..who I am.

-Thank you.

-A pleasure.

I sounded off like a ranting idiot and I'm going to get costs awarded against me.

Sounding off sounds good to me.

-Billy.

-You hid from me.

-I'm sorry. I...

-And we never hide, miss.

I told her to ask for an adjournment.

It's my fault, Billy, and I'll speak to the solicitor.

I've spoken to her. It's sorted.

Your pupil took your advice, miss.

She was brave enough to tell the judge too,

and if there's costs to be paid, I'll pay them.

Now, get your learned pupil mistress a proper drink

to celebrate a proper result.

-Are you not joining us?

-Places to be, miss.

Manana.

-Do you mind if I...?

-Yeah, go home.

Take that for a taxi.

Thank you.

No hard feelings?

-Character witness?

-Yeah, well...

You tricked me.

Actually, you lied to me.

I thought we could leave court in court, you and me.

Exactly. Trial's over. You'll never see Jordan Sinclair again. Nor will I.

So, now you can tell me what was going on with him. Wigs are off. Talk to me, Martha.

I can't.

You know what? I'll see you later.

I said I can't tell you, Clive.

Your clients come first every time.

They always have. But where are they, Martha? Here with you now?

Or are you on your own?

FOOTSTEPS APPROACH

Hello, sir.

The best days stay in your head.

Sharp.

-They don't fade.

-Mm. You've had a few of those, sir.

I've had my shoulder tapped.

Congratulations...I think.

GLASS CLINKS

If being a judge for the rest of your career is what you want.

It's time, Billy.

I need to be there for David... and myself.

-Do one thing for me, sir.

-What's that?

Be sure...

before you jump.

Be very, very sure.

For your sake.

I've loved being head of chambers, Billy.

I love this place. Always will.

But things change.

Things...happen.

We'll miss you...sir.

You'll always be Shoe Lane, sir.

Wherever you go, whatever you do.

Thank you, Billy.

Good night.

Good night, sir.

-SLURRED SPEECH:

-I've never seen him round our house at Christmas.

Who?

John.

-What?

-It's a time for family.

Christmas. He should have been there.

More family than me.

Who's been talking, Jake?

Everyone.

-Except me.

-You're drunk, mate.

-You need to get home.

-Yeah.

I'll leave you here... with your family.

I'll get you a cab.

I've got my Oyster.

It's all right for you, isn't it?

You'll be here for ever.

DOOR SHUTS

It's going to be tough for me, Marth.

Did you know about this?

-BILLY:

-'I just don't feel like a man.'

I'm just sick of us always being against each other.

How dare you do that to my husband?

-What are you saying?

-You're in.

There is one thing I'll be asking for in return.

Facts and figures. Everything you need to know

to become the next head of chambers.

We appreciate smart young clerks

who've got the nose to get out there and sniff out the new work.

I'll tell you what, I'll even throw in a new suit.

So...?