• And then they go and axe it. Typical.

    ZEN was a three-part miniseries adaptation of of the literary detective Aurelio Zen. The BBC took the decision to shoot in English and not bother with dodgy accents, which works well.

    I found all three episodes to be smart, stylish and above average thrillers. Each episode contains danger, intrigue, political machinations, romance and humour. Rufus Sewell is perfectly cast and plays Zen to the hilt, and he's supported by an excellent list of actors headed by the lovely Caterina Munro.

    Add in some classy music and beautiful locations and you have a winning series. Of the three episodes, the first, VENDETTA, is the strongest, featuring a murderous assassin; the second, CABAL, gets tied up in government conspiracies and shady suited figures; the third and weakest, RANSOM, features Zen thrown into the middle of a kidnapping where nothing is what it seems.

    It's a shame we'll never find out who was at the other end of the phone but nonetheless, ZEN made for great viewing.