Jean Stewart

In Jean Stewart's rape scenes for Cracker (1993), the camera takes the victims' point of view, separating the violence from any suggestion of sex. Stewart directed the three-part Men Should Weep in 1994, and that decision is a substantial reason to seek out her contribution. We found Cracker difficult to watch because Robbie Coltrane makes Fitz compelling without making his excesses comfortable company. His humour helps, but the writing sometimes presses too hard; a series this willing to make us uncomfortable does not always need to insist.

Stewart favours fluid camera movement and gives actors space to move within a scene. Her early work included blocks of EastEnders (1991) and episodes of The Bill and Medics, before single films became part of the work. She cast and directed Alfred Molina in Nervous Energy (1995). There she pared back the script and performances to bring the central story into focus. That willingness to reduce what is on the page matters as much as the freedom she gives her actors.

Born to Run (1997) combines broad comedy with detailed attention to a tight-knit group, giving her work a less severe setting than Cracker. Casting is another part of that attention to people: she discovered Jamie Draven for Butterfly Collectors (1999), which starred Pete Postlethwaite. She later became lead director on the first series of William and Mary (2003), with Martin Clunes and Julie Graham.

We would be wary of turning those habits into a claim that every assignment succeeds. Stewart herself considered Men of the Month (1994) only partly successful, and our admiration for Cracker rests heavily on Coltrane, not on direction alone. What we value in Stewart's contribution is the care taken over how an assault is seen, even when the writing is less restrained. Start with Men Should Weep, prepared for something more troubling than an evening's crime-solving.