In January 2010, author Peter Robinson announced that he had signed a joint deal with Left Bank Pictures and ITV to adapt novels from the Detective Chief Inspector Alan Banks series for television. Filming on a two-part story, based on the novel Aftermath, was completed in July 2010, with scenes filmed on-location in Leeds. Aftermath aired on ITV1 on September 27 and October 4, 2010. The two parts pulled in a strong average of 6.55 million viewers, twice becoming the fifth most-watched programme on the ITV network that week, behind Coronation Street, Emmerdale, Downton Abbey and The X Factor. The figures were strong enough for a further three stories to be commissioned. Filming on the stories began in February 2011. The first story, Playing With Fire, began airing on September 16, 2011, with average viewing figures of 4.5 million. Further episodes have achieved a similar rating.
