Nordic crime dramas like The Killing, Borgen and Wallander 'inspired by British'

Jumper-wearing Sarah Lund treads in Jane Tennison’s footsteps, says writer
p31 edition 31.05 The Killing Composite

They have kept Londoners glued to their television sets, furiously reading subtitles while trying to decipher Scandinavian slang.

But while fans of The Killing, Borgen, Wallander and The Bridge might think they are watching the cream of Danish and Swedish crime fiction, the inspiration for these ratings hits is firmly British, a leading author revealed today.

Swedish crime writer Arne Dahl — whose drama series named after him is currently being screened on BBC 4 — said that no-nonsense characters like Faroese jumper-wearing DCI Sarah Lund in The Killing owe much to classic British coppers like Dame Helen Mirren’s DCI Jane Tennison. Dahl added: “I learnt everything from British crime fiction — Agatha Christie, John Le Carré, Frederick Forsyth, Reginald Hill, PD James — but also TV dramas like Prime Suspect with Jane Tennison were really important.

“Through the years you have had such great crime dramas, from State Of Play to The Hour, that you can’t avoid being inspired by. But Scandinavian crime drama is a bit more down to earth with fewer hierarchies, and a bit more basically political.

“We are, after all, a slightly more equal society. For the time being.”

Dahl, whose new novel Bad Blood is published on June 13, added: “When I started writing, one or two Swedish writers managed to get translated into English, but no one really succeeded.

“Now the wall between the UK and Scandinavia has fallen down and a lot of writers are trying to write Hollywood movies in book form.” He spoke ahead of next month’s London festival celebrating Scandinavian drama.

The Nordicana Show is on June 15 and 16 at the Farmiloe Building in Clerkenwell and features screenings, a chance to meet actors, writers and film-makers, and sample regional food and drink.

Highlights include crime author David Hewson’s “deconstructing The Killing” masterclass, an exclusive screening of political drama Borgen, and the season finale of Dahl’s eponymous A Team-style show, plus a Q&A with its actors and creator.

There will also be appearances by the creator of Borgen and actors and actresses including Marie Askehave, best known as Rie Skovgaard in The Killing, or Forbrydelsen (The Crime, in Danish).

She said: “It’s wonderful to have your work recognised in other countries, but especially in the UK as we’re very much Anglophiles here in Denmark.

“The Killing, The Bridge, Borgen ...they are intelligent dramas with complex storylines that seem to really get people hooked. There’s also the bleakness, perhaps it’s because we have a similar climate, it rains a lot and British people identify with the atmosphere.”

The success of Scandinavian drama in Britain began after The Killing was first aired in a late-night slot on BBC 4 in the early part of 2011.

It became so popular that actress Sofie Grabol, who played Lund, got a cameo in Absolutely Fabulous. There is also even a dedicated “Nordic Noir” online channel.

Detective thriller Arne Dahl is broadcast on Saturday nights on BBC 4

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in