The Beiderbecke Trilogy were also published as books by Alan Plater. The book of "The Beiderbecke Affair" was written after the TV series was made. The other two books were written before the TV shows were made and contain an earlier version of the stories. The Beiderbecke Trilogy The Beiderbecke Trilogy refers to three television serials written by Alan Plater and made by Yorkshire Television for the ITV network in the United Kingdom between 1984 and 1988. Each serial centres on schoolteachers Trevor Chaplin (James Bolam) and Jill Swinburne (Barbara Flynn) who work at a rundown comprehensive school in Leeds. Woodwork teacher Trevor
The Beiderbecke Trilogy broadcast in six parts in January and February 1985 and averaged 12 million viewers over its run. Shortly after the completion of "The Beiderbecke Affair", David Cunliffe asked Plater to write a new serial with the same characters. At this point Plater decided to create a jazz-themed trilogy; "The Beiderbecke Affair" would be followed by "The Gillespie Tapes" and "The Yardbird Suite", referencing Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker respectively. However, YTV felt that they wanted to stick with the Beiderbecke "brand" and so the first sequel was renamed "The Beiderbecke Tapes". Plater intended "The Beiderbecke Tapes" to be another six-part