at the same time zenith productions were also considering a possible drama on the stalker affair. zenith was a production company that had been involved with a number of british cinema films in the mid-1980s, and was also making the "inspector morse" series for television. zenith's plans came to the attention of yorkshire television's head of drama, keith richardson, who suggested merging the two projects; which ultimately led yorkshire into the unusual position of commissioning its biggest and most prestigious drama of the year from an independent. from zenith came experienced producer nigel stafford-clark who had recently moved to the company, while kosminsky was set to direct.