THE LONG ARM OF THE LAW
MARION McMULLEN looks at some of Britain’s longest-running TV police detective shows
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Oscar winner Dame Helen Mirren starred as DCI Jane Tennison in ITV’s Prime Suspect for 15 years across seven series beginning in 1991. Helen said: “That part changed me and changed my life. It was the first time I played a strong brilliant woman who was made
up of dark and light.”
ITV crime drama Vera, starring Brenda
Blethyn as the unorthodox trench coat wearing Detective Chief Inspector Vera Stanhope, is coming to an end after more than a decade. The 78-year-old will say goodbye to the role after the 14th and final series. She first appeared in Vera in 2011 and says: “Working on Vera has been a joy from beginning to end and I’m sad to be saying cheerio.”
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John Thaw made the role of crossword and opera-loving Morse his own. He was 44 when the series began, but once said: “I was born looking 50.” The popular ITV police series ran for 13 years from 1987 and won six Bafta awards during its eight series run. Novelist Colin Dexter, who created the character, would often make cameo appearances and 13 million watched the final episode called Remorseful Day.
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ITV’s Taggart also ran for 27 years and 27 series and came to an end in 2010 after 177 episodes. The Scottish police drama continued with the same name even after Mark McManus who played DCI Jim Taggart passed away in 1994. 9 New Tricks began in 2003 on the BBC and ended 12 years later in 2015. The opening episode saw Amanda Redman (below) as Detective Superintendant Sandra Pullman investigating cold cases with the help of a team featuring Dennis Waterman, Alun Armstrong and James Bolam. Dennis Waterman performed the opening theme tune called It’s Alright.
Midsomer Murders began 27 years ago in 1997 and is still going strong. The ITV favourite is based on the novels by Caroline Graham and originally starred John Nettles as DCI Tom Barnaby before Neil Dudgeon took over as DCI John Barnaby in 2000. There have been 140 episodes so far and the fictional county of Midsomer has been described as “the deadliest county in England”.
Spin-off sequel Lewis saw Kevin Whately take centre stage as Morse’s long-standing sidekick Sergeant Robbie Lewis. Colin Dexter made him a Welshman in his novels, but on TV he became a Geordie and the author was said to approve of the change. Lewis ran for nine years from 2006 until 2015.
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Morse prequel Endeavour featured Shaun Evans as a young Morse at the start of his career working within the Oxford City Police criminal investigation department. It began on ITV in 2012 and ran for 11 years. The first episode was set in 1965 and involved the disappearance of a schoolgirl. 4
ITV’s A Touch of Frost ran for 18 years from 1992 to 2010. David Jason appeared in 42 episodes as Detective Inspector “Jack” Frost and grew a moustache specially for the part. He was 70 when the series finally ended. 10 Inspector George Gently with Martin Shaw (below) and Lee Ingleby ran for a decade on the BBC from 2007 until 2017. It was set in the North East in the 1960s, but Martin Shaw was already 62 when filming began – past the normal retirement age for a senior investigating officer.