Est. 2025 · The case file is open
The best British crime shows — ranked, reviewed and argued about
From Inspector Morse to Line of Duty — and the forgotten gems in between. One cup of tea at a time, one body at a time.
Featured case
The one to start with
The docket
All case files
Drama / Crime
7.5
A Touch of Frost
1992–2010
Jack Frost is a gritty, dogged and unconventional detective with sympathy for the underdog and an instinct for moral justice who attracts trouble like a magnet.
Case file 01
Drama
6.7
Bergerac
1981–1991
Jim Bergerac is a detective sergeant in The Foreigners Office who likes to do things his own way.
Case file 02
Drama
5.2
Between the Lines
1992–1994
Detective Superintendent Tony Clark is an ambitious member of the Complaints Investigation Bureau, an internal organisation that investigates claims of…
Case file 03
Crime / Drama
7.4
Blue Lights
2023
Follows rookie police officers working in Belfast, a city in which being a frontline response cop comes with unique pressures and dangers.
Case file 04
Crime / Drama
7.8
Bodyguard
2018
A troubled war veteran is assigned to protect a controversial politician who may be the target of a terror plot.
Case file 05
Drama / Crime
6.7
Bulman
1985–1987
Bulman is a Granada TV series which ran from 1985–1987 and followed the fortunes of the major character from the earlier XYY Man and Strangers series.
Case file 06
Drama
5.8
C.A.T.S. Eyes
1985–1987
C.A.T.S. Eyes is a British television series made by TVS for ITV between 1985 and 1987. A spin-off of the series The Gentle Touch, Maggie Forbes leads an…
Case file 07
Crime / Drama
6.6
Cracker
1993–1996
The wise-cracking Fitz is a brilliant but flawed criminal psychologist with a remarkable insight into the criminal mind.
Case file 08
Action & Adventure / Drama
6.4
Dempsey and Makepeace
1985–1986
Dempsey and Makepeace is a British television crime drama made by London Weekend Television for ITV, created and produced by Ranald Graham.
Case file 09
Crime / Drama
8.1
Endeavour
2012–2023
The early days of a young Endeavour Morse, whose experiences as a detective constable with the Oxford City Police will ultimately shape his future.
Case file 10
Drama
7.5
Hamish Macbeth
1995–1997
Hamish Macbeth is a comedy-drama series made by BBC Scotland and first aired in 1995.
Case file 11
Crime / Drama
7.9
Happy Valley
2014–2023
Happy Valley is a dark, funny, multi-layered thriller revolving around the personal and professional life of Catherine, a dedicated, experienced, hard-working…
Case file 12
Crime / Drama
7.1
Heartbeat
1992–1998
Set during the 1960s in the fictional North Yorkshire village of Aidensfield, this enduringly popular series interweaves crime and medical storylines.
Case file 13
Crime / Drama
7.8
Inspector Morse
1987–2000
Inspector Morse is a detective drama based on Colin Dexter's series of Chief Inspector Morse novels.
Case file 14
Drama / Mystery
6.3
The Ruth Rendell Mysteries
1987–2000
The Ruth Rendell mysteries is a British television series made by TVS and Meridian Television for ITV between 2 August 1987 and 11 October 2000.
Case file 15
Drama / Mystery
7.1
Jack the Ripper
1988
Jack the Ripper is a 1988 two-part television film/miniseries portraying a fictionalized account of the hunt for Jack the Ripper, the unidentified serial…
Case file 16
Crime / Drama
5.8
Juliet Bravo
1980–1982
Juliet Bravo was a drama that focused on two female police inspectors, neither of whom were called Juliet Bravo!
Case file 17
Crime / Drama
7.6
Lewis
2006–2015
Inspector Robert Lewis and Sergeant James Hathaway solve the tough cases that the learned inhabitants of Oxford throw at them.
Case file 18
Crime / Drama
8.2
Line of Duty
2012–2021
A drama about the investigations of AC-12, a controversial police anticorruption unit.
Case file 19
Comedy / Drama
7.3
Lovejoy
1986–1994
The adventures of the eponymous Lovejoy, a likeable but roguish antiques dealer based in East Anglia.
Case file 20
Crime / Drama
7.9
Luther
2010–2019
A dark psychological crime drama starring Idris Elba as Luther, a man struggling with his own terrible demons, who might be as dangerous as the depraved…
Case file 21
British Crime Drama
Messiah
2001–2005
For the first four serials, the series is anchored by Ken Stott's portrayal of DCI Red Metcalfe.
Case file 22
Crime / Drama
7.5
Midsomer Murders
1997–2011
The peacefulness of the Midsomer community is shattered by violent crimes, suspects are placed under suspicion, and it is up to a veteran DCI and his young…
Case file 23
Comedy / Drama
6.8
Minder
1979–1994
Roguish comedy drama following the misadventures of small-time crook Arthur Daley.
Case file 24
Drama
5.0
Mr. Palfrey of Westminster
1984
Mr. Palfrey is a mild-mannered, but highly skilled counter-espionage agent employed by a small, unnamed department within British intelligence. He and his team…
Case file 25
Crime / Drama
8.2
Agatha Christie's Poirot
1989
From England to Egypt, accompanied by his elegant and trustworthy sidekicks, the intelligent yet eccentrically-refined Belgian detective Hercule Poirot pits…
Case file 26
Crime / Drama
7.7
Prime Suspect
1991–2006
Highly skilled Detective Inspector Jane Tennison battles to prove herself in a male dominated world.
Case file 27
Crime / Drama
6.9
Rebus
2006–2007
Detective series set in and around Edinburgh, Scotland.
Case file 28
Crime / Drama
7.3
Scott & Bailey
2011–2016
D.C. Rachel Bailey and D.C. Janet Scott have a robust and engaging friendship which enables them to draw upon each other’s strengths and investigate murders…
Case file 29
Crime / Drama
8.5
Sherlock
2010–2017
A modern update finds the famous sleuth and his doctor partner solving crime in 21st century London.
Case file 30
Crime / Drama
6.0
Softly Softly: Task Force
1969
Softly, Softly: Task Force is a police based drama series which ran on BBC 1 from 1969 to 1976.
Case file 31
Drama
4.3
Special Branch
1969
Special Branch is a British police drama centred on members of the Special Branch anti-espionage and anti-terrorist department of the London Metropolitan…
Case file 32
Crime / Drama
7.0
Spender
1991–1993
Jimmy Nail plays tough cop Spender, forced to return to his native Newcastle after a failed undercover operation in London.
Case file 33
Drama / Action & Adventure
7.7
Spooks
2001–2006
Tense drama series about the different challenges faced by the British Security Service as they work against the clock to safeguard the nation.
Case file 34
Crime / Drama
6.3
Taggart
1983–1994
Taggart is a Scottish detective television program.
Case file 35
British Crime Drama
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
1984–1994
Jeremy Brett’s performance as Sherlock Holmes is the series’ cornerstone, a portrayal that has since become a benchmark.
Case file 36
Crime / Drama
6.7
The Bill
1984–1993
The daily lives of the men and women at Sun Hill Police Station as they fight crime on the streets of London.
Case file 37
Drama
6.0
The Chief
1990–1995
The Chief is a British crime drama transmitted on ITV from 20 April 1990 to 16 June 1995.
Case file 38
Crime / Drama
6.9
The Gentle Touch
1980–1984
The Gentle Touch is a British police drama television series made by London Weekend Television for ITV which ran from 1980-1984.
Case file 39
Drama / Crime
5.5
The Glory Boys
1984
Set in London, this three-part British miniseries was adapted by Gerald Seymour from his own novel.
Case file 40
Drama / Crime
5.8
The Paradise Club
1989–1990
The Paradise Club is a BBC television drama starring Don Henderson and Leslie Grantham as Frank & Danny Kane.
Case file 41
Drama
5.0
The Price
1985
English computer millionaire Geoffrey Carr and his wife have plans for a country house in Ireland.
Case file 42
Action & Adventure / Crime
7.5
The Professionals
1977–1983
The lives of Bodie and Doyle, top agents for Britain's CI5 (Criminal Intelligence 5), and their controller, George Cowley.
Case file 43
Drama
8.1
The Sandbaggers
1978–1980
The Sandbaggers is a British television drama series about men and women on the front lines of the Cold War.
Case file 44
Action & Adventure / Drama
7.8
The Sweeney
1974–1978
Jack Regan, an unethical officer of the Flying Squad, uses unorthodox methods to pursue criminals with the help of his partner, George Carter.
Case file 45
Drama
5.3
The Vice
1999
The Vice is an ITV police drama about the Metropolitan Police Vice Unit.
Case file 46
Drama / Crime
6.0
The XYY Man
1976–1977
The XYY Man began life as a series of novels by Kenneth Royce, featuring the character of William 'Spider' Scott, a one-time cat-burglar who leaves prison…
Case file 47
Crime / Drama
7.0
Thief Takers
1996
Thief Takers was a police drama series made by Central Independent Television for the ITV network.
Case file 48
War & Politics / Drama
7.5
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
2011
George Smiley, the aging master spy of the Cold War and once heir apparent to Control, is brought back out of retirement to flush out a top level mole within…
Case file 49
Crime / Drama
6.8
Trial & Retribution
1997–2009
Trial & Retribution is a feature-length ITV police procedural television drama series that began in 1997.
Case file 50
Crime / Drama
7.0
Trigger Point
2022–2025
For London's bomb disposal experts, no day is ever the same as they risk their lives protecting the city from harm.
Case file 51
British Crime Drama
Van Der Valk
1972–1992
Barry Foster’s portrayal of the Amsterdam detective is the unshakeable centre of the series.
Case file 52
Crime / Mystery
7.2
Waking the Dead
2000–2011
A detective team apply new techniques to old crimes as they solve cold cases.
Case file 53
Crime / Drama
7.4
Widows
1983
Three armed robbers--Harry Rawlins, Terry Miller, and Joe Pirelli--die when the security van that they are robbing catches fire in the Kingsway Tunnel in…
Case file 54
Crime / Drama
6.0
Wycliffe
1993–1998
Wycliffe is a British television series, based on W.
Case file 55
The suspects
Profiles of the usual faces
01Adrian Dunbar
2000s–2020s
Adrian Dunbar’s defining strength is a gravitas that anchors complex investigations, making authority figures feel lived-in rather than caricatured.
02Barry Foster
1970s–1990s
Barry Foster’s defining success was the rumbustious charisma he brought to Van der Valk, a long-running lead that used his physicality and sardonic humour to…
03Benedict Cumberbatch
2000s–2020s
Benedict Cumberbatch’s defining strength is an intellectually charged precision that commands complex, cerebral protagonists, from Sherlock Holmes to Patrick…
04Chris Ellison
1980s–2000s
Christopher Ellison's defining strength was a rare, authoritative presence that lent gritty authenticity to British television’s procedural landscape.
05David Burke
1970s–2000s
David Burke’s defining achievement remains his Dr.
06David Hayman
1980s–2020s
David Hayman’s defining strength lies in his capacity for raw, uncompromising intensity, particularly evident in his commanding lead performance in A Sense of…
07David Jason
1970s–2010s
Sir David Jason’s defining achievement lies in his rare ability to fuse grotesque caricature with genuine pathos.
08David Suchet
1980s–2020s
David Suchet’s defining achievement, his Hercule Poirot, set a technical benchmark for literary adaptation.
09David Yip
1980s–1980s
David Yip’s defining work in The Chinese Detective secured him a crucial, pioneering position in British television history.
10Dennis Waterman
1970s–2010s
Dennis Waterman epitomised the tough-guy lead with an instinctive grasp of working-class authenticity, an earthy charisma that distinguished him from more…
11Diane Keen
1970s–2010s
She was Laura Dickens in The Sandbaggers and Bianca Hamilton in Sweeney!, the sitcom queen who crossed into crime drama and stayed there for four decades.
12Don Henderson
1960s–1990s
Don Henderson brought a rare authenticity to British crime drama, his gravelly gravitas grounded in real police experience.
13Edward Hardwicke
1970s–2000s
As the definitive Dr. Watson for a generation, his performance provided a necessary anchor of human warmth to Jeremy Brett’s mercurial Holmes. His solidity and…
14Francesca Annis
1960s–2000s
Francesca Annis possesses an enduring, aristocratic poise that made her the casting default for complex Edwardian women and 1990s crime matriarchs.
15George Baker
1960s–2000s
George Baker’s authoritative vocal command and classical poise secured his place in British drama, yet the shadow of his defining role often obscured his…
16George Cole
1950s–1990s
George Cole’s defining skill was the sly transactionalism he brought to roles like Arthur Daley, a character who felt less like a caricature and more like a…
17Gordon Jackson
1940s–1980s
He spent thirty years as one of Britain’s most reliable film actors, became a household name as a butler, and then, at 54, turned himself into the hardest man in British television.
18Helen Mirren
1980s–2000s
Helen Mirren’s defining strength lies in her forensic precision, gifting even familiar archetypes with a lived-in authority.
19Ian Hogg
1980s–2000s
Ian Hogg’s commanding presence was ideally suited to British crime drama, elevating procedural formulas with authentic gravitas.
20Ian McShane
1980s–2010s
McShane's defining authority is his velvet-and-iron charisma, a screen presence that elevates even derivative projects.
21Idris Elba
2010s–2020s
Idris Elba’s defining strength is a commanding physicality tempered by psychological nuance, a combination that has defined British crime drama.
22Jack Shepherd
1970s–1990s
Jack Shepherd possessed a rare scholarly gravitas, setting him apart from contemporaries who gravitated toward television’s more rugged leading men.
23Jeremy Brett
1970s–1990s
Jeremy Brett’s Sherlock Holmes remains a touchstone for its ferocious psychological precision.
24Jill Gascoine
1970s–1980s
Jill Gascoine’s defining contribution was the portrayal of Detective Inspector Maggie Forbes, a role that established her as British television’s first female…
25Joan Hickson
1950s–1990s
Joan Hickson’s defining achievement was an unrivalled fidelity to Agatha Christie’s conception.
26John Nettles
1970s–2010s
From Jim Bergerac to Tom Barnaby, he led two of the biggest detective series British television has produced. Then he put away the leather jacket and wrote the history of the Channel Islands occupation.
27John Thaw
1960s–2000s
John Thaw’s defining strength was a formidable subtlety, a precision that underpinned both the bullish swagger of Jack Regan and the cerebral melancholy of…
28Keeley Hawes
2000s–2020s
Keeley Hawes has proven herself an indispensable figure in modern British television through commanding performances in acclaimed series such as Line of Duty…
29Ken Stott
1990s–2010s
Ken Stott’s defining strength was a volatile, earthy intensity that set him apart from the more patrician leads of his era.
30Kevin Whately
1970s–2010s
Kevin Whately’s defining contribution to British crime drama is the quiet decency of Detective Sergeant Lewis, a patient, grounded foil whose work in…
31Lesley Sharp
1990s–2020s
Lesley Sharp’s defining strength is a forensic intensity that grounds complex female roles with unshowy integrity.
32Lewis Collins
1970s–2000s
He was Bodie of CI5, the ex-paratrooper hardman who gave British television its own action hero. The role’s shadow followed him to his death, aged 67.
33Mark McManus
1970s–1990s
Mark McManus was the consummate blue-collar authority figure of British television, whose rugged physicality and gravel-voiced sincerity grounded procedural…
34Martin Freeman
2000s–2020s
Martin Freeman’s defining strength is his precise modulation of quiet exasperation, a trait that anchors the emotional realism of The Responder.
35Martin Shaw
1970s–2010s
Martin Shaw’s defining strength is a granite gravitas that lent credibility to every morally compromised authority figure he inhabited, from the cynical Doyle…
36Matthew Macfadyen
1990s–2020s
Matthew Macfadyen excels as the quietly devastating supporting player, providing the still, molten centre to sprawling ensemble dramas.
37Michael Brandon
1980s–2010s
Michael Brandon’s transatlantic presence hinges on a rugged yet vulnerable masculinity, best realised as the eponymous U.S. liaison in Dempsey and Makepeace.
38Neil Pearson
1990s–2020s
Neil Pearson remains a distinctive figure in British drama, valued for a nimble intelligence that cuts through genre conventions.
39Nick Berry
1980s–2000s
Nick Berry possessed the quintessential leading-man charm of the 1990s, a reassuring presence that propelled Heartbeat to mainstream success.
40Nicola Walker
1990s–2020s
Nicola Walker’s defining skill is conveying deep intelligence beneath a shield of emotional restraint.
41Patrick Malahide
1970s–2010s
Duggan's defining strength is a chameleonic authority, shifting from the roguish warmth of Minder’s ‘Cheerful Charlie’ to the grim menace of Balon Greyjoy.
42Ray Lonnen
1960s–2000s
Raymond Lonnen’s defining strength was his unshowy precision; in ‘The Sandbaggers’, his Willie Caine set the standard for weary professionalism.
43Richard Griffiths
1980s–2000s
Richard Griffiths was a commanding presence, a master of both classical verse and the quiet pathos of the common man.
44Robbie Coltrane
1980s–2010s
Robbie Coltrane's defining strength was an intelligence worn lightly. As Fitz in Cracker he made a detective's brilliance inseparable from his self-destruction.
45Robert Carlyle
1990s–2010s
Robert Carlyle’s defining strength is a raw, transformative intensity that can render even genre material compelling.
46Robson Green
1980s–2020s
Robson Green’s defining screen strength is a coiled, working-class intensity.
47Roger Allam
2000s–2020s
Roger Allam’s defining authority is his gravitas, a trait that has anchored long-running dramas and punctured political satire with equal force.
48Roy Marsden
1970s–2000s
Roy Marsden carved his niche through an unwavering commitment to introspection and authority, qualities that defined his signature portrayal of Commander Adam…
49Rupert Penry-Jones
1990s–2020s
He was Adam Carter in Spooks, the MI5 section chief who held the Grid for four series — then showed, as Chandler in Whitechapel and Reader in Silk, what happens when authority starts to crack.
50Sarah Lancashire
1990s–2020s
Sarah Lancashire’s defining strength is an emotional unvarnishedness that elevates material from conventional drama to forensic character study.
51Shaun Evans
2000s–2020s
Shaun Evans’s career is a study in disciplined restraint.
52Siobhan Redmond
1990s–2010s
Tartan wit is her hallmark, yet Siobhan Redmond's brilliance in British crime drama lies in how she grounds acerbic humour with unshowy emotional clarity.
53Stephanie Turner
1970s–2000s
Stephanie Turner provided the procedural authenticity that British crime drama often lacked.
54Suranne Jones
1990s–2020s
Suranne Jones has established herself as a commanding anchor for contemporary British drama.
55Tim Pigott Smith
1970s–2010s
Tim Pigott-Smith’s granite composure and clipped authority made him the industry’s first choice for institutional power.
56Trevor Eve
1970s–2020s
He quit Shoestring and unwittingly created Bergerac; he stayed with Waking the Dead for 92 episodes.
57Vicky McClure
2000s–2020s
Vicky McClure possesses a commanding yet grounded screen presence that distinguishes her within contemporary British crime drama.
58Warren Clarke
1990s–2000s
Warren Clarke was a commanding screen presence whose burly frame and hangdog expression elevated supposedly robust character parts into memorably complex…
59Jimmy Nail
1990s–2000s
Jimmy Nail’s defining strength is an instinctive authenticity, a quality that made Spender’s melancholy detective and Jed Shepperd’s dogged factory worker…
New to the genre?
Start here, not at the beginning
Forty years of British crime drama is a lot of murder to wade through. These three shows, top-rated on this site, will tell you everything you need to know — and nothing you don't.
Build your own Top 5 →- 01Miss Marple
8.5 · Start with The Body in the Library — This is where it all began, the template-setting adaptation that proved a novel-length, faithful Christie could be prestige television…
- 02Sherlock
8.5 · Start with A Study in Pink — This is where it all begins. The episode masterfully introduces Cumberbatch’s Sherlock and Freeman’s John, forcing them together as flatmates and partners to solve a series of mysterious suicides…
- 03Line of Duty
8.2 · Start with Series 1, Episode 1 — The debut episode is a masterclass in efficient, gripping establishment. It introduces DS Steve Arnott’s foundational crisis of conscience and his recruitment into AC-12 under Superintendent Ted Hastings…