A Cup of Crime

The best British crime shows — ranked and reviewed

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

A Touch of Frost. 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. Starring David Jason, Arthur White and Matt Bardock.

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

Above Suspicion. A four-series ITV crime drama from Lynda La Plante. Starring Kelly Reilly, Ciarán Hinds and Shaun Dingwall.

Crime / Drama

7.0

Above Suspicion

2009–2012

A rookie London detective and her damaged boss work the cases Lynda La Plante wrote for her first heroine since Jane Tennison…

Case file 02

Agatha Christie's Poirot. From England to Egypt, accompanied by his elegant and trustworthy sidekicks. Starring David Suchet and Philip Jackson.

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 03

Bergerac. Jim Bergerac is a detective sergeant in The Foreigners Office who likes to do things his own way. Starring John Nettles, Deborah Grant and Celia Imrie.

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 04

Between the Lines. Detective Superintendent Tony Clark is an ambitious member of the Complaints Investigation Bureau. Starring Francesca Annis, Neil Pearson and Siobhan Redmond.

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 05

Blue Lights. Follows rookie police officers working in Belfast, a city in which being a frontline response cop comes with unique pressures and dangers. Starring Martin McCann, Andi Osho and Hannah McClean.

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 06

Bodyguard. A troubled war veteran is assigned to protect a controversial politician who may be the target of a terror plot. Starring Keeley Hawes, Pippa Haywood and Nina Toussaint-White.

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 07

Bulman. 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. Starring Don Henderson and Dennis Blanch.

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 08

C.A.T.S. Eyes. A British television series made by TVS for ITV between 1985 and 1987. Starring Jill Gascoine and Don Warrington.

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 09

Cracker. The wise-cracking Fitz is a brilliant but flawed criminal psychologist with a remarkable insight into the criminal mind. Starring Robbie Coltrane, Don Henderson and Christopher Eccleston.

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 10

Dalziel and Pascoe. Yorkshire’s bluntest detective and his university-educated sergeant, filmed by the BBC two years after ITV’s attempt at the same novels went badly wrong. Starring Warren Clarke, Colin Buchanan and David Royle.

Crime / Drama

6.4

Dalziel and Pascoe

1996–2007

Yorkshire’s bluntest detective and his university-educated sergeant, filmed by the BBC two years after ITV’s attempt at the same novels went badly wrong.

Case file 11

Dempsey and Makepeace. A British television crime drama made by London Weekend Television for ITV. Starring Michael Brandon, Glynis Barber and Drysdale.

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 12

Endeavour. The early days of a young Endeavour Morse. Starring Roger Allam, Shaun Evans and Sean Rigby.

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 13

Foyle's War. A widowed detective in wartime Hastings investigates murders the war has made almost irrelevant. Starring Michael Kitchen, Honeysuckle Weeks and Anthony Howell.

Crime / Drama

7.9

Foyle's War

2002–2015

A widowed detective in wartime Hastings investigates murders the war has made almost irrelevant, then follows the Cold War into MI5.

Case file 14

Grantchester. A 1950s Cambridgeshire vicar with a Military Cross and a police inspector with no time for church-going solve murders in the same village. Starring Robson Green, James Norton and Tom Brittney.

Crime / Drama

7.3

Grantchester

2014–2026

A 1950s Cambridgeshire vicar with a Military Cross and a police inspector with no time for church-going solve murders in the same village.

Case file 15

Hamish Macbeth. A comedy-drama series made by BBC Scotland and first aired in 1995. Starring Robert Carlyle, Valerie Gogan and Anne Lacey.

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 16

Happy Valley. A dark, funny, multi-layered thriller revolving around the personal and professional life of Catherine, a dedicated, experienced. Starring Sarah Lancashire and Joe Armstrong.

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 17

Harry's Game. A British officer goes undercover in the Falls Road to kill an IRA gunman. Starring Ray Lonnen, Derek Thompson and Benjamin Whitrow.

Crime / Drama

6.7

Harry's Game

1982

A British officer goes undercover in the Falls Road to kill an IRA gunman, with his own army kept in the dark — three nights from Gerald Seymour’s novel.

Case file 18

Heartbeat. Set during the 1960s in the fictional North Yorkshire village of Aidensfield. Starring Nick Berry.

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 19

Hinterland. A Welsh crime drama made by Fiction Factory for S4C and BBC Cymru Wales. Starring Richard Harrington, Mali Harries and Hannah Daniel.

Crime / Drama

7.2

Hinterland

2013–2016

A London detective exiled to the west Wales coast, a children’s home no one will talk about, and a landscape that keeps its secrets…

Case file 20

Inspector Morse. A detective drama based on Colin Dexter's series of Chief Inspector Morse novels. Starring John Thaw, Kevin Whately and Peter Woodthorpe.

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 21

Jack the Ripper. A 1988 two-part television film/miniseries portraying a fictionalized account of the hunt for Jack the Ripper. Starring Michael Caine, Jane Seymour and Ken Bones.

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 22

Juliet Bravo. A drama that focused on two female police inspectors, neither of whom were called Juliet Bravo! Starring Stephanie Turner, Kevin Whately and Anna Carteret.

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 23

Kin. An Irish crime drama of two eight-part series. Starring Charlie Cox, Clare Dunne and Aidan Gillen.

Crime / Drama

7.6

Kin

2021–2023

A Dublin crime family goes to war with an international cartel after a killing, in a fight it cannot win…

Case file 24

Lewis. Inspector Robert Lewis and Sergeant James Hathaway solve the tough cases that the learned inhabitants of Oxford throw at them. Starring Kevin Whately.

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 25

Line of Duty. A drama about the investigations of AC-12, a controversial police anticorruption unit. Starring Adrian Dunbar, Keeley Hawes and Vicky McClure.

Crime / Drama

8.2

Line of Duty

2012–2021

A drama about the investigations of AC-12, a controversial police anticorruption unit.

Case file 26

Love/Hate. Modern-day underworld characters Nidge and John Boy wrestle for control of Dublin’s illicit drug trade in this forceful crime drama. Starring Tom Vaughan-Lawlor, Charlie Murphy and Robert Sheehan.

Crime / Drama

7.5

Love/Hate

2010–2014

Modern-day underworld characters Nidge and John Boy wrestle for control of Dublin’s illicit drug trade in this forceful crime drama.

Case file 27

Lovejoy. The adventures of the eponymous Lovejoy, a likeable but roguish antiques dealer based in East Anglia. Starring Ian McShane, Patrick Malahide and Malcolm Tierney.

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 28

Luther. A dark psychological crime drama starring Idris Elba as Luther, a man struggling with his own terrible demons. Starring Idris Elba and Nicola Walker.

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 29

Messiah. For the first four serials, the series is anchored by Ken Stott's portrayal of DCI Red Metcalfe. Starring Ken Stott, Kieran O'Brien and Marsha Thomason.

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 30

Midsomer Murders. The peacefulness of the Midsomer community is shattered by violent crimes, suspects are placed under suspicion. Starring John Nettles, David Burke and Ray Lonnen.

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 31

Minder. Roguish comedy drama following the misadventures of small-time crook Arthur Daley. Starring Dennis Waterman, George Cole and Patrick Malahide.

Comedy / Drama

6.8

Minder

1979–1994

Roguish comedy drama following the misadventures of small-time crook Arthur Daley.

Case file 32

Miss Marple. An elderly lady and amateur detective whose sharp mind helps her solve a series of seemingly baffling cases. Starring Joan Hickson, Kevin Whately and Gwen Watford.

Crime / Mystery

8.5

Miss Marple

1984–1992

Miss Marple, an elderly lady and amateur detective whose sharp mind helps her solve a series of seemingly baffling cases.

Case file 33

Mr. Palfrey of Westminster. Mr. Palfrey is a mild-mannered, but highly skilled counter-espionage agent employed by a small, unnamed department within British intelligence. Starring Alec McCowen and Briony McRoberts.

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 34

Pie in the Sky. A detective inspector who would rather be running his restaurant stays on the force under duress, solving cases between services. Starring Richard Griffiths, Maggie Steed and Malcolm Sinclair.

Comedy / Drama

8.3

Pie in the Sky

1994–1997

A detective inspector who would rather be running his restaurant stays on the force under duress, solving cases between services.

Case file 35

Prime Suspect. Highly skilled Detective Inspector Jane Tennison battles to prove herself in a male dominated world. Starring Helen Mirren, John Benfield and Craig Fairbrass.

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 36

Rebus. Detective series set in and around Edinburgh, Scotland. Starring Ken Stott, Sara Stewart and Jenny Ryan.

Crime / Drama

6.9

Rebus

2006–2007

Detective series set in and around Edinburgh, Scotland.

Case file 37

Rockliffe's Babies. A veteran detective is handed seven recruits fresh out of uniform and told to make detectives of them. Starring Ian Hogg, Joe McGann and Alphonsia Emmanuel.

Crime / Drama

5.8

Rockliffe's Babies

1987–1988

A veteran detective is handed seven recruits fresh out of uniform and told to make detectives of them, in the BBC’s last attempt at a long-running London police series.

Case file 38

Rockliffe's Folly. The BBC’s decision to move a London detective sergeant to a rural force. Starring Ian Hogg, Ian Brimble and James Aubrey.

Crime / Drama

Rockliffe's Folly

1988

The BBC’s decision to move a London detective sergeant to a rural force, told in seven episodes — a hit series dismantled from the inside.

Case file 39

Scott & Bailey. 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 for the Manchester Metropolitan Police. Starring Lesley Sharp, Suranne Jones and Nicola Walker.

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 40

Sherlock. A modern update finds the famous sleuth and his doctor partner solving crime in 21st century London. Starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman.

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 41

Shoestring. A disgraced computer analyst becomes the unpaid private ear of a Bristol radio station. Starring Trevor Eve, Michael Medwin and Doran Godwin.

Crime / Drama

7.7

Shoestring

1979–1980

A disgraced computer analyst becomes the unpaid private ear of a Bristol radio station, solving listeners’ problems while holding himself together.

Case file 42

Smiley's People. A six-part BBC serial of 1982. Starring Alec Guinness, Bernard Hepton and Beryl Reid.

Drama

7.7

Smiley's People

1982

Retired intelligence officer George Smiley is called back to the Circus to tidy up the murder of an old asset, and finds a trail to his Soviet opposite number, Karla…

Case file 43

Softly Softly: Task Force. A police based drama series which ran on BBC 1 from 1969 to 1976. Starring Stratford Johns, Frank Windsor and Terence Rigby.

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 44

Special Branch. A British police drama centred on members of the Special Branch anti-espionage and anti-terrorist department of the London Metropolitan Police. Starring Jennifer Wilson.

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 45

Spender. Jimmy Nail plays tough cop Spender, forced to return to his native Newcastle after a failed undercover operation in London. Starring Jimmy Nail and Paul Greenwood.

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 46

Spooks. Tense drama series about the different challenges faced by the British Security Service as they work against the clock to safeguard the nation. Starring Keeley Hawes, Rupert Penry-Jones and Matthew Macfadyen.

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 47

Strangers. A squad of detectives posted to Manchester because nobody there knows their faces. Starring Don Henderson, Dennis Blanch and Mark McManus.

Crime / Drama

7.3

Strangers

1978–1982

A squad of detectives posted to Manchester because nobody there knows their faces, led by the most eccentric copper Granada ever put on screen.

Case file 48

Taggart. A Scottish detective television program. Starring Mark McManus, Colin McCredie and Diane Keen.

Crime / Drama

6.3

Taggart

1983–1994

Taggart is a Scottish detective television program.

Case file 49

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. Jeremy Brett’s performance as Sherlock Holmes is the series’ cornerstone, a portrayal that has since become a benchmark. Starring David Burke, Edward Hardwicke and Jeremy Brett.

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 50

The Bill. The daily lives of the men and women at Sun Hill Police Station as they fight crime on the streets of London. Starring Chris Ellison, Mark Wingett and Diane Keen.

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 51

The Chief. A British crime drama transmitted on ITV from 20 April 1990 to 16 June 1995. Starring Martin Shaw, Tim Pigott Smith and Tim Pigott-Smith.

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 52

The Chinese Detective. A British-born Chinese detective works the Limehouse docks in a police force that would rather he wasn’t there — the first East Asian lead in a British television drama. Starring David Yip, Derek Martin and Arthur Kelly.

Crime / Drama

7.2

The Chinese Detective

1981–1982

A British-born Chinese detective works the Limehouse docks in a police force that would rather he wasn’t there — the first East Asian lead in a British television drama.

Case file 53

The Fall. A three-series serial for BBC Two, written throughout by Allan Cubitt and made with RTÉ and ZDF. Starring Gillian Anderson, Jamie Dornan and John Lynch.

Crime / Drama

7.7

The Fall

2013–2016

A Met detective is seconded to Belfast to review an unsolved murder and finds a serial killer hiding in plain sight as a grief counsellor…

Case file 54

The Gentle Touch. A British police drama television series made by London Weekend Television for ITV which ran from 1980-1984. Starring Jill Gascoine, Brian Gwaspari and Bernard Holley.

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 55

The Glory Boys. Set in London, this three-part British miniseries was adapted by Gerald Seymour from his own novel.

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 56

The Paradise Club. A BBC television drama starring Don Henderson and Leslie Grantham as Frank & Danny Kane. Starring Don Henderson, Leslie Grantham and Caroline Bliss.

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 57

The Price. English computer millionaire Geoffrey Carr and his wife have plans for a country house in Ireland. Starring Peter Barkworth.

Drama

5.0

The Price

1985

English computer millionaire Geoffrey Carr and his wife have plans for a country house in Ireland.

Case file 58

The Professionals. The lives of Bodie and Doyle, top agents for Britain's CI5 (Criminal Intelligence 5), and their controller, George Cowley. Starring Martin Shaw, Lewis Collins and Gordon Jackson.

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 59

The Ruth Rendell Mysteries. A British television series made by TVS and Meridian Television for ITV between 2 August 1987 and 11 October 2000. Starring George Baker, Ann Penfold and Diane Keen.

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 60

The Sandbaggers. A British television drama series about men and women on the front lines of the Cold War. Starring Ray Lonnen, Roy Marsden and Jerome Willis.

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 61

The Sweeney. Jack Regan, an unethical officer of the Flying Squad. Starring Dennis Waterman and John Thaw.

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 62

The Vice. An ITV police drama about the Metropolitan Police Vice Unit.

Drama

5.3

The Vice

1999

The Vice is an ITV police drama about the Metropolitan Police Vice Unit.

Case file 63

The XYY Man. A series of novels by Kenneth Royce, featuring the character of William 'Spider' Scott. Starring Don Henderson, Stephen Yardley and Dennis Blanch.

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 64

Thief Takers. A police drama series made by Central Independent Television for the ITV network.

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 65

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. George Smiley, the aging master spy of the Cold War and once heir apparent to Control. Starring Michael Jayston, Bernard Hepton and Alexander Knox.

War & Politics / Drama

7.6

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

1979

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 66

Touching Evil. An ITV crime serial created by Paul Abbott and transmitted from 1997 to 1999. Starring Robson Green, Nicola Walker and Shaun Dingwall.

Crime / Drama

7.6

Touching Evil

1997–1999

Shot in the line of duty and back at work, a detective joins a national unit hunting serial offenders, and finds the job costs more than he can pay…

Case file 67

Trial & Retribution. A feature-length ITV police procedural television drama series that began in 1997. Starring David Hayman and Dorian Lough.

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 68

Trigger Point. For London's bomb disposal experts, no day is ever the same as they risk their lives protecting the city from harm. Starring Vicky McClure, Kerry Godliman and Ralph Ineson.

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 69

Unforgotten. An ITV crime drama created by Chris Lang. Starring Nicola Walker, Sanjeev Bhaskar and Sinéad Keenan.

Crime / Drama

7.6

Unforgotten

2015–present

A cold case, a body that has waited decades, and the ordinary people whose lives will be dismantled when it is finally identified…

Case file 70

Van Der Valk. Barry Foster’s portrayal of the Amsterdam detective is the unshakeable centre of the series. Starring Barry Foster, Sydney Tafler and Richard Huw.

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 71

Vera. An ITV crime drama based on Ann Cleeves’s novels, transmitted from 2011 to 2025. Starring Brenda Blethyn, David Leon and Kenny Doughty.

Crime / Drama

7.4

Vera

2011–2025

A scruffy, unsentimental detective in a battered Land Rover, working the Northumberland coast one murder at a time…

Case file 72

Waking the Dead. A detective team apply new techniques to old crimes as they solve cold cases. Starring Trevor Eve, David Hayman and Claire Goose.

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 73

Widows. 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 London. Starring David Calder.

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 74

Wire in the Blood. A clinical psychologist who thinks like the people he hunts helps a Yorkshire police unit catch serial killers. Starring Robson Green, Hermione Norris and Simone Lahbib.

Crime / Drama

7.9

Wire in the Blood

2002–2008

A clinical psychologist who thinks like the people he hunts helps a Yorkshire police unit catch serial killers, in the grimmest crime drama ITV made this decade.

Case file 75

Wycliffe. A British television series, based on W. Starring Jack Shepherd, Aaron Harris and Michael Attwell.

Crime / Drama

6.0

Wycliffe

1993–1998

Wycliffe is a British television series, based on W.

Case file 76

The suspects

Profiles of the usual faces

Adrian Dunbar. Born on August 1, 1958, in Enniskillen, County Fermanagh. Appeared in Line of Duty.01

Adrian Dunbar

1980s–2020s

Adrian Dunbar holds still and lets the room do the talking, which makes men in authority feel like people rather than turns.

Aidan Gillen. The quietest dangerous man on television. Appeared in Love/Hate and Kin.02

Aidan Gillen

1990s–2020s

Aidan Gillen is the quietest dangerous man on television: John Boy in Love/Hate, Frank Kinsella in Kin, menace delivered as intimacy.

Alec Guinness. George Smiley is short, overweight, and dresses badly, and he is the best detective British television has produced. Appeared in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy and Smiley's People.03

Alec Guinness

1940s–1980s

Alec Guinness gave British television its definitive George Smiley: two BBC serials, a mole hunt conducted by a stooping man in a bad coat.

Barry Foster. Born John Barry Foster on 21 August 1927 in Beeston, Nottinghamshire. His father was a toolsetter. Appeared in Van Der Valk and Smiley's People.04

Barry Foster

1970s–1990s

Barry Foster’s best work was the rumbustious charisma he brought to Van der Valk, a long-running lead that used his physicality and sardonic humour to anchor procedural realism.

Benedict Cumberbatch. Born on July 19, 1976, at Queen Charlotte's Hospital in Hammersmith. Appeared in Sherlock.05

Benedict Cumberbatch

2000s–2020s

Benedict Cumberbatch’s strength is a precision that suits complicated, clever characters, from Sherlock Holmes to Patrick…

Chris Ellison. Christopher Michael Ironside, who would later be known to audiences as Chris Ellison, was born on December 16, 1946. Appeared in The Bill.06

Chris Ellison

1980s–2000s

Christopher Ellison's strength was a rare, authoritative presence that lent credibility to British television’s procedural landscape.

Ciarán Hinds. Made his professional debut as the back end of a pantomime horse. Appeared in Above Suspicion, Prime Suspect and Kin.07

Ciarán Hinds

1990s–2020s

Ciarán Hinds plays ambition and menace in the same murmur; Langton in Above Suspicion is the genre's best difficult boss.

David Burke. Born on May 25, 1934, in Liverpool, England. Appeared in The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and Midsomer Murders.08

David Burke

1960s–2010s

David Burke’s defining achievement remains his Dr.

David Hayman. Born on February 9, 1948, in the Bridgeton district of Glasgow. Appeared in Trial & Retribution and Waking the Dead.09

David 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…

David Jason. David John White was born on February 2, 1940, in Edmonton, North London, into a working-class family. Appeared in A Touch of Frost.10

David Jason

1970s–2010s

Sir David Jason’s defining achievement lies in his rare ability to fuse grotesque caricature with genuine pathos.

David Suchet. Born on May 2, 1946, in Paddington, London, into a family where artistry and intellect intertwined. Appeared in Agatha Christie's Poirot.11

David Suchet

1980s–2020s

David Suchet’s defining achievement, his Hercule Poirot, set a technical benchmark for literary adaptation.

David Yip. Born on June 4, 1951, in Liverpool. Appeared in The Chinese Detective.12

David Yip

1970s–2020s

David Yip’s lead role in The Chinese Detective made him a pioneer in British television history.

Dennis Waterman. Born in Clapham, South London, on 24 February 1948, the youngest of nine children. Appeared in The Sweeney and Minder.13

Dennis Waterman

1960s–2020s

Dennis Waterman played the tough-guy lead with an instinctive grasp of working-class authenticity, an earthy charisma that distinguished him from more…

Derek Thompson. Most of the country knows Derek Thompson as Charlie Fairhead, the nurse at the centre of Casualty for thirty-eight years. Appeared in Harry's Game, The Gentle Touch and Minder.14

Derek Thompson

1970s–2020s

Derek Thompson played the Troubles from both sides — the IRA gunman in Harry's Game, the institutions in Blue Lights — with Charlie Fairhead between.

Diane Keen. Born in London on 29 July 1946 and grew up in East Africa. Appeared in The Sandbaggers, The Ruth Rendell Mysteries and Softly Softly: Task Force.15

Diane Keen

1960s–2020s

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.

Don Henderson. Born on November 10, 1931, in Leytonstone, London. Some obituaries give 1932. Appeared in The XYY Man, Bulman and The Paradise Club.16

Don Henderson

1960s–1990s

Don Henderson brought a rare authenticity to British crime drama, his gravelly gravitas grounded in real police experience.

Edward Hardwicke. Born on August 7, 1932, in London. Appeared in The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes.17

Edward Hardwicke

1970s–2000s

As Dr. Watson for a generation, his performance provided a necessary anchor of human warmth to Jeremy Brett’s mercurial Holmes. His solidity and…

Francesca Annis. Born into a world of artistic possibility on May 14, 1945, in Kensington, London. Appeared in Between the Lines.18

Francesca Annis

1960s–2000s

Francesca Annis possesses an enduring, aristocratic poise that made her the casting default for complex Edwardian women and 1990s crime matriarchs.

George Baker. Born on April 1, 1931, in Varna, Bulgaria, into a life of international diplomacy and service. Appeared in The Ruth Rendell Mysteries.19

George Baker

1940s–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…

George Cole. Born on April 22, 1925, in Tooting, London, and adopted at ten days old by George and Florence Cole. Appeared in Minder.20

George Cole

1940s–2000s

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 working system of self-interest.

Gillian Anderson. Born in Chicago in 1968, moved to north London as an infant when her father took a place at the London Film School, and grew up in Crouch End and Haringey until her family returned to the United States when she was eleven. Appeared in The Fall.21

Gillian Anderson

1990s–2020s

Gillian Anderson plays the smartest person in the room and never raises her voice to prove it; Stella Gibson made the case hers.

Gordon Jackson. Born in Glasgow on 19 December 1923, the youngest of five children, and discovered acting early. Appeared in The Professionals.22

Gordon Jackson

1940s–1990s

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.

Harriet Walter. Born in London in 1950, niece of Christopher Lee and great-great-granddaughter of the Australian opera singer Marie Carandini on her mother's side, descended from John Walter, the founder of The Times, on her father's, she was rejected by five drama schools before LAMDA took her. Appeared in Inspector Morse, Midsomer Murders and Agatha Christie's Poirot.23

Harriet Walter

1980s–2020s

Harriet Walter is the genre's senior woman in the room: Harriet Vane, DCI Natalie Chandler, a judge, an assassin — institutions made believable.

Helen Mirren. Born Ilyena Lydia Mironoff on July 26, 1945, in Hammersmith, London. Appeared in Prime Suspect.24

Helen Mirren

1960s–2020s

Helen Mirren’s strength lies in her forensic precision. She gives even familiar parts a lived-in authority.

Ian Hogg. Born on August 1, 1937, in Newcastle upon Tyne, England, into a professional family. Appeared in Rockliffe's Babies and Rockliffe's Folly.25

Ian Hogg

1980s–2000s

Ian Hogg’s presence suited British crime drama, giving routine procedural scripts more weight than they had on the page.

Ian McShane. Born on September 29, 1942, in Blackburn, Lancashire, England. He grew up in a working-class household that encouraged the arts. Appeared in Lovejoy.26

Ian McShane

1960s–2020s

McShane's defining authority is his velvet-and-iron charisma, a screen presence that elevates even derivative projects.

Idris Elba. Born on September 6, 1972, in the Hackney borough of London, England. Appeared in Luther, Luther and Luther.27

Idris Elba

1990s–2020s

Idris Elba plays big men who are barely holding it together, and he never lets you look away.

Jack Shepherd. Born on October 29, 1940, in Leeds, a city in the West Riding of Yorkshire, England. Appeared in Wycliffe.28

Jack Shepherd

1970s–1990s

Jack Shepherd possessed a rare scholarly gravitas, setting him apart from contemporaries who gravitated toward television’s more rugged leading men.

Jamie Dornan. Born in Holywood, County Down, in 1982 and grew up in the Belfast suburbs. Appeared in The Fall.29

Jamie Dornan

2010s–2020s

Jamie Dornan plays the hidden self: Paul Spector's domestic calm remains the benchmark for the charming predator on British television.

Jeremy Brett. Born Peter Jeremy William Huggins on November 3, 1933, in Berkswell, Warwickshire. Appeared in The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes.30

Jeremy Brett

1950s–1990s

Jeremy Brett’s Sherlock Holmes remains a touchstone for its ferocious psychological precision.

Jill Gascoine. Born on 11 April 1937 in Lambeth, London. Appeared in The Gentle Touch and C.A.T.S. Eyes.31

Jill Gascoine

1950s–2000s

Jill Gascoine was the first woman to head a British police drama, as DI Maggie Forbes in The Gentle Touch.

Jimmy Nail. James Michael Aloysius Bradford, who the world would come to know as Jimmy Nail, was born on March 16, 1954. Appeared in Spender.32

Jimmy Nail

1980s–2020s

Jimmy Nail’s defining strength is the authenticity he brings, a quality that made Spender’s melancholy detective and Jed Shepperd’s dogged factory worker…

Joan Hickson. Born on August 5, 1906, in Kingsthorpe, Northamptonshire, into a comfortable middle-class family. Appeared in Miss Marple.33

Joan Hickson

1950s–1990s

Joan Hickson’s fidelity to Agatha Christie’s conception was total.

John Nettles. Born in 1943 and adopted as a baby, he was brought up in St Austell, Cornwall, by Eric Nettles. Appeared in Bergerac and Midsomer Murders.34

John Nettles

1970s–2010s

From Jim Bergerac to Tom Barnaby, he led two long-running British detective series. Then he put away the leather jacket and wrote the history of the Channel Islands occupation.

John Thaw. Born on January 3, 1942, in the working-class district of Gorton, Manchester. Appeared in The Sweeney and Inspector Morse.35

John 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…

Keeley Hawes. On February 10, 1976, in Paddington, London, Keeley Hawes grew up in a council flat in Marylebone. Appeared in Line of Duty, Bodyguard and Spooks.36

Keeley Hawes

1990s–2020s

Keeley Hawes has proven herself an indispensable figure in modern British television through commanding performances in acclaimed series such as Line of Duty…

Kelly Reilly. British crime television's most unlikely origin story belongs to Kelly Reilly. Appeared in Above Suspicion and Prime Suspect.37

Kelly Reilly

1990s–2020s

Kelly Reilly acts openness — Anna Travis learns the job on screen, and the camera never leaves her face in Eden Lake.

Ken Stott. Born on October 19, 1954, in Edinburgh, Scotland (some sources give 1955). Appeared in Rebus and Messiah.38

Ken Stott

1970s–2020s

Ken Stott’s defining strength was a volatile, earthy intensity that set him apart from the more patrician leads of his era.

Kevin Whately. Born on February 6, 1951, in Brampton, Cumberland, England, His father, Richard, was a Commander in the Royal Navy. Appeared in Inspector Morse, Lewis and Juliet Bravo.39

Kevin Whately

1970s–2020s

Kevin Whately’s biggest mark on British crime drama is the quiet decency of Detective Sergeant Lewis, a patient, grounded foil whose work in…

Lesley Sharp. Lesley Sharp, born Karen Makinson on April 3, 1960, in Manchester. Appeared in Scott & Bailey.40

Lesley Sharp

1980s–2020s

Lesley Sharp’s defining strength is a forensic intensity that grounds complex female roles in unshowy realism.

Lewis Collins. Born in Birkenhead on 27 May 1946, the third child of Bill Collins. Appeared in The Professionals and Jack the Ripper.41

Lewis 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.

Mark McManus. Born on February 21, 1935, in Hamilton, Scotland. His family moved to Hillingdon, London, when he was three. Appeared in Taggart and Strangers.42

Mark McManus

1960s–1990s

Mark McManus was the blue-collar authority figure of British television, whose rugged physicality and gravel-voiced sincerity grounded procedural…

Martin Freeman. Born on September 8, 1971, in Aldershot, Hampshire. Appeared in Sherlock.43

Martin Freeman

1990s–2020s

Martin Freeman’s defining strength is his precise modulation of quiet exasperation, a trait that anchors the emotional realism of The Responder.

Martin Shaw. Born on January 21, 1945, in Birmingham, England. Appeared in The Professionals and The Chief.44

Martin Shaw

1960s–2020s

Martin Shaw’s defining strength is a granite gravitas that lent credibility to every morally compromised authority figure he inhabited, from the cynical Doyle…

Matthew Macfadyen. Born on October 17, 1974, in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, England. Appeared in Spooks.45

Matthew Macfadyen

1990s–2020s

Matthew Macfadyen excels as the quietly devastating supporting player, providing the still, molten centre to sprawling ensemble dramas.

Michael Brandon. Born Michael Feldman on April 20, 1945, in Brooklyn, New York. Appeared in Dempsey and Makepeace.46

Michael Brandon

1960s–2020s

Michael Brandon’s transatlantic presence hinges on a rugged yet vulnerable masculinity, best realised as the eponymous U.S. liaison in Dempsey and Makepeace.

Michael Kitchen. Born in Leicester in 1948, a butcher's son from Wilberforce Road who sang as a head chorister. Appeared in Foyle's War, Inspector Morse and A Touch of Frost.47

Michael Kitchen

1970s–2010s

Michael Kitchen wins scenes by waiting longer than the other man; Christopher Foyle made the quiet pause the whole method.

Neil Pearson. Born in London on April 27, 1959, and grew up in Battersea and Balham. Appeared in Between the Lines.48

Neil Pearson

1980s–2020s

Neil Pearson remains a distinctive figure in British drama, valued for a nimble intelligence that cuts through genre conventions.

Nick Berry. Born on April 16, 1963, in Woodford, Essex, Nicholas Berry was surrounded by the performing arts from his earliest days. Appeared in Heartbeat.49

Nick Berry

1980s–2000s

Nick Berry possessed the quintessential leading-man charm of the 1990s, a reassuring presence that propelled Heartbeat to mainstream success.

Nicola Walker. Born on May 15, 1970, in Stepney, London, into a family where she was the first to pursue higher education. Appeared in Spooks, Scott & Bailey and Luther.50

Nicola Walker

1990s–2020s

Nicola Walker’s defining skill is conveying deep intelligence beneath a shield of emotional restraint.

Patrick Malahide. Born Patrick Gerald Duggan on March 24, 1945, in Reading, Berkshire, to Irish parents. Appeared in Minder and Lovejoy.51

Patrick Malahide

1970s–2010s

Malahide's strength is playing authority figures, from the roguish warmth of Minder’s ‘Cheerful Charlie’ to the grim menace of Balon Greyjoy.

Ray Lonnen. Born on May 18, 1940, in Bournemouth, England. He failed his 11-plus exam and left school at 15. Appeared in The Sandbaggers, Midsomer Murders and Harry's Game.52

Ray Lonnen

1950s–2010s

Raymond Lonnen’s defining strength was his unshowy precision; in ‘The Sandbaggers’, his Willie Caine set the standard for weary professionalism.

Richard Griffiths. Born on July 31, 1947, in Thornaby-on-Tees, North Riding of Yorkshire, England. Appeared in Inspector Morse and Pie in the Sky.53

Richard Griffiths

1970s–2010s

Richard Griffiths spent years on the classical stage before British television cast him as DI Henry Crabbe in Pie in the Sky.

Robbie Coltrane. Born Anthony Robert McMillan in Rutherglen, Scotland, in 1950. Appeared in Cracker.54

Robbie Coltrane

1970s–2020s

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.

Robert Carlyle. Born on April 14, 1961, in the Maryhill district of Glasgow, Scotland. Appeared in Hamish Macbeth.55

Robert Carlyle

1990s–2020s

Robert Carlyle’s defining strength is a raw, transformative intensity that can render even genre material compelling.

Robson Green. Born on 18 December 1964 in Hexham, Northumberland, and grew up in the mining village of Dudley. Appeared in Grantchester, Touching Evil and Wire in the Blood.56

Robson Green

1980s–2020s

Robson Green’s defining screen strength is a coiled, working-class intensity.

Roger Allam. Born on October 26, 1953, in Bow, London, into a family where the arts and education were valued. Appeared in Endeavour.57

Roger Allam

1970s–2020s

Roger Allam’s defining authority is his gravitas, a trait that has anchored long-running dramas and punctured political satire with equal force.

Roy Marsden. Born Roy Anthony Mould on June 25, 1941, in Stepney, London. Appeared in The Sandbaggers.58

Roy Marsden

1960s–2020s

Roy Marsden carved his niche through an unwavering commitment to introspection and authority, qualities that defined his signature portrayal of Commander Adam…

Rupert Penry-Jones. Born in London on 22 September 1970 into acting. Appeared in Spooks.59

Rupert 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.

Sarah Lancashire. Born on October 10, 1964, in Urmston, Lancashire, England; the family moved to Oldham in 1967. Appeared in Happy Valley.60

Sarah Lancashire

1980s–2020s

Sarah Lancashire’s defining strength is an emotional unvarnishedness that elevates material from conventional drama to forensic character study.

Shaun Evans. Born on March 6, 1980, in Liverpool, England, into a working-class family with strong Irish roots. Appeared in Endeavour.61

Shaun Evans

2000s–2020s

Shaun Evans’s career is a study in disciplined restraint.

Siobhan Redmond. Born on July 27, 1959, in Glasgow's Tollcross area — one source prints the date as August 27 — Siobhan Redmond was immersed in the arts from the beginning. Appeared in Between the Lines, Midsomer Murders and Unforgotten.62

Siobhan Redmond

1980s–2020s

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.

Stephanie Turner. Born on May 25, 1944, in Bradford, West Yorkshire. Appeared in Juliet Bravo.63

Stephanie Turner

1967–2010

Stephanie Turner provided the procedural authenticity that British crime drama often lacked.

Suranne Jones. Born Sarah Anne Jones on August 27, 1978, in Chadderton, Greater Manchester. Appeared in Scott & Bailey.64

Suranne Jones

1990s–2020s

Suranne Jones has established herself as a commanding anchor for contemporary British drama.

Tim Pigott Smith. Tim Pigott-Smith was born on May 13, 1946, in Rugby, Warwickshire, England. Appeared in The Chief and The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes.65

Tim Pigott Smith

1970s–2010s

Tim Pigott-Smith’s granite composure and clipped authority made him the industry’s first choice for institutional power.

Trevor Eve. Born in Sutton Coldfield, on the Warwickshire edge of Birmingham, in 1951. Appeared in Waking the Dead, Shoestring and Unforgotten.66

Trevor Eve

1970s–2020s

He quit Shoestring and unwittingly created Bergerac; he stayed with Waking the Dead for 92 episodes.

Vicky McClure. Born on 8 May 1983 in the Wollaton area of Nottingham, England. Appeared in Line of Duty and Trigger Point.67

Vicky McClure

2000s–2020s

Vicky McClure possesses a commanding yet grounded screen presence that distinguishes her within contemporary British crime drama.

Warren Clarke. Born Alan James Clarke on April 26, 1947, in Oldham, Lancashire, into a working-class family. Appeared in Dalziel and Pascoe.68

Warren Clarke

1990s–2000s

Warren Clarke was a commanding screen presence whose burly frame and hangdog expression elevated supposedly robust character parts into memorably complex…

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.

  1. 01
    Miss 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…

  2. 02
    Sherlock

    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…

  3. 03
    Pie in the Sky

    8.3 · Start with The Best of Both Worlds — Everything is set up in the first hour: the shooting, Hooperman’s escape, Fisher’s hold over him, the accounts book and the two-plotline machinery, with Michael Kitchen as the thief who ruins Crabbe’s retirement plan…