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    • The 30 best British TV detectives of all time
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    The 30 best British TV detectives of all time

    Bronwen Cerys Posted on

    6. Sergeant Catherine Cawood – Happy Valley

    I’d say we should print Sergeant Catherine Cawood’s face on stamps and put her on the fourth plinth in Trafalgar Square to celebrate her greatness, but given that she didn’t even want a going away party when she retired, I can’t imagine she would enjoy the attention. Played by Sarah Lancashire in three perfect series of Sally Wainwright’s Happy ValleyThis no-nonsense grandmother from Yorkshire is a real police hero. On the outside she seems scary, aggressive, sarcastic and cynical. On the inside she is incredibly kind. But don’t get on her nerves.

    5. DCI John Luther – Luther

    Has any TV detective crossed the line more often than John Luther? Maybe, but none were as entertaining. Idris Elba is legendary as a serious crimes cop, cutting a striking silhouette as he beats up twisted villains on the streets of London. Luther’s unpredictability is his secret weapon, both as a cop and as a TV character. You never know what he’s going to do, who he’s going to team up with, or what emotional devastation he’s going to go through next in Neil Cross’ psychological thriller. A modern classic.

    4. DCI Jane Tennison – Prime Suspect

    Helen Mirren was awarded the title of Dame for her services to the arts, and while her illustrious stage career speaks for itself, it was surely her work as Jane Tennison that secured her this title. Fifteen feature-length episodes of Lynda LaPlante’s acclaimed series were filmed between 1991 and 2006, and each one finds Tennison wading through a cesspool of sexism and bigotry as she butts heads and stands up for herself while fighting to uncover the truth for victims of crime. It’s no wonder she drank.

    3. Miss Jane Marple – Miss Marple

    Miss Marple is one of Agatha Christie’s two legendary detective characters (the other is Belgian, so unfortunately couldn’t be on this list of British detectives, but he would certainly have been in the top five if he could find, say, a Scottish grandmother). She is… well, she’s Marple, the woman, the legend. She is St. Mary Mead’s shrewd mistress of lies and truth, whose age, gender, and inoffensive appearance are a master key that allows her to go anywhere unnoticed. The queen of literary and television detectives, she has been played by many actors, but Joan Hickson (see video above) is the only one who supposedly even received Christie’s seal of approval.

    2. Morse – Inspector Morse/Endeavor

    John Thaw’s second appearance on this list of greats is, of course, Inspector Morse, the creation of novelist Colin Dexter. Unusually (prequels are often not very funny, if you’ll pardon the pun), Thaw shares the award with Shaun Evans of the series Make an effort – is set in Morse’s early career as a detective and is an excellent drama whether you consider it a companion piece to the earlier series or not. Both actors made the antisocial, educated, hard-drinking, melancholy, cryptic crossword and opera fan the popular character he is today.

    1. Sherlock Holmes – Various

    He’s not called “The Great Detective” for nothing. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Victorian literary work remains unmatched to this day. A unique genius with unmatched deductive powers, Holmes is the ultimate British detective, on TV or elsewhere. His cases are famous, his deductions are legendary, and he works in any era, as evidenced by the numerous and ongoing incarnations of Sherlock Holmes in film, TV, and on stage. And the best actor to ever play him? That’s clearly Jeremy Brett. People will tell you it’s Basil Rathbone or Benedict Cumberbatch, but don’t hold it against them. They can’t help but be wrong.

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    Bronwen Cerys
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