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''Taggart'' is a
Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...
detective fiction Detective fiction is a subgenre of crime fiction and mystery fiction in which an investigator or a detective—whether professional, amateur or retired—investigates a crime, often murder. The detective genre began around the same time as s ...
television programme created by Glenn Chandler, who wrote many of the episodes, and made by STV Studios for the
ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...
network. It originally ran as the miniseries "Killer" from 6 until 20 September 1983, before a full series was commissioned that ran from 2 July 1985 until 7 November 2010. The series revolved around a group of detectives initially in the Maryhill CID of Strathclyde Police, though various storylines were set in other parts of Greater Glasgow and in other areas of Scotland. The team operated out of the fictional John Street police station.
Mark McManus Mark McManus (21 February 1935 – 6 June 1994) was a Scottish actor. He has played roles in British television series '' Sam,'' ''Bulman, The Brothers, Strangers,'' and ''Dramarama'' and starred in the feature film '' 2000 Weeks''. He was b ...
, who played the title character Jim Taggart, died in 1994. However, the series continued under the same name. ''Taggart'' was one of the UK's longest-running television dramas and the longest-running police drama after the cancellation of '' The Bill''. The series theme music is " No Mean City", sung by Maggie Bell.


History

The Scottish BAFTA-winning
pilot episode A television pilot (also known as a pilot or a pilot episode and sometimes marketed as a tele-movie), in United States television, is a standalone episode of a television series that is used to sell a show to a television network or other distri ...
"Killer", directed by Laurence Moody and broadcast in 1983, introduced the character
Detective Chief Inspector Chief inspector (Ch Insp) is a rank used in police forces which follow the British model. In countries outside Britain, it is sometimes referred to as chief inspector of police (CIP). Usage by country Australia The rank of chief inspector is use ...
Jim Taggart (played by
Mark McManus Mark McManus (21 February 1935 – 6 June 1994) was a Scottish actor. He has played roles in British television series '' Sam,'' ''Bulman, The Brothers, Strangers,'' and ''Dramarama'' and starred in the feature film '' 2000 Weeks''. He was b ...
until his death in 1994), a tough and experienced detective who had worked his way up through the ranks. His original sidekick was Detective Sergeant Peter Livingstone (
Neil Duncan Alastair Duncan is a Scottish actor and real estate broker. He is best known for his voice-work in video games, such as '' Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance, Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor, God of War'' and its sequel ''God of War Ragnarök''. ...
). Livingstone represented the new breed of young graduates entering the police force and frequently had a difficult relationship with Taggart as a result. Taggart's boss in the pilot was Superintendent Robert Murray ( Tom Watson), and his boss after the second episode, "Dead Ringer", was Superintendent Jack McVitie ( Iain Anders). Another important character was Taggart's wife Jean (Harriet Buchan), whose physical disability did not prevent her from pursuing a number of interests in life, while her cynical husband stuck mainly to his job. Throughout the McManus era, there was nearly always a sub-plot in every episode which involved the domestic life of the Taggarts, which on occasion became intertwined with the case being investigated. The most memorable of these was the Taggarts' ongoing care of Jean's senile Aunt Hettie (Sheila Donald), whom Jim despises and begrudges staying in his house. This sub-plot ran through 1990–91 until the Hettie character was killed off in the 1991 season finale, "Violent Delights," in which her funeral is carried out by a corrupt firm of undertakers who are also the subject of Taggart's investigation. In 1987 the character of Michael Jardine ( James MacPherson) was introduced.
Neil Duncan Alastair Duncan is a Scottish actor and real estate broker. He is best known for his voice-work in video games, such as '' Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance, Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor, God of War'' and its sequel ''God of War Ragnarök''. ...
left the series in 1987 and in 1990 a new female sidekick Jackie Reid ( Blythe Duff) was introduced. McManus died in 1994 during the filming of an episode. Taggart's absence in the broadcast story was explained by his being in meetings with the Chief Constable throughout. In 1995 the episode "Black Orchid" opened with Taggart's funeral. Despite the death of the title character the series continued. Jardine was promoted to Detective Inspector and DC Stuart Fraser ( Colin McCredie) was introduced, becoming the long-suffering sidekick to Jardine, former long-suffering sidekick to Taggart. Fraser was later revealed to be gay. McCredie had made an early appearance in ''Taggart'' when he played a suspect part of a youth gang. DI Robbie Ross ( John Michie) joined the team in 1998. Michie had made an early appearance in ''Taggart'' in 1990 when he played a suspect called Robby Meiklejohn in an episode called "Love Knot". When MacPherson left the series in 2002 his character was killed off and replaced with DCI Matt Burke, formerly of
Special Branch Special Branch is a label customarily used to identify units responsible for matters of national security and Intelligence (information gathering), intelligence in Policing in the United Kingdom, British, Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth, ...
, played by Alex Norton, who had previously appeared in the series playing murder suspect George Bryce in 1986 in the episode "Knife-Edge". Much was made of the platonic love between Jardine and Reid. The two were shown to share a sibling-like bond. Both pursued a number of relationships with other characters over the years. Reid even got married but later separated from her husband, who then died. The personal relationships of the police officers in this series were shown as nothing to be envious of: Reid described herself, Burke, Ross and Fraser as "three divorcees and a celibate homosexual" in the episode "Penthouse and Pavement". After filming was completed on series 26 in December 2009, Colin McCredie was informed that he and his character would not be returning for filming of the next series.


ITV/STV dispute

ITV plc, the company that operates the
ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...
network franchises in England, Wales and southern Scotland, failed to announce whether it planned to show any new episodes of ''Taggart'', prompting STV to suspend production of the programme in September 2009. STV announced in November 2009 that it would produce new episodes of ''Taggart'' for broadcast in 2010 regardless of whether ITV plc decided to screen it. In February 2010 it was announced that ITV and STV had put their wider commercial differences to one side to make a new series, which Scottish viewers got to see first. The two broadcasters co-commissioned a six-part series of the show; UKTV also invested in return for repeat rights. New episodes of ''Taggart'' debuted on STV in autumn 2010 before being broadcast on ITV across the rest of the UK in 2011. The UKTV Channel Alibi showed the episodes in 2013. Online catch-up of the new series was not available to users of
STV Player STV Player is a video on demand service owned by STV Group and available free-of-charge across the UK, online, on mobile and on all major TV platforms, including Sky Glass, Amazon Fire TV, Roku, Apple TV, Android TV, Freeview Play and Virgin Me ...
until the show had been broadcast on ITV and UTV.


Format and broadcast information

The format of the show changed over the years. Originally the show ran with three one-hour episodes to each story. This was later changed starting with the last transmitted story in 1998 to a regular pattern of two-hour stand-alone stories and beginning in July 2002 these were shortened to 60 minutes. After a two-hour special episode in January 2003 episodes were again lengthened starting in October this time to 90 minutes continuing through the 2008 New Year special "Genesis". After this the show became a series of one-hour stand-alone stories for the first time since 2003. Fans of the show were often frustrated by the erratic scheduling of the show. Although blocks or series of the show were filmed together, they were often not shown together as with other series. Instead, they were fitted into the schedule whenever there was a gap, meaning that they were often not shown in consecutive weeks or on one set night of the week. Often months passed between episodes of the same series being shown. This was very much the case in Australia with ABC TV showing episodes featuring the three lead actors in haphazard order with current or recent shows. This made it very difficult to understand the history of the show.


DVD releases

The DVD rights in the UK for many ''Taggart'' episodes the earlier series in particular are held by Clearvision. However, some episodes in particular those from 2002 onwards have been released on DVD in the UK by
Acorn Media UK RLJE International Ltd, d/b/a Acorn DVD, a British company that publishes and distributes DVDs, as well as selling home-video products and streaming videos with a particular focus on British television. History Launched in 1997, Acorn Media U. ...
. There are also Region 1 and Region 4 releases for
North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...
n and Australasian markets. Some of the DVD releases are now quite rare and deleted and there has been no Blu-ray release at present.


Cast


Main

*
Mark McManus Mark McManus (21 February 1935 – 6 June 1994) was a Scottish actor. He has played roles in British television series '' Sam,'' ''Bulman, The Brothers, Strangers,'' and ''Dramarama'' and starred in the feature film '' 2000 Weeks''. He was b ...
as DCI Jim Taggart (1983–1995) *
Neil Duncan Alastair Duncan is a Scottish actor and real estate broker. He is best known for his voice-work in video games, such as '' Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance, Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor, God of War'' and its sequel ''God of War Ragnarök''. ...
as DS Peter Livingstone (1983–1987, 1994) * Iain Anders as Superintendent Jack McVitie (1985–1998) * James MacPherson as DS/DI/DCI Michael Jardine (1987–2002) * Blythe Duff as WPC/DC/DS/DI Jackie Reid (1990–2010) * Colin McCredie as DC Stuart Fraser (1995–2010) * John Michie as DI Robbie Ross (1998–2010) * Alex Norton as DCI Matt Burke (2002–2010) * Robert Robertson as Pathologist Dr Stephen Andrews (1983–2001) * Harriet Buchan as Jean Taggart (1983–1995)


Other

* Tom Watson as Superintendent Robert Murray (1983–1985) * Gavin Brown as Sgt Blackman (1983–1985) * Patricia Ross as DS/Sgt Laura Campbell (1987–1988) * Anthony Cochrane as Dr Colin Crawford (1987–1993) * Leigh Biagi as Alison Taggart (1988–1993) * Gray O'Brien as DC Rob Gibson (1993–1995) * Yasmin Marley as WPC Heather McIntyre (1999–2001) * Brian Cowan as DCS Brian Holmes (2000–2005) * Lesley Harcourt as Pathologist Dr Gemma Kerr (2003–2005) * Michael MacKenzie as Pathologist Dr Magnus Baird (2005–2008) *
Katrina Bryan Katrina Bryan (born 10 July 1980) is a Scottish actress and CBeebies presenter who has starred in ''Taggart'', '' Nina and the Neurons'', '' See You, See Me'' and ''Sea of Souls''. She has been active since 1999. Bryan has a BA in Acting from ...
as Pathologist Dr Ellis Sinclair (2008–2010) * Alan McHugh as Assistant Chief Constable Strathairn (2008–10) * Davood Ghadami as Pathologist Duncan Clark (2010) * Siobhan Redmond as Chief Supt. Karen Campbell (2010) * Anneika Rose as DC/DS Mita Rahim (2010)


Guest appearances

Actors appearing on ''Taggart'' episodes over the years include: * Dave Anderson (Episodes: Knife-Edge, Instruments of Justice, Ghost Rider & Compensation) *
Lucy Akhurst Lucy Akhurst (born 18 November 1970) is an English actress, writer and director who has been working mainly in television since the 1990s. She starred alongside Neil Morrissey in ''The Vanishing Man'' and then came to prominence in a lead role in ...
* Paul Barber (Episode:
Football Crazy "Football Crazy" is a song written by James Curran, originally titled as "The Dooley Fitba' Club", in the 1880s. The song is the earliest-known song that references association football, and it later became a minor hit in the 1960s for Scottish fo ...
) * Johnny Beattie (Episode: Evil Eye) * Isla Blair (Episodes: Murder in Season & Hellfire) * David Bradley * Susan Brown * Mark Bonnar (Episodes: An Eye for an Eye & Ends of Justice) * Billy Boyd (Episode: Dead Man's Chest) * Ewen Bremner (Episode: Love Knot) * Tam Dean Burn (Episodes: Double Exposure, The Ties That Bind & Bad Medicine) * Brian Capron (Episode: A Fistful of Chips) * Robert Carlyle (Episode: Hostile Witness) * Tom Chadbon *
Jimmy Chisholm Jimmy Chisholm (born 16 September 1956 in Inverness) is a Scottish actor in film, theatre and television. He trained as an actor at Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh. He currently plays the part of Sonny Caplan in the BBC Scotland productio ...
(Episode: Puppet on a String) * Pandora Clifford *
Ian Colquhoun Ian Alexander Colquhoun (8 June 1924 – 26 February 2005) was a New Zealand cricketer who played two Test matches for his country in the 1950s. Early life and family Born in Wellington on 8 June 1924, Colquhoun was the son of Gladys and Ca ...
(Episode:
Point of Light "Point of Light" is a song written by Don Schlitz and Thom Schuyler, and recorded by American country music artist Randy Travis. It was released in May 1991 as the lead-off single from his album '' High Lonesome''. It was his twenty-first single ...
) *
George A. Cooper George Alphonsus Cooper (7 March 1925 – 16 November 2018) was an English actor and voice artist. He died in November 2018 at the age of 93. Early life Cooper was born in Leeds, the son of William and Eleanor (née Dobson) Cooper. His father ...
* James Cosmo (Episode: Dead Giveaway) * Annette Crosbie (Episode: Funeral Rites) * David Crellin *
Alan Cumming Alan Cumming (born 27 January 1965) is a British actor. His London stage appearances include ''Hamlet'', the Maniac in ''Accidental Death of an Anarchist'' (for which he received an Olivier Award), the lead in '' Bent'', The National Theatre o ...
(Episode: Death Call) * Henry Ian Cusick (Episode: Fatal Inheritance) *
Jake D'Arcy John Paterson Sinclair (2 December 1945 – 30 May 2015), better known as Jake D'Arcy, was a Scottish actor. He appeared in a number of television series, including as "Pete the Jakey" in the comedy programme ''Still Game'' from 2002 until 2007 ...
(Episode:
Dead Ringer Dead Ringer or Dead Ringers may refer to: * Dead ringer (idiom) Books * ''The Dead Ringer'', a 1948 mystery novel by Fredric Brown * ''Dead Ringer'', novel in the '' Rosato & Associates'' series * ''Dead Ringer'' (comics), a Marvel Comics cha ...
) *
Iain de Caestecker Iain De Caestecker ( ; born 29 December 1987) is a Scottish actor. He is best known for portraying Leopold Fitz/The Doctor in the television series ''Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.''. He is also known for his roles in Coronation Street as Adam Barlow ...
*
Kate Dickie Kate Dickie (born 1971) is a Scottish actress who has appeared in television series, stage plays and films. She is known for her television roles as Lex in the BBC series ''Tinsel Town'' (2000–2001) and Lysa Arryn in the HBO series ''Game of ...
(Episode: Penthouse and Pavement) * Barbara Dickson (Episode: Legends) * Reece Dinsdale (Episode: Bad Medicine) * Ron Donachie (Episodes: Funeral Rites, Death Benefits, Dead Reckoning, Falling in Love & Law) *
Duncan Duff Duncan Duff (born 1964 in Edinburgh, Scotland, UK) is a British stage, television and film actor who trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London 1985 - 1987. He is best known for His role in Not Going out as Pete and for A Quiet Pas ...
(Episode: Hostile Witness) * John Duttine (Episode: Devil's Advocate) * Norman Eshley (Episode: Death Comes Softly) * James Faulkner * Fish (Episode: Skin Deep) * Hugh Fraser (Episode:
Gingerbread Gingerbread refers to a broad category of baked goods, typically flavored with ginger, cloves, nutmeg, and cinnamon and sweetened with honey, sugar, or molasses. Gingerbread foods vary, ranging from a moist loaf cake to forms nearly as crisp as ...
) * Laura Fraser (Episode: Devil's Advocate) * Ronald Fraser (Episode: Violent Delights) *
Vincent Friell Vincent Friell (born 7 January 1960 in Glasgow, Scotland) is a Scottish actor, whose most memorable role was that of Will Bryce in the Scottish crime comedy film ''Restless Natives'' (1985). Friell's other cinematic appearances have included ...
(Episodes: Killer, Funeral Rites, Secrets &
Bloodlines Bloodline most commonly refers to heredity. Bloodline, bloodlines, blood line or blood lines may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Comics * Bloodlines (comics), ''Bloodlines'' (comics), a 1993 DC Comics crossover * ''Colossus: Blood ...
) * Frank Gallagher (Episodes: Death Comes Softly & Fire, Burn) * Jill Gascoine (Episode: Evil Eye) *
Alexandra Gilbreath Alexandra Gilbreath (born 28 March 1969) is an English actress, born in Chalfont St Giles, Buckinghamshire and trained at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art. Widely known for her role as depressed author Lucy Moss in ''Not Going Out' ...
* Iain Glen (Episode: Knife-Edge) * Julian Glover (Episode: Black Orchid) * Michelle Gomez * Hannah Gordon (Episode: Fatal Inheritance) * Julie Graham * Frances Grey * Sheila Grier (Episodes: The Killing Philosophy & Falling in Love) * John Grillo *
Clare Grogan Claire Patricia Grogan (born 17 March 1962), known professionally as Clare Grogan or sometimes as C. P. Grogan, is a Scottish actress and singer. She is best known as the lead singer of the 1980s new wave music group Altered Images, as well as ...
(Episode: The Hit Man) *
Margo Gunn Margo Gunn (born 8 February 1956) is an English actress and a teacher of drama and theatre studies. Born in Doncaster, West Riding of Yorkshire, England, Gunn attended Doncaster Grammar School for Girls where she was head girl. She appeared in ...
* Gwyneth Guthrie (Episode:
Apocalypse Apocalypse () is a literary genre in which a supernatural being reveals cosmic mysteries or the future to a human intermediary. The means of mediation include dreams, visions and heavenly journeys, and they typically feature symbolic imager ...
) * John Hannah (Episode: Evil Eye) * Diana Hardcastle * Daniel Healy (Episode: Do or Die) *
Lorna Heilbron Lorna Heilbron (born 8 June 1948) is a Glasgow-born Scottish actress. She appeared in television series such as '' Ace of Wands'', ''Van der Valk'', ''Blake's 7'', ''Taggart'', ''Lovejoy'' and '' Hazell''. She also starred in the horror film ...
(Episodes:
Nest of Vipers ''Nest of Vipers'' ( it, Ritratto di borghesia in nero, lit=Portrait of a Bourgeois in Black) is a 1978 Italian drama film directed by Tonino Cervi. Based on the 1949 short story ''La maîtresse de piano'' (''The Piano Teacher'') by Roger Peyre ...
&
Apocalypse Apocalypse () is a literary genre in which a supernatural being reveals cosmic mysteries or the future to a human intermediary. The means of mediation include dreams, visions and heavenly journeys, and they typically feature symbolic imager ...
) * Vivien Heilbron (Episode:
Gingerbread Gingerbread refers to a broad category of baked goods, typically flavored with ginger, cloves, nutmeg, and cinnamon and sweetened with honey, sugar, or molasses. Gingerbread foods vary, ranging from a moist loaf cake to forms nearly as crisp as ...
) * Douglas Henshall (Episode: Love Knot) * Ian Hogg (Episode: The Hit Man) *
Russell Hunter Adam Russell Hunter (18 February 1925 – 26 February 2004) was a Scottish television, stage and film actor. He played Lonely in the TV thriller series ''Callan'', starring Edward Woodward, and shop steward Harry in the Yorkshire Television ...
(Episode: Death Comes Softly) * Celia Imrie (Episode: Root of Evil) * Kenny Ireland (Episode: Root of Evil) * Jason Isaacs (Episode: Double Exposure) *
Meg Johnson Meg Johnson is an American poet and lecturer. Her poems have appeared in numerous literary magazines, including '' Midwestern Gothic'', ''Slipstream Magazine'', ''Word Riot'', ''Hobart'', and many others. Her first collection of poems, ''Inappr ...
* Robert Jezek * Ashley Jensen (Episode:
A Taste of Money ''A Taste of Money'' is a 1960 British comedy film directed by Max Varnel and starring Jean Cadell, Dick Emery and Pete Murray. It was produced by the Danzigers. Premise An elderly spinster who works as a cashier for an insurance company plot ...
) *
Berwick Kaler Berwick Kaler (born 31 October 1946) is a British actor most famous for playing the dame in York Theatre Royal's annual pantomime, which he also wrote and directed. He has been awarded the freedom of the city, and in 2002 received an honorary de ...
* Diane Keen (Episode: Cold Blood) * Sinéad Keenan * Gerard Kelly (Episodes: Killer & Mind Over Matter) * Simone Lahbib (Episodes:
Nest of Vipers ''Nest of Vipers'' ( it, Ritratto di borghesia in nero, lit=Portrait of a Bourgeois in Black) is a 1978 Italian drama film directed by Tonino Cervi. Based on the 1949 short story ''La maîtresse de piano'' (''The Piano Teacher'') by Roger Peyre ...
& Prayer for the Dead) * Larry Lamb * Caroline Langrishe * Phyllida Law (Episode: Forbidden Fruit) * Gary Lewis (Episodes: Devil's Advocate & Homesick) * Richard Lintern * Jimmy Logan (Episode: Flesh and Blood) * Phyllis Logan (Episode: Trust) * Richard Madden * Dominic Mafham * Francis Matthews (Episode: Fatal Inheritance) * Murray McArthur * Brian McCardie (Episodes: Secrets, Bad Blood, Homesick & Silent Truth) * Maimie McCoy *
Kathleen McDermott Kathleen McDermott (born 21 May 1977) is a Scottish actress, singer, model, and make-up artist. She is best known for her roles in the feature film '' Morvern Callar'' (2002), the television film ''Wedding Belles'' (2007), and the miniseries ...
(Episode: Blood Money) * Joe McFadden (Episodes: Root of Evil & Secrets) *
Sean McGinley Sean, also spelled Seán or Séan in Irish English, is a male given name of Irish origin. It comes from the Irish versions of the Biblical Hebrew name ''Yohanan'' (), Seán (anglicized as ''Shaun/ Shawn/ Shon'') and Séan (Ulster variant; angli ...
*
John McGlynn John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second ...
(Episodes:
Dead Ringer Dead Ringer or Dead Ringers may refer to: * Dead ringer (idiom) Books * ''The Dead Ringer'', a 1948 mystery novel by Fredric Brown * ''Dead Ringer'', novel in the '' Rosato & Associates'' series * ''Dead Ringer'' (comics), a Marvel Comics cha ...
, Evil Eye, Secrets,
Long Time Dead ''Long Time Dead'' is a 2002 British horror film, co-written and directed by Marcus Adams in his directorial debut. Set in the United Kingdom, the film follows a group of college students in which they experiment with an Ouija board and inadv ...
& The Friday Night Event) * Stuart McGugan (Episode: Dead Giveaway) * Lorraine McIntosh (Episodes:
Long Time Dead ''Long Time Dead'' is a 2002 British horror film, co-written and directed by Marcus Adams in his directorial debut. Set in the United Kingdom, the film follows a group of college students in which they experiment with an Ouija board and inadv ...
, Halfway House & Safer) *
Neve McIntosh Neve McIntosh (born Carol McIntosh; 9 April 1972) is a Scottish actress. Early life Born in Paisley, Renfrewshire, McIntosh grew up in Edinburgh, where she attended Boroughmuir High School. She was a member of Edinburgh Youth Theatre in the l ...
* Pollyanna McIntosh * Allison McKenzie (Episode:
Football Crazy "Football Crazy" is a song written by James Curran, originally titled as "The Dooley Fitba' Club", in the 1880s. The song is the earliest-known song that references association football, and it later became a minor hit in the 1960s for Scottish fo ...
) *
Una McLean Una McLean MBE (born 12 January 1930 in Strathaven, Scotland) is a Scottish actress and comedian. She is best known for appearing in pantomimes. She was married to Scottish stage and film actor Russell Hunter from 1991 until his death in 20 ...
(Episode: Death Trap) * Graham McTavish (Episode: Mind Over Matter) *
Jill Melford Jill Melford (23 November 1931 – 21 February 2018) was an English actress. Early career Born in 1931, she was the daughter of the actor Jack Melford. She attended the Ballet Arts School in New York and made her theatre debut in 1949 as a ...
(Episode: Fatal Inheritance) *
Glen Michael Glen Michael (born Cecil Buckland, 16 May 1926) is a British former children's television presenter and an entertainer. His career at Scottish Television spanned 26 years with the popular children's show ''Glen Michael's Cartoon Cavalcade''. E ...
(Episode: Legends) * Ann Mitchell (Episode:
Nest of Vipers ''Nest of Vipers'' ( it, Ritratto di borghesia in nero, lit=Portrait of a Bourgeois in Black) is a 1978 Italian drama film directed by Tonino Cervi. Based on the 1949 short story ''La maîtresse de piano'' (''The Piano Teacher'') by Roger Peyre ...
) * Gavin Mitchell (Episodes: Fire, Burn & The Hit Man) *
Jon Morrison Jon Morrison is a Scottish actor who has appeared in many plays, films and television series since the early 1970s, including ''The Bill'', '' Bergerac'', ''Taggart'' and ''Vera''. His best-known parts have been in the Peter McDougall plays ' ...
(Episode: Wavelength) * Alexander Morton (Episodes:
Dead Ringer Dead Ringer or Dead Ringers may refer to: * Dead ringer (idiom) Books * ''The Dead Ringer'', a 1948 mystery novel by Fredric Brown * ''Dead Ringer'', novel in the '' Rosato & Associates'' series * ''Dead Ringer'' (comics), a Marvel Comics cha ...
, Death Benefits &
The Rapture The rapture is an eschatological position held by some Christians, particularly those of American evangelicalism, consisting of an end-time event when all Christian believers who are alive, along with resurrected believers, will rise "in the c ...
) * Peter Mullan (Episodes: Love Knot and Rogues Gallery) * Daniela Nardini (Episode: Death without Dishonour) *
Alec Newman Alec Newman (born 27 November 1974) is a Scottish actor best known for portraying Paul Atreides in the Sci Fi Channel's 2000 miniseries adaptation of Frank Herbert's ''Dune''. Early life Newman was born in Glasgow, Scotland. His father is San ...
*
Julie Wilson Nimmo Julie Wilson Nimmo is a Scottish actress and dancer. She is known for portraying the roles of Miss Hoolie in the BBC Children's series ''Balamory'', Mrs Sawdust in CBeebies show 'Olga Da Polga' and DC Megan Squire in the BBC Scottish televisi ...
(Episode:
Point of Light "Point of Light" is a song written by Don Schlitz and Thom Schuyler, and recorded by American country music artist Randy Travis. It was released in May 1991 as the lead-off single from his album '' High Lonesome''. It was his twenty-first single ...
) * Peter O'Brien (Episode: Death without Dishonour) * David O'Hara (Episode: Evil Eye) * Dorothy Paul (Episodes: Murder in Season & Flesh and Blood) *
James Anthony Pearson James Anthony Pearson (born 1 October 1989 in Rochdale, Greater Manchester) is a British actor who lives in Glasgow. Pearson is best known for his performance as Bernard Sumner in Anton Corbijn's film ''Control''. He played the role of Ang ...
* Julie Peasgood (Episode: Death without Dishonour) * Carmen Pieraccini (Episodes:
Football Crazy "Football Crazy" is a song written by James Curran, originally titled as "The Dooley Fitba' Club", in the 1880s. The song is the earliest-known song that references association football, and it later became a minor hit in the 1960s for Scottish fo ...
& An Eye for an Eye) * Andrew Lee Potts (Episode: Law) * Richard Rankin (Episode:
IOU An IOU (Abbreviation, abbreviated from the phrase "I owe you") is usually an informal document acknowledging debt. An IOU differs from a promissory note in that an IOU is not a negotiable instrument and does not specify repayment terms such as th ...
) * Amanda Redman (Episode: Black Orchid) *
Annabel Reid Annabel Reid is a Scottish actress. She received a bachelor's degree in acting from Queen Margaret's College in 1996. She has played in ''Post-mortem'' (starring Charlie Sheen) and ''The Infinite Worlds of H. G. Wells''. She has also starred ...
(Episode: A Fistful of Chips) *
Mary Riggans Mary Riggans (19 July 1935 – 2 December 2013) was a Scottish actress and singer. She was best known for playing the role of Susie Sweet in the BAFTA award winning children’s show ''Balamory''. and Effie Macinnes in Take the High Road. She ...
(Episodes: Killer and Double Exposure) * John Ringham * David Rintoul (Episode: Death Comes Softly) *
Natalie J. Robb Natalie Joy Robb (born 3 December 1974) is a Scottish actress and singer. She played the roles of Trish McDonald in the Scottish Television soap opera ''Take the High Road'' (1990–1999) and Jude Carlyle in the BBC soap opera ''Doctors'' (2001â ...
(Episodes: Violent Delights & Legends) * Christian Rodska *
William Ruane William Ruane (born 1985) is a Scottish actor. He is best known for his roles in the films '' Sweet Sixteen'' (2002) and '' The Angels' Share'' (2012), and in the soap opera ''River City''. Career Ruane was born in Glasgow and raised in the ...
* Jenny Runacre * Sean Scanlan (Episodes: Death Benefits, Puppet on a String & Trust) * David Schofield * Dougray Scott (Episode:
Nest of Vipers ''Nest of Vipers'' ( it, Ritratto di borghesia in nero, lit=Portrait of a Bourgeois in Black) is a 1978 Italian drama film directed by Tonino Cervi. Based on the 1949 short story ''La maîtresse de piano'' (''The Piano Teacher'') by Roger Peyre ...
) * Morag Siller * Jamie Sives *
Steve John Shepherd Stephen John Shepherd (born 1 August 1973) is an English actor. He is known for his portrayals of Jo in the TV drama ''This Life'' and Michael Moon in the soap opera ''EastEnders'' from 2010 to 2013. Personal life Shepherd was born in London ...
(Episode: Bad Medicine) * Sharon Small (Episode: Forbidden Fruit) * Hugo Speer * Rob Spendlove *
Gerda Stevenson Gerda Stevenson (born 10 April 1956 in Peeblesshire, Scotland) is a Scottish actress, director and writer, described by ''The Scotsman'' in 1999 as "Scotland's finest actress". She has played many parts in the theatre, including the title role ...
* Ewan Stewart (Episode: Judgement Day) * Sara Stewart (Episodes: Ring of Deceit & A Death Foretold) * Ken Stott (Episode: Murder in Season) *
Donald Sumpter Donald Sumpter (born 13 February 1943) is an English actor who has appeared in film and television since the mid-1960s. Career One of his early television appearances was the 1968 ''Doctor Who'' serial ''The Wheel in Space'' with Patrick Troug ...
* Garry Sweeney (Episodes: Watertight & Users and Losers) * Meera Syal (Episode: Double Exposure) *
Andrew Tiernan Andrew James Tiernan (born 30 November 1965) is a British actor and director. Biography Theatre Tiernan began acting with the Birmingham Youth Theatre and moved to London in 1984 to study a three-year diploma in acting at the Drama Centre Lo ...
(Episode: Black Orchid) * Gareth Thomas *
Siân Thomas Siân Thomas (born 20 September 1953) is a British actress who trained at the Central School of Speech and Drama. She is known both for her work on stage and for her television and film appearances such as ''Harry Potter and the Order of the Ph ...
(Episode: Ring of Deceit) * Kim Thomson (Episode:
Fact and Fiction Fact and fiction may refer to: As a proper term *'' Fact and Fiction'', 1982 album by Twelfth Night *''Fiction and Fact'', 2011 album by Beast *''Facts and Fictions'', 1995 album by Asian Dub Foundation *''Fact, Fiction, and Forecast'', 1955 non-fi ...
) * Michael Troughton * Deepak Verma (Episode: Double Exposure) * Ronan Vibert (Episode: Users and Losers) *
Sara Vickers Sara Louise Vickers (born 1985) is a Scottish theatre, television and film actress best known for playing List of Endeavour characters#Thursday's Family, Joan Thursday in the British television detective drama series ''Endeavour (TV series), End ...
* Julian Wadham (Episode: Running Out of Time) *
June Watson June is the sixth month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars and is the second of four months to have a length of 30 days, and the third of five months to have a length of less than 31 days. June contains the summer solstice in t ...
* Gary Webster (Episode: Evil Eye) * Tam White (Episodes: The Hit Man & Ghost Rider) * Jan Wilson (Episode:
Apocalypse Apocalypse () is a literary genre in which a supernatural being reveals cosmic mysteries or the future to a human intermediary. The means of mediation include dreams, visions and heavenly journeys, and they typically feature symbolic imager ...
) * Greg Wise * Paul Young (Episodes: Funeral Rites & Legends) * Jimmy Yuill (Episodes: Killer &
Fact and Fiction Fact and fiction may refer to: As a proper term *'' Fact and Fiction'', 1982 album by Twelfth Night *''Fiction and Fact'', 2011 album by Beast *''Facts and Fictions'', 1995 album by Asian Dub Foundation *''Fact, Fiction, and Forecast'', 1955 non-fi ...
) Note: Where multiple episodes are listed here, a different character is portrayed in each episode. Recurring characters are listed in Cast sections above.


Filming locations

The show was primarily shot in and around Glasgow and its metropolitan area, but the show occasionally ventured further, for example to Loch Lomond, Edinburgh and the Scottish Highlands. The original title card of the show used a panoramic shot of Glasgow taken from the summit of the Cathkin Braes to the south of the city. In the early years live infill shots of the city were also taken from this vantage point. In later years a shot of the city centre taken from The Lighthouse on Mitchell Lane was used. In later series the buildings of Strathclyde University were extensively used for exterior shots. The entrance level of the Colville Building was used as the police station, for example, and John Street, the name given to the police station in the series, is a real location within the campus.


Episodes

Since 1983 there have been a total of 110 episodes of ''Taggart''. Early episodes were split into multiple parts and aired over three weeks while later episodes were self-contained.


International distribution

In
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
the series aired on ABC1. In 2011 ABC1 aired episodes on Friday at 8:30pm. ABC1 actually broadcast episodes 101 "IOU", 102 "Local Hero", and 103 "The Rapture" before STV did because of scheduling conflicts. 7TWO airs repeat episodes right back to the first episode. In New Zealand the series aired on Vibe. In Ireland the series aired on
RTÉ (RTÉ) (; Irish language, Irish for "Radio & Television of Ireland") is the Public broadcaster, national broadcaster of Republic of Ireland, Ireland headquartered in Dublin. It both produces and broadcasts programmes on RTÉ Television, telev ...
. In Denmark, the series aired on DR, and it was a popular show with Danish subtitles. ''Taggart'' was first broadcast on DR2 from 2002 to 2006 as six more episodes were then aired. After the digitising of Danish television, ''Taggart'' appeared on DR1 from episodes featuring James MacPherson as DCI Jardine. Ever since ''Taggart'' has aired from the very first miniseries "Killer" until the episode length was cut to 45 minutes. Three-episode stories have aired one after another but have also combined into one long episode.


Analysis

Jim Taggart's
homophobia Homophobia encompasses a range of negative attitude (psychology), attitudes and feelings toward homosexuality or people who are identified or perceived as being lesbian, gay or bisexual. It has been defined as contempt, prejudice, aversion, h ...
was seen to be representative of the level of bigotry still prevalent in the British police in the 1980s, and was challenged by Peter Livingstone early in the series.


Notes


References


External links

* * * {{Taggart 1985 Scottish television series debuts 2010 Scottish television series endings 1980s British crime drama television series 1980s British mystery television series 1980s British workplace drama television series 1990s British crime drama television series 1990s British mystery television series 1990s British workplace drama television series 2000s British crime drama television series 2000s British mystery television series 2000s British workplace drama television series 2010s British crime drama television series 2010s British mystery television series 2010s British workplace drama television series 1980s Scottish television series 1990s Scottish television series 2000s Scottish television series 2010s Scottish television series British detective television series English-language television shows ITV crime dramas ITV mystery shows Maryhill Murder in television Television series by STV Studios Television shows produced by Scottish Television Television shows set in Glasgow Television shows set in Scotland