The Gentle Touch
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''The Gentle Touch'' is a British police drama television series made by
London Weekend Television London Weekend Television (LWT) (now part of the non-franchised ITV London region) was the ITV network franchise holder for Greater London and the Home Counties at weekends, broadcasting from Fridays at 5.15 pm (7:00 pm from 1968 unt ...
for
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 ...
which began on 11 April 1980 and ran until 1984. The series is notable for being the first British series to feature a female police officer as its leading character, ahead of the similarly themed
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series ''
Juliet Bravo ''Juliet Bravo'' is a British television police procedural drama series, first broadcast on 30 August 1980, that ran for six series and a total of 88 episodes on BBC1. The theme of the series concerned a female police inspector who took over con ...
'' by four months.


Series history

The series starred
Jill Gascoine Jill Viola Gascoine (11 April 1937 – 28 April 2020) was an English actress and novelist. She portrayed Detective Inspector Maggie Forbes in the 1980s television series '' The Gentle Touch'' and its spin-off series '' C.A.T.S. Eyes''. In the ...
as
Detective A detective is an investigator, usually a member of a law enforcement agency. They often collect information to solve crimes by talking to witnesses and informants, collecting physical evidence, or searching records in databases. This leads th ...
Inspector Inspector, also police inspector or inspector of police, is a police rank. The rank or position varies in seniority depending on the organization that uses it. Australia In Australian police forces, the rank of inspector is generally the ne ...
Maggie Forbes, who has worked her way up through the ranks of the police force and is based at the fictional Seven Dials police station in
London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
. Maggie's husband, a police
constable A constable is a person holding a particular office, most commonly in criminal law enforcement. The office of constable can vary significantly in different jurisdictions. A constable is commonly the rank of an officer within the police. Other peop ...
, is murdered during the first episode, leaving her to juggle her career with single parenthood, raising her teenage son. ''The Gentle Touch'' largely dealt with routine police procedures and offered a frank depiction of relevant social issues (including racism, sexism, homosexuality, mental health and
euthanasia Euthanasia (from el, εὐθανασία 'good death': εὖ, ''eu'' 'well, good' + θάνατος, ''thanatos'' 'death') is the practice of intentionally ending life to eliminate pain and suffering. Different countries have different eut ...
). It was relatively low on action and violence in comparison to previous classic crime series such as ''
The Sweeney ''The Sweeney'' is a 1970s British television police drama focusing on two members of the Flying Squad, a branch of the Metropolitan Police specialising in tackling armed robbery and violent crime in London. It stars John Thaw as Detective Ins ...
'', opting for a more realistic and low key approach. Although the series mostly focused on Maggie's professional life in a male-dominated field, it also showed her home life with her elderly father George and her teenage son Steve. Occasionally, Maggie's romantic involvements were seen which sometimes clashed with her job. She had a difficult relationship with her abrasive and chauvinistic colleague Bob Croft. ''The Gentle Touch'' was a ratings success in the UK, where it was screened on Friday nights in a 9.00 p.m. slot (except for the final series which was shown on Saturday nights). One episode shown in January 1982 garnered over 18 million viewers and was the 5th most watched television programme in Britain that year. ''The Gentle Touch'' made Gascoine a household name, and ran for five series until 1984.


Spin-off

Gascoine returned as Maggie Forbes in the more action-oriented spin-off series '' C.A.T.S. Eyes'' (also created by
Terence Feely Terence John Feely (20 July 1928 – 13 August 2000) was a British screenwriter, playwright and author. Though his work spanned five decades, he is perhaps best remembered as the creator of the ITV drama series ''The Gentle Touch'' (1980– ...
), concerning a specialised team of female detectives in
Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...
who covertly work for the Home Office. ''C.A.T.S. Eyes'' lasted three series from 1985 to 1987.


Main cast

*
Jill Gascoine Jill Viola Gascoine (11 April 1937 – 28 April 2020) was an English actress and novelist. She portrayed Detective Inspector Maggie Forbes in the 1980s television series '' The Gentle Touch'' and its spin-off series '' C.A.T.S. Eyes''. In the ...
as Detective Inspector Maggie Forbes *
William Marlowe William Marlowe (25 July 1930 – 31 January 2003) was a British theatre, television and film actor. He served in the Fleet Air Arm and hoped for a career as a writer before training as an actor at RADA. He was cast in '' A Family at War'' (1970 ...
as Detective Chief Inspector Bill Russell * Brian Gwaspari as Detective Inspector Bob Croft (1980–1983) * Derek Thompson as Detective Sergeant Jimmy Fenton (1980–1982) * Paul Moriarty as Detective Sergeant Jake Barrett * Nigel Rathbone as Steve Forbes * Kevin O'Shea as Detective Sergeant Peter Phillips (1982–1984) * Bernard Holley as Detective Inspector Mike Turnbull (1982–1984) *
James Ottaway William Cecil James Ottaway (25 July 1908 – 16 June 1999) was a British film, television and stage actor whose career spanned seven decades.Michael Graham Cox Michael Graham Cox (6 January 1938 – 30 April 1995) was an English actor. Career Born at Wolverhampton, and educated at Wolverhampton Grammar School, Cox moved to London after graduating in Music with German from Bristol University in ...
as Detective Inspector Jack Slater (1984)


Episode list


Home media

The complete series is available on
DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...
in the UK in five series sets from Network.


References


External links


British Film Institute Screen Online
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gentle Touch, The 1980 British television series debuts 1984 British television series endings 1980s British crime drama television series 1980s British police procedural television series 1980s British workplace drama television series ITV television dramas Television series by ITV Studios London Weekend Television shows English-language television shows Television shows set in London British detective television series