''The Last Detective'' is a British TV comedy drama series, broadcast on ITV between 7 February 2003 and 31 May 2007, starring Peter Davison as the title character, Detective Constable " Dangerous Davies". The series is based on the "Dangerous Davies" series of novels written by Leslie Thomas, and was filmed in the north London suburbs of

Willesden Willesden () is an area of northwest London, situated 5 miles (8 km) northwest of Charing Cross. It is historically a parish in the county of Middlesex that was incorporated as the Municipal Borough of Willesden in 1933, and has forme ...

Neasden Neasden is a suburban area in northwest London, England. It is located around the centre of the London Borough of Brent and is within the NW2 ( Cricklewood) and NW10 (Willesden) postal districts. Neasden is near Wembley Stadium, the Welsh Har ...

and

Harlesden Harlesden is a district in the London Borough of Brent, North West London. Located north of the Grand Union Canal and Wormwood Scrubs, the Harrow Road flows through the centre of the area which goes eastwards to Central London and west toward ...

. The gentle but engrossing nature of the series was in stark contrast to other hard-hitting police dramas of the time, but this appeared to be a winning formula, becoming a surprise rating success. The first series aired in 2003, with three more series following it. The first, second and third series all consist of four 70-minute episodes (90-minutes with advertisements). The fourth series is slightly longer, encompassing five episodes in the series. After a total of seventeen episodes, production company

Meridian Broadcasting ITV Meridian (previously Meridian Broadcasting) is the holder of the ITV franchise for the South and South East of England. The station was launched at 12:00 am on 1 January 1993, replacing previous broadcaster Television South, and is owned ...

(later

Granada Productions ITV Studios is a British multinational television production and distribution company owned by the British television broadcaster ITV plc. It handles production and distribution of programmes broadcast on the ITV network and third-party broadca ...

), who produced the programme, stated that the series had been axed due to falling viewing figures, and that the fourth series would be the last. The Granada series was not the first time that the title character had appeared on television. He previously appeared in a TV movie, first broadcast on 4 January 1981, starring

Bernard Cribbins Bernard Joseph Cribbins (29 December 1928 – 27 July 2022) was an English actor and singer whose career spanned over seven decades. During the 1960s, Cribbins became known in the UK for his successful novelty records " The Hole in the Groun ...

Background

The series follows Detective Constable "Dangerous" Davies. Davies discovered a crime committed by a fellow officer at the opening of the series, and is treated as a pariah by his colleagues as a consequence. Moreover, he is committed to his work and is staunchly humane, leading to a view of his being soft by colleagues, and a degree of grudging respect from local criminals. Recurring themes include Davies solving the apparently minor crimes he is given, often resolving more complex and associated crimes (historical or contemporary), and Davies repeatedly being the target of practical jokes by younger but more well positioned detectives in his unit. As the series progresses his reputation improves with his superior, Detective Inspector (DI) Aspinall, who realises that Davies' intelligence and fair but determined methods make him the best policeman in his squad. A strained mutual respect develops between the two characters as Davies increasingly finds the time to try to understand the troubled, hard drinking DI and his history (and demons). The other major aspect of the series concerns Davies' private life, which centres on his estranged wife, Julie (played by Emma Amos). The storyline regularly integrates Davies' attempts to address the loss of his wife's respect and to repair the damage done to their marriage after his career stalls in the Metropolitan Police Force; for instance, the estranged character returns to pick up a dog whose custody he shares with Julie (see below), to serve as her occasional chauffeur, and to carry out routine household maintenance at the family home (occasionally intersecting with Julie's new relationship interests). His work and personal life intertwine in interactions with his friend, the irreverent and rather feckless Mod (short for Modesty) Lewis, played by the Irish comedian Sean Hughes, which include their park bench talks about cases and life, Davies' chauffeuring the unlicensed Mod, and Davies' walking his dog—an unnamed, but consistent character, a

Landseer Sir Edwin Henry Landseer (7 March 1802 – 1 October 1873) was an English painter and sculptor, well known for his animal art, paintings of animals – particularly horses, dogs, and stags. However, his best-known works are the lion sculptures ...

in early episodes, and later a St Bernard. Other recurring plot elements are the now "semi-detached" Davies' interactions with various female characters, episode by episode, and his relationship with Mrs Fulljames ( Elizabeth Bennett), the romantic daydreaming landlady of the Bali-Hai Guest House, where he resides for a period.

Cast

* Peter Davison as "Dangerous" Davies;

detective 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 ...

* Sean Hughes as Modesty "Mod" Lewis; Davies' best friend * Emma Amos as Julie Davies; Davies' wife *

Rob Spendlove Rob Spendlove (born 1 May 1953 in London) is a British actor best known for his roles on British television. He studied drama at Middlesex Polytechnic, worked as a teacher and toured schools with a fringe theatre company. He has appeared in ma ...

as Ray Aspinall;

detective 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 ...

* Charles De'Ath as Phillip Pimlott;

detective sergeant Sergeant ( abbreviated to Sgt. and capitalized when used as a named person's title) is a rank in many uniformed organizations, principally military and policing forces. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and other ...

* Billy Geraghty as Darren Barrett;

Colin McLachlan Colin Campbell Alexander McLachlan (28 November 1924 – 26 September 1985) was a New Zealand politician of the National Party. Biography McLachlan was born in Christchurch in 1924. He received his education at Lakeside Primary School a ...

as Timothy Stone;

police sergeant Sergeant (abbreviated to Sgt. and capitalized when used as a named person's title) is a rank in many uniformed organizations, principally military and policing forces. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and other uni ...

(Series 1–2) * Michele Austin as Cheryl Holmes; WPC (Series 1) * Natasha Williams as Yvonne Clarke; WPC (Series 2) * Vineeta Rishi as Maya "Zsa Zsa" Kapoor; WPC (Series 3–4) * Elizabeth Bennett as Mrs. Dorothy Fulljames; Davies' landlady (Series 1–2, 4)

Series overview

Episodes

Series 1 (2003)

Series 2 (2004)

Series 3 (2005)

Series 4 (2007)

Home media

''The Last Detective: Complete Collection'' was released on Region 1 DVD on 20 January 2009 and includes all 17 episodes of the TV show, the earlier TV movie, and other features including an interview with Peter Davison. The DVD set is distributed by Acorn Media UK.

References

External links

*1981 film: *TV series: * {{DEFAULTSORT:Last Detective, The 2003 British television series debuts 2007 British television series endings 2000s British drama television series 2000s British comedy-drama television series ITV television dramas Television series by ITV Studios 2000s British crime television series Television shows produced by Meridian Broadcasting English-language television shows Detective television series