''Blue Murder'' is a British

crime drama Crime films, in the broadest sense, is a film genre inspired by and analogous to the crime fiction literary genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and its detection. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combine ...

television series based in

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

, originally broadcast on

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 ...

from 2003 until 2009, starring

Caroline Quentin Caroline Quentin (born Caroline Jones; 11 July 1960) is an English actress, broadcaster and television presenter. Quentin became known for her television appearances: portraying Dorothy in ''Men Behaving Badly'' (1992–1998), Maddie Magellan in ...

as DCI Janine Lewis and

Ian Kelsey Ian Kelsey (born 17 December 1966) is an English actor. He is known for his roles as Dave Glover in the ITV soap opera ''Emmerdale'', Patrick Spiller in the BBC medical drama ''Casualty'', DI Richard Mayne in the ITV crime drama '' Blue Murder'' ...

as DI Richard Mayne. Five series of the programme were broadcast over the course of six years. Reruns have aired on

ITV3 ITV3 is a British free-to-air television channel owned by ITV Digital Channels, a division of ITV plc. The channel was first launched on Monday 1 November 2004 at 9pm, replacing Plus (Granada). ITV3 is the sixth-largest UK television channel by ...

Background

''Blue Murder'' centres on a single mother of four, DCI Janine Lewis (

), trying to balance a demanding career with raising her young family, whilst constantly battling with her former husband, who has since started a new family of his own. The series was created by Cath Staincliffe, a novelist and radio playwright. Staincliffe pitched the idea for ''Blue Murder'' to

and a two-part first series was commissioned by the network. The first series began broadcasting on 18 May 2003. Due to strong ratings, a second series of four episodes was subsequently commissioned and began broadcasting in 2004. Staincliffe was principal writer for the first two series, with John Fay, Jeff Povey and Matthew Hall also contributing scripts for the second series. The fifth and final series debuted on 7 September 2009. The series was regarded by the cast as the best series yet, and Quentin described the series as having "finally cracked it". The final series included a number of guest stars

Mark Benton Mark Benton (born 16 November 1965) is an English actor and television presenter known for his roles as Eddie in ''Early Doors'', Howard in '' Northern Lights'' and Martin Pond in '' Barbara''. Benton has also starred in the BBC One school-based ...

Lee Boardman Lee Boardman (born 2 July 1972) is an English actor and narrator. He has appeared in the films ''Jack the Giant Slayer'' and ''Love's Kitchen'', and the television series ''Rome''. Career Boardman played Murray Priestman in '' Drop Dead Gorge ...

Kieran O'Brien Kieran O'Brien (born 1973) is an English actor. Early life and education Born in Oldham, Lancashire, O'Brien grew up in nearby Royton, and was educated at the Bishop Henshaw Roman Catholic Memorial High School in Rochdale. Career O'Brien began ...

Brendan Coyle David "Brendan" Coyle (born 2 December 1962) is an English-Irish actor. He won the Olivier Award for Best Performance in a Supporting Role for ''The Weir'' in 1999. He also played Nicholas Higgins in the miniseries '' North & South'', Robert T ...

Heather Peace Heather Mary Peace (born 16 June 1975) is a British actress, musician and LGBT rights activist from Bradford, England. She is best known for her hit role as Nikki Boston in the BBC One school-based drama series '' Waterloo Road'' from 2012 to 20 ...

Tina O'Brien Tina Michelle O'Brien (born 7 August 1983) is an English actress. She is best known for her portrayal of Sarah Platt in the long-running ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'' (1999–2008, 2015–present). She also appeared in the BBC One drama s ...

Sylvia Syms Sylvia May Laura Syms (born 6 January 1934) is an English actress, best known for her roles in the films ''Woman in a Dressing Gown'' (1957), ''Ice Cold in Alex'' (1958), ''No Trees in the Street'' (1959), ''Victim'' (1961), and ''The Tamari ...

and

Anthony Flanagan Anthony Flanagan (born 11 April 1972) is an English actor most widely known for his portrayal of policeman Tony in Channel 4's comedy-drama series '' Shameless''. Biography Flanagan was born in Stockport, Cheshire. At school he was called Anth ...

Cast

as DCI Janine Lewis *

as DI Richard Mayne * Nicholas Murchie as DS Tony Shap *

Paul Loughran Paul Anthony Martin Loughran (born 7 July 1969 in Belfast) is a Northern Irish actor. He was educated at Methodist College Belfast. He is best known for portraying Butch Dingle in ITV Soap Opera ''Emmerdale'' in which his character died in a b ...

as DS Ian Butchers *

Rhea Bailey Rhea Bailey (born 12 July 1983) is a British actress. She is the younger sister of singer Corinne Bailey Rae. Her father is Kittitian and her mother is English. She is best known for her roles as PC Mel Ryder in ''The Bill'' between 2008 and 20 ...

as DC Lisa Goodall (Series 3–4) * Belinda Everett as DC Kat Skerton (Series 5) * David Schofield as DCS James Hackett (Series 1–2) *

Saskia Wickham Saskia Wickham (born 14 January 1967) is an English actress best known for playing Alex Wilton in the drama series ''Boon'' and Dr. Erica Matthews in the ITV television drama series ''Peak Practice'' between 1996 and 1998. Early and personal li ...

as DCS Louise Hogg (Series 3–5) *

Ceallach Spellman Ceallach Spellman ( ; born 31 August 1995) is an English actor and presenter best known for playing Matthew Williams in the revival of ITV drama '' Cold Feet'', Harry Fisher in the BBC One school-based drama '' Waterloo Road'' from 2010 to 2011 ...

as Tom Lewis * Catherine Jenkins as Eleanor Lewis (Series 1–2) * Eden Garrity as Ellie Lewis (Series 3–5) *

Joe Tucker Joe Tucker is a British comedy writer, director and animator known for directing and co-writing the award-winning short film '' For the Love of God''. He has also directed a number of music videos for Hot Club de Paris and, together with Lloyd W ...

as Pete Lewis (Series 1–4) * Geoff Breton as Michael Lewis

Series overview

Episode list

Series 1 (2003)

Blue Murder began as two 90-minute (advertisements included) episodes first shown in May 2003, which gained enough viewers for a full series. This two-part pilot later became known as series one and released as such on DVD in the UK.

Series 2 (2004)

Series 3 (2006)

Roy Mitchell also contributed to the script for episode one, "Steady Eddie".

Series 4 (2007)

Series 5 (2009)

Beginning with this series, the format changed from 90-minute episodes to 60-minute episodes.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Blue Murder episodes, List of 2003 British television series debuts 2009 British television series endings 2000s British crime drama television series 2000s British mystery television series 2000s British police procedural television series 2000s British workplace drama television series British detective television series English-language television shows ITV crime dramas ITV mystery shows Murder in television Television shows produced by Granada Television Television series by ITV Studios Television shows set in Manchester