UK Crime/Detective/Mystery Shows with Women in their Cover Photos, 1980-
The name says it all: it's annoying how many of these shows still have only men in starring roles. So I wanted to create a list of shows that star or otherwise provide substantive roles for women. This list is based on the (admittedly imperfect) premise that women will be included in shows' cover photos if they have such roles. (Note: In cases where the cover photo doesn't include any people or features only one person, shows are included here if women are named among the Stars.)
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166 titles
- StarsBrenda BlethynJon MorrisonRiley JonesWith her caustic wit and singular charm, DCI Vera Stanhope leads her team as they face a series of captivating murder mysteries set against the breathtaking Northumberland landscape.
- CreatorAllan CubittStarsGillian AndersonJamie DornanJohn LynchA seemingly cold but very passionate policewoman goes head to head with a seemingly passionate father who is in fact a cold serial killer in this procedural out of Belfast. The only thing they share is their common complexity.
- StarsAlison O'DonnellSteven RobertsonLewis HowdenA local police team investigate crimes within the close knit island community of Shetland.
- StarsRichard HarringtonMali HarriesAlex HarriesA noir crime drama set in Aberystwyth, Wales, where troubled DCI Tom Mathias solves murders while searching for redemption.
- CreatorJed MercurioStarsMartin CompstonVicky McClureAdrian DunbarDrama series following the investigations of AC-12, a controversial police anti-corruption unit.
- CreatorNigel McCreryRoy MitchellStarsDennis WatermanAmanda RedmanAlun ArmstrongThree retired police officers are drafted in to solve cold cases, with a touch of comedy and drama
- StarsHelen MirrenJohn BenfieldTom BellA female police detective investigates a series of serial murders while dealing with sexist hostility from her male comrades.
- StarsFelicity KendalPam FerrisRyan PhilpottSet amongst the stunning gardens of Europe, Rosemary Boxer and Laura Thyme, two professional gardeners, find themselves drawn into solving mysterious crimes.
- CreatorJohn BowenDavid CookStarsPatricia RoutledgeDominic MonaghanDerek BenfieldHetty wakes on her 60th birthday and decides to become a private investigator. With assistance from a teenager called Geoffrey and her husband Robert, combined with her own common sense, Hetty is confident she can solve any case.
- StarsGeraldine McEwanJulia McKenzieStephen ChurchettAn elderly spinster living in the village of St. Mary Mead helps her friends and relatives solve mysterious murders.
- CreatorSally WainwrightStarsSarah LancashireSiobhan FinneranJames NortonYorkshire-based crime drama centering on the personal and professional life of Police Sergeant Catherine Cawood.
- StarsKen StottFrances GreyJamie DravenAfter two horribly mutilated bodies are discovered, DCI Red Metcalfe is assigned to the case and plunged head-on into a nightmare.
- CreatorBarbara MachinStarsTrevor EveSue JohnstonWil JohnsonDrama series following a team of detectives who investigate unsolved murders using modern technology.
- CreatorRichard WarlowStarsMatthew MacfadyenAdam RothenbergMyAnna BuringThe streets of Whitechapel are the haunt of Detective Inspector Edmund Reid and his team of officers, who aim to maintain law and order in a place once terrorized by Jack the Ripper.
- CreatorChris ChibnallStarsDavid TennantOlivia ColmanJodie WhittakerThe murder of a young boy in a small coastal town brings a media frenzy, which threatens to tear the community apart.
- CreatorDaisy CoulamStarsRobson GreenTessa Peake-JonesAl WeaverA Cambridgeshire clergyman finds himself investigating a series of mysterious wrongdoings in his small village of Grantchester.
- CreatorLynda La PlanteStarsKelly ReillyCiarán HindsShaun DingwallA team of dedicated detectives investigate gruesome murders across London.
- CreatorChris LangStarsSanjeev BhaskarJordan LongCarolina MainLondon detectives investigate crimes from the past, unravelling secrets left buried for years.
- CreatorDick WolfStarsBradley WalshRobert GlenisterHarriet WalterUK version of the long-running U.S. TV drama that tells the stories of two separate yet equally important groups: the police, who investigate crime; and the attorneys, who prosecute the offenders.
- StarsStephen TompkinsonJack DeamAndrea LoweTenacious and stubborn DCI Alan Banks unravels disturbing murder mysteries aided by his young assistants, DS Annie Cabbot and DI Helen Morton.
- CreatorSally WainwrightDiane TaylorStarsSuranne JonesLesley SharpTony MooneyDetectives Janet Scott & Rachel Bailey investigate murders with Manchester Police's Major Incident Team.
- CreatorBen RichardsNeil CrossStarsAndrew BuchanJody LathamTamzin OuthwaiteEx-special forces operative and convicted murderer John Mercer is awarded an early release from prison on the condition that he becomes an assassin for the government.
- CreatorCath StaincliffeStarsCaroline QuentinIan KelseyPaul LoughranSingle mother DCI Janine Lewis struggles with the problems of bringing up four children while leading her team of detectives in solving high-profile murders.
- CreatorAbi MorganStarsStellan SkarsgårdNicola WalkerAdeel AkhtarJohn River is a brilliant police inspector whose genius lies side-by-side with the fragility of his mind. He is a man haunted by the murder victims whose cases he must lay to rest.
- StarsAnne-Marie DuffRichard RankinJohnny HarrisFormer Greater Manchester Police officer Claire Church's peaceful existence in the Western Isles is shattered when four bodies linked to her previous investigations are unearthed.
- CreatorDaragh CarvilleRichard ClarkStarsDaniel RyanErin ShanagherAndrew DowbigginPolice in the Morecambe Bay area in Lancashire investigate missing persons and suspicious deaths.
- StarsEmilia FoxDavid CavesWilliam GaminaraA team of exceptional forensic pathologists and scientists investigate heinous crimes and use their skills to catch the people responsible.
- CreatorEd WhitmoreStarsAidan GillenKeeley HawesHolly AirdA drama series following an elite police unit formed to combat the explosion of identity-related crime.
- CreatorJed MercurioStarsRichard MaddenSophie RundleVincent FranklinTroubled war veteran turned Police Officer David Budd is assigned to the Metropolitan Police's Specialist Protection Branch.
- StarsStephen DillaneClémence PoésyCédric VieiraA prominent French politician is found dead on the border between the U.K. and France, and two agents must work together on behalf of their respective countries to find the murderer.
- CreatorHans RosenfeldtNicola LarderStarsAnna FrielRay PanthakiJack DoolanMarcella Backland left the Metropolitan Police for the sake of her family, only to have her husband leave her. She returns to her job on the murder squad, investigating a case that seems disturbingly familiar to her.
- CreatorBill GallagherStarsIndira VarmaRobert GlenisterDino FetscherThe murder of a female GP in a rural playground in front of numerous witnesses draws a group of detectives into an ever-darkening mystery that takes them across Europe, aided by mysterious notes sent by the "Ghost Detective".
- CreatorJane CampionGerard LeeStarsElisabeth MossDavid WenhamPeter MullanObsessed with the disappearance of a 12-year-old pregnant girl near a freezing lake in New Zealand, a brave detective will find herself up against small-town secrets and a side of herself that was meticulously kept at bay.
- CreatorRobert ThorogoodStarsElizabeth BourgineDon WarringtonDanny John-JulesCultures collide when British Detective Inspector is transferred from England to the Caribbean island of Saint Marie to head the island's police department.
- CreatorRachel FlowerdayTahsin GunerStarsMark WilliamsJohn BurtonSorcha CusackIn the early 1950s, Father Brown, a Roman Catholic priest based in the fictional Cotswold village of Kembleford, uses his distinctive skills to solve various crimes.
- StarsRachael StirlingJulie GrahamSophie RundleIn 1952, four women who worked at the wartime code-breaking centre, Bletchley Park, reunite to track down a serial killer.
- StarsNathaniel ParkerSharon SmallLesley VickerageBritish crime investigation series based around aristocratic, Oxford-educated Detective Inspector Thomas Lynley and his working-class assistant Sergeant Barbara Havers.
- CreatorMatthew GrahamTony JordanAshley PharoahStarsJohn SimmPhilip GlenisterLiz WhiteAfter a near-fatal car accident, smart, savvy, sharp-suited detective Sam is mysteriously transported back to 1973. Confused by his new surroundings, Sam tries to return to the present, but the police force of long ago needs his help.
- StarsCarey MulliganNathaniel Martello-WhiteHayley SquiresInvestigating the murder of a pizza delivery man, a London detective uncovers a tangled conspiracy involving drug dealers, smugglers and spies.
- CreatorSarah PhelpsStarsSarah GreeneKillian ScottMichael D'ArcyIn the Dublin Murder Squad, Garda detectives Rob Reilly and Cassie Maddox investigate murder cases that tap into Ireland's past and also touch on their own personal lives.
- StarsNcuti GatwaPeter MullanCharlotte SpencerStewart Gilmour returns to his childhood home and tries to discover the truth behind his best friend's death.
- CreatorKate BrookeStarsSarah ParishRyan McKenAdam LongA dark thriller surrounding Elizabeth Bancroft, a senior detective with explosive secrets.
- CreatorDeclan CroghanOliver FramptonStarsHayley AtwellRichard CoyleJulian Lewis JonesA rookie cop is obsessed with tracking down the killer of a 15-year-old girl, who she hunts over the course of 28 years.
- CreatorDominique MoloneyStarsCharles De'AthJohn BowlerJennie JacquesThe daily challenges facing the first Woman Police Constable to join a West Midlands force in the 1950s, where sexism, chauvinism and petty grudges are rife.
- StarsSinéad KeenanBrían F. O'ByrneMatthew DevlinThe true story of the 2007 murder of Rhys Jones in Liverpool. The story of the aftermath and police investigation.
- CreatorM.C. BeatonStarsAshley JensenMatt McCooeyLucy LiemannThe Cotswolds-based PR guru turned amateur sleuth returns for a series of comedic murder-mysteries based on the books by M.C. Beaton.
- CreatorBen ChananStarsHolliday GraingerBen MilesLia WilliamsWhen a British soldier is charged with a crime, the tenacious young detective handling his case begins to uncover a conspiracy.
- CreatorAnthony HorowitzStarsMichael KitchenHoneysuckle WeeksAnthony HowellAs WWII rages, DCS Foyle fights his own war on the home-front; investigating crime on the south coast of England. Later series, see the retired detective working as an MI5 agent in the aftermath of the war.(women appear in the photo for later series)
- StarsAlistair McGowanJessica OyelowoLouise BrealeyCharismatic detective wise-cracks his way through murder mysteries.
- StarsMyAnna BuringBen BattDavid LeonAs she deals with an unexpected pregnancy, D.I. Helen Weeks must return to the hometown she loathes, to help her childhood best friend who is in the centre of a media frenzy following the abduction of two teenage girls.
- CreatorPaul Matthew ThompsonJude TindallStarsMark BentonJo JoynerPatrick Walshe McBrideAn oddball couple of private detectives named Luella Shakespeare and Frank Hathaway investigate crime in Stratford-upon-Avon.
- CreatorSally AbbottStarsClaire GooseMatt BardockBeatie EdneyA solicitor returns to the seaside town she left as a teenager to take up the post of coroner, becoming an advocate for the dead as she investigates sudden, violent or unexplained deaths.
- StarsJosh SilverLeo WringerTerenia EdwardsA diamond goes missing after a party at an English country house, and numerous suspects have a motive for its disappearance.
- StarsNeil DudgeonDiana RiggPeter DavisonPaired with her reliable and devoted chauffeur, Mrs Bradley's finely honed skills of investigation seek out the truth behind the mysteries surrounding a death at the opera, crimes of passion at a circus, poisoning and family secrets.
- DirectorBrian PercivalStarsBillie PiperMatt SmithSian ThomasIn Victorian England, a young woman searches for a priceless ruby and uncovers even greater mysteries.
- StarsElaine CassidyMorten SuurballeAngeline BallWhen her husband, Lee, is murdered, Sarah Manning comes to realize that she knows nothing about his past. Sarah begins to question who Lee actually was and what he did in his work for a powerful global organization.
- StarsJessica RaineDavid WalliamsJames FleetAgatha Christie's crime-fighting duo, Tommy and Tuppence Beresford, solve mysteries and search for enemy spies in 1950s Britain.
- StarsMaeve DermodyCharles DanceToby StephensTen strangers are invited to an island by a mysterious host, and start to get killed one by one. Could one of them be the killer?
- CreatorMatt CharmanStarsSheridan SmithMatthew McNultyOliver WoollfordA policewoman sets out to discover who murdered her husband, an undercover officer.
- CreatorMark AndrewEd TalfanStarsSian Reese-WilliamsSion Alun DaviesVictoria PughPolice investigate when the body of a girl is found in a lake.
- CreatorMatthew HallStarsEve MylesBradley FreegardMark Lewis JonesFaith, a small-town Welsh lawyer, is forced to cut short her extended maternity leave when her husband and business partner, Evan, goes missing. As the truth of his actions surface, Faith must fight to protect her family and her sanity.
- DirectorNicholas LaughlandStarsSomerset PrewGeorgia TennantFrancesca FowlerLife for Dee Stanton is improving at every turn. Her legal career is blossoming and her boyfriend Dominic unexpectedly proposes to her. Things were very different 11 years ago when her husband Paul was jailed for the brutal murders of four girls and Dee was hounded from her home. Dee has kept all this a secret from her 15-year-old son Jamie. Now he has discovered the truth about his father and demands to see him.
- StarsJim McMeekinLaura FraserSiobhan FinneranThe search for a serial killer becomes a matter of life and death for detective Annie Redford, who is trying to cope with her first murder case.
- CreatorPaul MarquessStarsHugo SpeerSharon SmallBailey PatrickDrama series following the detectives of an elite murder investigation squad in London.
- StarsGerard MurphyJames SaxonRichard O'CallaghanFrom deep within the morgue at St. Patrick's Hospital in London's East End, Dr. Iain McCallum and Dr. Angela Moloney along with a team of brilliant pathologists and detectives help the dead tell their stories.
- DirectorRichard StandevenStarsPatrick PolettiFiona ShawFinbar LynchA former nun turned criminal profiler is called in to investigate the horrific ritualistic murders of two middle aged women. Starring Fiona Shaw, Chiwetel Ejiofor and Colin Salmon.
- CreatorShaun MicallefTim PyeJason StephensStarsShaun MicallefKat StewartJonny PasvolskyThe series follows the adventures of married couple Nicola and Charlie Buchanan, who run an industrial cleaning business while solving the most baffling murder mysteries.
- CreatorNick CollinsStarsCaroline CatzLisa FaulknerJeremy SheffieldThe series focused on various murders in the fictional suburban English town of Middleford. The crimes are solved by two female police detectives, Inspector Kate Ashurst and Sergeant Emma Scribbins, aka "Ash and Scribbs".
- CreatorPaul MarquessStarsLindsey CoulsonRichard HopeMichael McKellA London MIT investigates a number of gruesome murders.
- DirectorKenneth BranaghStarsKenneth BranaghPenélope CruzWillem DafoeWhen a murder occurs on the train on which he's travelling, celebrated detective Hercule Poirot is recruited to solve the case.
- StarsRobbie ColtraneAmanda HaleBel PowleyA thriller that tells a traumatic murder story through the eyes of three central characters: Carrie the daughter of the murdered woman, Douglas Hain the detective in charge of the investigation, and Sally the murder victim.
- CreatorPaul AbbottStarsJoanna ScanlanElaine CassidyWill MellorFollows a group of police officers on the front line wondering what they did to end up where they are now, on the ugly side of Manchester.
- CreatorJulie GeareyStarsPippa HaywoodPolly WalkerPhoebe DynevorGemma's perfect life comes crashing down when her husband is arrested for murder. As Gemma learns to navigate the prison system, she starts to think the unthinkable.
- CreatorJulian UnthankStarsMartin TrenamanJulie GrahamSarah WoodwardThree crime-writing sisters and their 28-year old niece use their extensive knowledge of crime to solve whodunit style murders in the picturesque English village of Wildemarsh.
- DirectorMichael WhyteStarsAmanda BurtonMatthew MarshNicholas JonesCommander Clare Blake has risen to the top of her profession in the male-dominated Metropolitan Police Service and is now the head of the serious crimes unit. Some years previously she arrested James Lampton for murder. He was subsequently sentenced to life in prison but is now out on parole and is a successful author with a best-selling book. Blake's colleagues however, especially DCI Mike Hedges, believe Lampton is responsible for another murder and are out to prove his guilt. Things become complicated when Blake and Lampton become intimate and the question arises whether he is being honest with her or is simply a master manipulator.
- StarsPeter CoyoteAden YoungCamille SullivanDuring a treasure hunt, on his 10th birthday, Anthony Sullivan inexplicably disappears. During the subsequent investigation long-buried familial secrets are uncovered with devastating consequences.
- StarsMatt CostelloJayd JohnsonBronagh GallagherGlasgow 1982, a young girl investigates mysterious murders in a world of men.
- StarsKarla CromeLaura HaddockLindsey CoulsonThis gripping Acorn TV Original features "a great cast and a twist-filled plot" (Evening Standard, UK). DS Nancy Devlin is a good cop with a dark secret: drug trafficker Frank Le Saux is like a father to her.
- StarsMyAnna BuringMatthew GoodeOphelia LovibondA haunted woman will go to any lengths necessary to protect her family and the secrets she keeps from them.
- DirectorBenjamin RossStarsJoe AbsolomJaleh AlpFreddie Annobil-DodooDI Tom Thorne hunts for a psychopath who may have formed a depraved partnership.
- CreatorHoward OvermanStarsToby StephensRonny JhuttiRoger GriffithsTwo Detectives Jack and Georgina who share chemistry but have complicated personal lives.
- DirectorDavid RichardsStarsMichael KitchenSophie OkonedoPhyllis Logan"Alibi" is a thriller with a bit of romance and touches of black humour along the way. Greg is discovered with the dead body of his wife's lover by Marcey, a public servant moonlighting as a waitress at a party thrown by Greg for his and his wife's wedding anniversary. Marcey sets about 'organising' the slightly neurotic Greg in his attempts to cover up the 'accident'.
- CreatorSophie PetzalStarsAdrian DunbarGrainne KeenanSeán DugganCat Hogan returns to West Meath upon her mother's sudden death--she had an accident at home and died (or was it an accident?). Blood is about old secrets, older betrayals, mind games, and the lies family tell each other.
- StarsGenevieve BarrDouglas HenshallDervla KirwanAn eighteen-year-old struggling to integrate into a hearing world following cochlear implantation witnesses the murder of a police officer. The subsequent investigation unravels a net of police corruption.
- StarsAnna FrielMarc WarrenBarnaby KayEllie's beloved husband is killed in a car accident. A woman was in the car with him and killed too. Who was she? Was he having an affair? Was it an accident?
- StarsDavid TennantCush JumboMatthew McNultyWhen a seemingly perfect and happy family is murdered by someone they knew and trusted, cracks appear on the surface of a supposedly idyllic community.
- CreatorJohn MortonStarsMichael SmileyKerr LoganEileen O'HigginsSet in 1880s Ireland in the Victorian-era heyday of 'postmortem photography,' the six-episode period drama follows a renowned memorial photographer who is drawn into a series of apparent murders that appear to be linked to his work.
- StarsMartin FreemanSiobhan FinneranImelda StauntonDSU Stephen Fulcher intends on catching a killer of a missing woman, even if that may cost him his career and reputation.
- StarsTakehiro HiraKelly MacdonaldYôsuke KubozukaA detective from Tokyo scours London for his missing brother, who's been involved with the Yakuza and accused of murder.
- StarsLynn RaffertySean FoxOrla FitzgeraldShowcases the violent death of a young Nigerian migrant. The investigation brings us into a twilight world of the new Ireland, where slum landlords and criminals prey on the vulnerable.
- StarsSophie RundleMartin CompstonDavid HaymanA teenage girl in Glasgow agrees to carry a baby for couple Dan and Emily.
- DirectorNorman StoneStarsJoan HicksonClaire BloomBarry NewmanAt a reception for a fading film star making a screen comeback, a gushing, pushy fan is poisoned by a drink apparently meant for the actress.
- DirectorJohn AlexanderStarsJared HarrisDoña CrollDavid HarewoodSally Lockhart and friends investigate the disappearance of a steamship, a magician who is threatened by thugs, a psychic with dark visions, and a heartless industrialist.
- StarsJack ShepherdHelen MastersJimmy YuillSet in Cornwall, Detective Superintendent Charles Wycliffe, who works along with his colleagues DI Doug Kersey and DI Lucy Lane, investigates murder cases with his trademark determination and clinical accuracy.
- CreatorLynda La PlanteStarsMiriam MargolyesLarry LambStella GonetFollows an experimental unit of Britain's best undercover police officers.
- CreatorSimon BurkeAnya CamilleriStarsMark WomackSamantha WomackTom GeorgesonTensions run high in this gritty police drama set in the heart of Liverpool's underworld.
- StarsRobert CarlyleRalph RiachBrian PettiferHamish Macbeth is a police constable in the small Scottish town of Lochdubh, who occasionally bends the rules when it suits him or when it can help some of his fellow eccentric townsfolk.
- CreatorDarren FairhurstSteve HughesPaul MarquessStarsDamien MolonyClare-Hope AshiteyFay RipleyAn unscripted crime/drama series centered on a team of three detectives - each with their own distinctive style of working.
- CreatorRobert MurphyStarsJason WatkinsTala GouveiaLily SacofskyA shy and enigmatic Detective Sergeant is partnered with a wildly ambitious Detective Chief Inspector to solve crimes in the historic city of Bath.
- CreatorJ.C. WilsherStarsNeil PearsonTom GeorgesonSiobhan RedmondBritish police drama following the team at the Complaints Investigation Bureau - the unit that polices the police.