A London detective relocates to Newcastle, where his principled but unconventional methods clash with a more traditional police force.
After exposing corruption in the Metropolitan Police, Detective Sergeant Nicky Cole (Don Gilet) accepts a transfer to Newcastle. He is viewed with suspicion by his new colleagues, particularly his superior, the cynical Detective Inspector Dennis Carter (Christian Rodska). Cole’s team includes the world-weary Sergeant Rick Astel (Andrew Dunn) and the ambitious Detective Sergeant Patrick Yates (Darren Morfitt). His only real ally is solicitor Claire Maxwell (Dervla Kirwan), who becomes a personal and professional confidante. The first season follows Cole’s efforts to win the trust of his team while solving a series of major crimes. In the second season, DCI Russell Bing (Mark Lewis Jones) takes over the unit, bringing a new, and often antagonistic, dynamic.
The series uses the classic “fish out of water” framework to build a character-led police drama. Nicky Cole is a quintessential modern detective: instinctive, media-savvy, and with a flexible moral code that often puts him in opposition to the provincial, by-the-book methods of the Newcastle force. The programme’s main strength is the tension between Cole’s maverick tendencies and the ingrained scepticism of his colleagues. The city of Newcastle is used to great effect, with the production making full use of its distinctive architecture to create a strong sense of place that sets it apart from more generic urban crime serials.
Broadcast: BBC One, 14 Episodes, 6 July 2004 – 10 July 2005
Creator: Timothy Prager
Executive Producers: Barbara McKissack, Adrian Bate, Alan Fairholm, Amanda Millen
Producers: Jo Wright, Jacinta Peel
Main Cast: Don Gilet (DS Nicky Cole), Dervla Kirwan (Claire Maxwell), Christian Rodska (DCI Dennis Carter), Mark Stobbart (PC Martin Clark), Andrew Dunn (Sgt Rick Astel), Michael Hodgson (DS Frank Maguire), George Harris (Errol Hill), Jaeden Burke (Matty Cole), Darren Morfitt (DS Patrick Yates), Mark Lewis Jones (DCI Russell Bing)
