Bergerac is returning to screens for more sleuthing action on the island of Jersey. But what happened to the stars of the original programme and other classic police dramas from the decade?
It was the coolest cop show of the 1980s! Now Bergerac is returning to screens for more sleuthing action on the sunshine island of Jersey.
The remake, on U, sees Damien Molony take on the role of detective Jim Bergerac, as he solves new cases on the holiday isle.
This follows the news of original Jim Bergerac star John Nettles sharing his thoughts on the reboot and why he turned down the offer of making a cameo on the show.
But what happened to the stars of the original programme and other classic British police dramas from the decade?
Bergerac
Famous for driving around Jersey catching criminals in his red Triumph Roadster, John Nettles was a heartthrob as Detective Sergeant Jim Bergerac in the BBC show, which ran from 1981 to 1991.
Later the twice-married star’s own daughter, Emma, would join the Jersey force for real.
Nettles, now 81, later played DCI Tom Barnaby for 14 years in the long-running crime series Midsomer Murders. He turned down a chance of a cameo in the reboot.
Terence Alexander, who played his wealthy ex-father-in-law Charlie Hungerford in the original, died in 2009 aged 86. Sean Arnold, who played his boss Barney, died in 2020 aged 79, while Louise Jameson, 73, who played his love interest Susan Young, has starred in EastEnders and Emmerdale.
Dempsey and Makepeace
For a while they were the hottest couple on the box. In the ITV show, Glynis Barber played posh police sergeant Lady Harriet Makepeace, who is teamed up with streetwise New York cop Lt James Dempsey. They fight crime in London as part of an elite armed unit called SI 10.
While they never quite got it together on the series, which ran from 1985-1986, the show sparked a real-life romance between the stars who wed in 1989. The couple are still married and have a son.
Barber, now 69, has since starred in EastEnders, Emmerdale and Hollyoaks, while Brandon, now 79, has played talk show host Jerry Springer on stage.
Taggart
Mark McManus played tough-talking DCI Jim Taggart in the gritty ITV series, which started with a pilot in 1983 and was set around Glasgow.
The Scottish-born former boxer starred in over 30 episodes of the show, but battled alcoholism.
His second wife Marion, a crew member on the show, tragically died of cancer and eight months later, in 1994, McManus himself died from pneumonia, aged just 59.
However, the show continued to appear on our screens with other actors until 2010.
Inspector Morse
Having made his name in The Sweeney, John Thaw took on the role of the brainy, opera-loving detective Endeavour Morse in the Oxford-set ITV series, which began in 1987 and was based on the books by Colin Dexter.
Thaw starred in 33 episodes until his character died of a heart attack in 2000. The actor himself, who was married to Sheila Hancock, died from oesophageal cancer just two years later, aged 60.
Kevin Whatley, of Auf Wiedersehen, Pet, fame played Sgt Robbie Lewis and would go on to star in the spin-off series Lewis. He’s now 74.
Many future stars got their break on the original show including Liz Hurley, as a schoolgirl, in a 1988 episode.
The Gentle Touch
Famous for being the first British police show featuring a female lead character, Jill Gascoine starred as Detective Inspector Maggie Forbes in the London based ITV series which ran from 1980 to 1984.
After her hubby, also in the police, is murdered she has to juggle the job and being a single parent.
Gascoine went on to star in the spin off series C.A.T.S. Eyes where she played a private investigator.
She later moved to the US with second husband, actor Alfred Molina, now 71, and starred in American shows and wrote novels. A mum-of-two by her first husband, a hotelier, she sadly died with Alzheimer’s Disease in 2020, aged 83.
Juliet Bravo
The groundbreaking BBC series, which ran from 1980-85, got up to 17 million viewers!
It saw two stars take on the role of different police inspectors in charge of a police station in the fictional town of Hartley in Lancashire.
Stephanie Turner was first, playing Inspector Jean Darblay for three series before leaving worried she’d be typecast. Now 81, she appeared on other shows like Boon and Doctors before retiring from acting in 2010 to run an antiques business.
Her replacement was Anna Carteret, as Inspector Kate Longton, who went on to star in programmes like Casualty. Now 82, she has two children – including actress Hattie Morahan – and says: “People still stop me to ask about Juliet Bravo.”
Bergerac is on U and U&Drama from Thursday, 27th February
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
