Just An Ordinary Copper?

There has been much fuss about Midsomer Murders lately, and Brian True-May [long time producer] has resigned. The reason being that the series “does not accurately portray the diverse multi-cultural richness of the British Population”

After careful research on your behalf [I know you have better things to do - like the ironing*] I have established** the reason that all the actors are white Englishmen [and women] - Equity have inserted an arcane clause in the production team’s contract which states

“No actor may appear in MM unless they have previously played the part of a police officer, a police officer’s close relation, or a QC, in another TV police series”

I am not kidding – I looked at the most recent episode of MM, and after studying the ten most recognised faces on the cast list, I came up with this

• Neil Pearson [DS Tony Clark, Between the Lines]
• Beth Goddard [Wife of Philip Glenister – DCI Gene Hunt, and she played opposite him in Ashes to Ashes]
• Julian Ovenden [he played Andrew, son of DCS Foyle]
• Abigail McKern [her dad, Leo, was Rumpole of the Bailey and she was a DC in a Ruth Rendell Mystery]
• John Quentin [years acting in cop shows…The Detectives, No Hiding Place, Kavanagh, Crown Court – altho he is usually a QC not a PC]
• Jeff Rawle [bit parts in every cop series going Dalziell&Pascoe, Van der Valk, Heartbeat, Frost, New Tricks, The Bill …he’s been a Sergeant and an Inspector]
• Haydn Gwynne [Supt Suzy Blake in The Mersey Beat, as well as roles in New Tricks and Dalziell&Pascoe]
• Fiona Dolman, the new Mrs Barnaby [Jackie Bradley, the solicitor married to PC Bradley in Heartbeat]
• Edward Fox [of the Fox dynasty] whose nephew Laurence plays ‘Sgt Hathaway’ in Lewis, was himself an Asst Commissioner in Foyle, and an Inspector in Marple

and finally

• Phyllida Law [she’s Emma Thompson’s Mum] in her early career played Sgt Becket in Dixon of Dock Green

Essential Saturday night viewing in my childhood!

 

So next time you are watching MM with your beloved, and one of you says “Look that’s whatsisname from…ermm…”  they just need to select any title from this list The Bill/ Morse/ Foyle’s War/ Dalziell/ Lewis/ Heartbeat/ Frost/ New Tricks, and they will be right!!

*yeah, I too have a mountain of ironing to do…

**I wish I had discovered this a week ago, I could have sold the idea to The Guardian for their April Fool’s Day edition]