The Detectives: Story, Cast and Series Facts

Story and premise

The Detectives is a British comedy television series, starring Jasper Carrott, Robert Powell, and George Sewell. It aired on BBC One, and was a spoof of police dramas. It was written by Mike Whitehill and Steve Knight.

The Detectives originated from a five-minute sketch that first appeared on Jasper Carrott's sketch/stand-up show Canned Carrott. Because of its success, it was turned into a television series. There were a few differences from the sketch to the TV series, such as Dave Briggs being married in the sketch (to Brenda), yet both he and Louis are single and hopeless at romance in the series, and according to one plotline both virgins.

Jasper Carrott and Robert Powell play the bumbling detective constables Bob Louis and David Briggs. They were hopeless at their job, to the despair of their "super" Frank Cottam (played by Sewell). However, they usually ended up solving their cases and retaining their jobs, though they came close to being fired on occasion. Louis was more downbeat, whereas Briggs tried to emulate the gung-ho cops shown on TV and in film.

Series details

• Title: The Detectives
• Format: Scripted
• Language: English
• Genres: Comedy
• Premiere date: 1993-01-27
• Final broadcast date listed: 1997-12-28
• Status in TVmaze: Ended
• Network listed by TVmaze: BBC One
• Network country: United Kingdom
• Typical episode runtime: 30 minutes
• TVMaze ID: 10005
• IMDb ID: tt0096565
• TVDB ID: 76746

Cast and credited roles

• Jasper Carrott — Bob Louis
• Robert Powell — Dave Briggs

Seasons in the TVmaze catalogue

• Season 1: premiered 1993-01-27; final listed air date 1993-03-03; episode order: 6.
• Season 2: premiered 1994-03-02; final listed air date 1994-04-06; episode order: 6.
• Season 3: premiered 1995-01-09; final listed air date 1995-12-23; episode order: 6.
• Season 4: premiered 1996-02-15; final listed air date 1996-03-14; episode order: 5.
• Season 5: premiered 1997-01-14; final listed air date 1997-12-28; episode order: 6.

Source and licence

Adapted from The Detectives on TVmaze. The synopsis is reproduced as plain text; catalogue facts, cast and season records are selected and reformatted. This adapted text is available under CC BY-SA 4.0, following the TVmaze API licence. Network and web-channel credits identify the service listed in this source; they do not establish current streaming availability.