Helen Mirren was hard-living, tough-talking and unapologetically feminist as ambitious DCI Jane Tennison, investigating bleak crimes while fighting against institutionalised sexism in the Met.
If Cagney and Lacey blazed the trail for female TV detectives, Lynda LaPlante’s masterpiece was Britain’s answer, taking a sledgehammer to perceptions of women in the force. Helen Mirren was hard-living, tough-talking and unapologetically feminist as ambitious DCI Jane Tennison, investigating bleak crimes while fighting against institutionalised sexism in the Met. Across seven series, Tennison’s inner demons would overwhelm her, but never at the expense of the riveting whodunits. Mirren’s performance was so utterly convincing, it sometimes gets taken for granted exactly how great it was.