Policeman John Simm woke from a car crash in 2006 to find he’d somehow been whisked back to 1973 and teamed up with maverick DCI Gene Hunt ( Philip Glenister).
“You’re an overweight, over-the-hill, nicotine-stained, borderline alcoholic homophobe.” “You make that sound like a bad thing.” The time-travelling procedural worked as both a nostalgic period piece and as a compelling crime drama in its own right. Policeman John Simm woke from a car crash in 2006 to find he’d somehow been whisked back to 1973 and teamed up with maverick DCI Gene Hunt ( Philip Glenister). A paean to cop shows of the past, its fish-out-of-water theme, over-arching mystery and decidedly unreconstructed scripts made an irresistible combo. Eighties-set sequel Ashes to Ashes saw “the Gene Genie” form a double act with Keeley Hawes. Fire up the Cortina/Quattro (*delete according to decade).