Dempsey & Makepeace

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Dempsey And Makepeace
Main title card.
Genre	Action adventure
Running time	50 minutes
Creator(s)	Ranald Graham
Starring	Michael Brandon Glynis Barber Ray Smith Tony Osoba
Country of origin	UK
Original channel	ITV
Original run	1985–1986
No. of episodes	30
IMDb profile

Dempsey & Makepeace (1984-86) is a British television crime drama, which was made by London Weekend Television for ITV. Its leading roles were played by Glynis Barber and Michael Brandon. The two actors later married on November 18, 1989.

The premise of "Dempsey and Makepeace" is the oddball pairing of two police detectives: an elegant English noblewoman, Sgt. Harriet Makepeace, and a streetwise working-class New Yorker, Lt. James Dempsey. When his partner Joey dies in a botched drugs operation and he uncovers police corruption at the highest level, Dempsey is under threat of assassination. With the help of his colleagues, he hurriedly leaves New York for London, on the pretense of an undercover international police exchange program.

Harriet Makepeace is the daughter of Lord Winfield. Lord Winfield owns a stately manor in the English countryside. Reference is made to his having been perhaps in the army or secret service. Harry's grandfather is mentioned as an eccentric "Victorian" collector of antiques and rare items. Harry's mother is mentioned only once, by Harry's maternal uncle, Duffy and it would seem the mother had passed away some time ago. Harry has made her way up through the ranks of the police force despite male chauvanism and the physical demands of the job.

Although there is initial reluctance on both sides, Harry and Dempsey work as partners in a specialised task force, SI 10 and they make a good team. SI 10 is under the command of the 'George Cowleyesque' Gordon Spikings, played by the late Ray Smith. A fourth regular role is that of Chas, played by Tony Osoba. Chas provides useful research and communications in the SI 10 office and occasionally shoots his gun.

There were two double length episodes produced. The first was the pilot, "Armed and Extremely Dangerous" and the second was the leading episode of season three, "The Burning".

The series' three seasons attained great popularity in the United Kingdom with, it is said, 14 to 20 million viewers at times. The program was sold to many countries in Europe and around the world, including the United States. Dempsey & Makepeace merchandise such as jigsaw puzzles, children's annuals and replica toy cars were produced. At the height of the series popularity and during season two particularly, the British tabloid press hounded the lead actors for off screen stories regarding their then budding personal relationship.

Much of the show's draw came from the good natured "will they or won't they" interplay and a suspected slowly evolving romance between the main protagonists, made possible by the obvious chemistry between the two lead actors. The show ended on a high note in an episode directed by Michael Brandon himself where Dempsey and Makepeace are forced to confront at least some of their feelings for one another.

1 Main cast
2 DVD Release
3 See also
4 External links

[edit] Main cast

Glynis Barber Det. Sgt. Harriet Makepeace
Michael Brandon Lt. James Dempsey
Tony Osoba Det. Sgt. Charles Jarvis
Ray Smith Chief Supt. Gordon Spikings

[edit] DVD Release

The first series (of three) is available on DVD (Region 2, UK) from Network and includes interviews and audio commentary on selected episodes with both Michael Brandon and Glynis Barber. Series two is now available. It contains media interviews with Barber and Brandon from 1986 and 1996. Season three is pending.

In Poland, D&M DVD were released in 2004-2005 and added regularly to a TV-magazine first, and then released again and put to a regular sale. There were no extras, though.