Cuffs is a crime drama series depicting the lives of front-line police officers within Brighton and the surrounding area of Sussex serving within the fictional South Sussex Police service. The series aired on BBC One, with episode one first transmitted on 28 October 2015.[2]
| Cuffs | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Police procedural |
| Created by | Julie Gearey[1] |
| Starring | |
| Composer | Walter Mair |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language | English |
| No. of series | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 8 (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producers | Will Gould Julie Gearey |
| Producer | Trevor Hopkins |
| Production locations | Brighton, Shoreham-by-Sea and Worthing, England |
| Running time | 60 minutes |
| Production company | Tiger Aspect Productions |
| Original release | |
| Network | BBC One |
| Release | 28 October – 16 December 2015 |
On 17 December 2015, the day after the final episode, the BBC confirmed that the show had been cancelled after one series in order to "create space for new shows".[3] The announcement was criticised by many of the actors and a petition was created in an attempt to encourage the BBC to create another series. Attempts, however, were unsuccessful.[4]
Synopsis
editThe series focuses on the personal lives of the characters, against a backdrop of typical incidents faced by modern front-line police officers and more comedic ones such as hooligans harassing naturists on a nudist beach and reports of 'dog-napping' in a middle-class neighbourhood.[5] The eight-part series was the first police-based drama to be broadcast by the channel since the Holby City spin-off HolbyBlue was aired in 2007, and it shared the same eight o'clock slot.[6]
Principal cast
editMain characters
edit- Ashley Walters as PC Ryan Draper[7] – Jake's partner and Tutor Constable. He is a widower and father of a son and daughter.
- Jacob Ifan as PC Jake Vickers[7] – the son of Chief Superintendent Robert Vickers. He is gay and is struggling as a new recruit.
- Amanda Abbington as DS Jo Moffat[7] – an investigator who is having an affair with Robert. She is divorced and lives alone with her ageing German Shepherd.
- Peter Sullivan as Chief Superintendent Robert Vickers[7] – Jake's father. His wife is suffering from cancer.
- Shaun Dooley as DC Carl Hawkins[7] – a junior investigator originally from Yorkshire. He is married with children and trying for another with his wife.
- Paul Ready as DI Felix Kane[7] – a mysterious and stoic senior investigator with a troubled personal life.
- Alex Carter as PC Lino Moretti[7] – an out-of-shape cop who is proud of his Italian heritage. He is Donna's partner.
- Eleanor Matsuura as PC Donna Prager [7] – Lino's partner, and an authorised Taser officer.
Supporting characters
edit- Karen Bryson as Custody Sgt Melanie Pyke[8]
- Bhavna Limbachia as PC Misha Baig[7] – a Muslim police officer stationed at Brighton Central police station.
- Robbie Gee as Inspector Graham Webb,[8] the duty inspector at Brighton Central police station.
- Andrew Hawley as Simon Reddington[9] – a lawyer and the duty solicitor at Brighton Central police station who has an attraction to Jake.
- Clare Burt as Debbie Vickers – Robert's wife and Jake's mother who is fighting cancer.
- Pippa Nixon as Alice Gove – Donna's wife, an artist.
Episodes
edit| No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | UK viewers (millions)[10] | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Luck of the Draw" | Anthony Philipson | Julie Gearey | 28 October 2015 | 5.50 | |
|
On his first day working with Ryan, rookie cop Jake faces a challenging shift on the Brighton streets. But, being the boss' son, Jake's biggest challenge is earning the respect of his new colleagues. | ||||||
| 2 | "A Shock to the System" | Anthony Philipson | Julie Gearey | 4 November 2015 | 4.67 | |
|
Jake is humiliated when he makes a spectacular rookie error on Brighton Pier. Meanwhile, an eccentric drug dealer is finally in Jo's sights and Carl tries his best to be home early for his family tonight. | ||||||
| 3 | "Boys Will Be Boys" | Kieron Hawkes | Julie Gearey | 11 November 2015 | 4.45 | |
|
Carl and Felix investigate a spate of muggings on public schoolboys. Meanwhile, Jo investigates a distressing case that brings Jake and Ryan to blows. | ||||||
| 4 | "Shakedowns and Stakeouts" | Kieron Hawkes | Joe Barton | 18 November 2015 | 4.49 | |
|
CID investigate a drugs death, which leads to Ryan and Jake becoming involved in a stakeout for Carl and Felix. Meanwhile, Vickers spends the night with Jo. | ||||||
| 5 | "Another Dysfunctional Family" | Nick Rowland | Julie Gearey | 25 November 2015 | Under 4.01 | |
|
Felix investigates a kidnapping case of a disabled wife of a bank manager. Jo isn't coping well with Robert's rejection and turns to Carl. Jake struggles to forgive his father. | ||||||
| 6 | "Cupid's Arrow" | Nick Rowland | Nancy Harris | 2 December 2015 | Under 3.98 | |
|
Following revelations about his son, Ryan loses his temper. Carl's personal life threatens a high-stakes case, and a runaway iguana plays cupid for Lino. | ||||||
| 7 | "Drastic Action" | Bill Eagles | Julie Gearey | 9 December 2015 | Under 3.89 | |
|
When she's held at gunpoint, Donna's quick thinking saves the day but has personal ramifications. And as Felix and Carl investigate the disappearance of a teenager, Carl gets a disturbing insight into his boss' life. | ||||||
| 8 | "Bringing a Knife to a Gunfight" | Bill Eagles | Julie Gearey | 16 December 2015 | Under 3.96 | |
|
An ex-squaddie suffering from PTSD loses his grip on reality and endangers the team. As Jake realises he can't trust his lawyer boyfriend, Robert is forced to confront the consequences of his marital betrayal. | ||||||
Broadcast
editInternationally, the series premiered in New Zealand on TV One in January 2016. ABC in Australia later began airing the show in February 2016.[11]
References
edit- ^ "BBC - BBC One drama Cuffs announces cast and commences filming in Brighton - Media Centre". bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 1 November 2015.
- ^ Paul Evans. "Cuffs (TV Series 2015– )". IMDb. Retrieved 1 November 2015.
- ^ "Cuffs is cancelled, Amanda Abbington and the cast are "gutted"". radiotimes.com. Radio Times. 17 December 2015. Retrieved 17 December 2015.
- ^ "Petition to save Cuffs hits 5,000 signatures and rising".
- ^ Luke. "The Custard TV: New BBC1 drama CUFFS get air date". thecustardtv.com. Archived from the original on 22 November 2015. Retrieved 1 November 2015.
- ^ "Cuffs, BBC1". broadcastnow.co.uk. Retrieved 1 November 2015.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i "Cuffs – meet the cast". radiotimes.com. Radio Times. 28 October 2015. Retrieved 18 November 2015.
- ^ a b "Cuffs Episode 3 Credits". bbc.co.uk. BBC. 11 November 2015. Retrieved 18 November 2015.
- ^ "Arresting television – We talk the importance of gay characters with Cuffs". gaytimes.co.uk. Gay Times. 28 October 2015. Archived from the original on 19 November 2015. Retrieved 18 November 2015.
- ^ "Weekly Top 10 Programmes". BARB. Retrieved 26 February 2015.
- ^ Knox, David (27 January 2016). "Airdate: Cuffs". TV Tonight. Retrieved 27 January 2016.
External links
edit- Cuffs at BBC Online
- Cuffs at IMDb
