30 August 1980 (1980-08-30) – 21 December 1985 (1985-12-21)
Juliet Bravo is a British televisionpolice procedural drama series, first broadcast on 30 August 1980,[1] that ran for six series and a total of 88 episodes on BBC1.[2] The theme of the series concerned a female police inspector who took over control of a police station in the fictional town of Hartley in Lancashire. The lead role of Inspector Jean Darblay was played by Stephanie Turner in series 1 to 3, but in series 4 to 6 she was replaced by Anna Carteret for the role of Inspector Kate Longton. Carteret remained with the series until its conclusion in 1985.[3]
The series was devised by Ian Kennedy Martin, who had already enjoyed success with another police drama series, The Sweeney. Although the genre of police dramas was well-established on British television by 1980, Juliet Bravo and London Weekend Television's The Gentle Touch, which started a few months earlier, were the first series that saw female officers as lead characters, having to fight both crime and the prejudice of male colleagues.[4] Kennedy Martin based the character of Jean Darblay on a real female police inspector, Wynne Darwin.[5]
UKTV’s Drama channel reran all six series in 2018 and again in early 2019. The series had previously been repeated in its entirety on the cable and satellite channel UK Gold from the launch in 1992 until 2001.[citation needed]
Bacup police station acted as Hartley police station.
Filming locations
Studio scenes for the first two series were recorded at BBC Television Centre, Wood Lane in London. From the third series onward, studio scenes were recorded at the BBC's Pebble Mill Studios in Birmingham. Exterior scenes were filmed in the Lancashire towns of Colne, Bacup, Accrington, Nelson, Burnley, Blackburn, Simonstone and Read. Other locations around east Lancashire, West Yorkshire such as Todmorden and the Black Country (Tipton and Dudley) were also used. The exterior of Hartley Police Station seen throughout the entire series run was in fact the real-life police station on Bank Street in the town of Bacup. When the station closed in 2011, a campaign was mounted by fans of the series to save it from demolition and turn it into a museum dedicated to the series' legacy.[6] In 2012 it was purchased by a local developer and turned into 6 new flats.
Merchandise
All six series of Juliet Bravo have been released on DVD by 2|Entertain/Cinema Club. Series 1 was released on 12 September 2005.[7] Series 2 was released on 14 November 2005.[8] Series 3 was released on 20 February 2006.[9] Series 4 was released on 22 May 2006.[10] Series 5 was released on 14 August 2006.[11] Series 6 remained unreleased for over two years after the release of Series 5, until a petition created by fans of the series was delivered to 2|Entertain, requesting the sixth and final series be released on DVD. Series 6 was eventually released on 29 September 2008.[12] Series 1 & 2 have also both been released on Region 4 DVD in Australia.
Aside from the DVD releases, the BBC licensed three TV tie-in novelisations of the show. These were authored by Mollie Hardwick. The first two were published by Pan Books. Juliet Bravo 1 (1980) was a novelisation of the first series episodes Shot Gun, Fraudulently Uttered, The Draughtsman, The Runner and Family Unit.[13]Juliet Bravo 2 (1980) was a novelisation of the first series episodes Cages, The One Who Got Away, Relief and The Anastasia Syndrome.[14] A third novel was published by BBC Books. Calling Juliet Bravo: New Arrivals (1981) was a novelisation of the second series episode New Arrivals and the third series episode Cause For Complaint.[15]
A script book, containing five TV scripts from the first series compiled by Alison Leake, was issued by Longman Imprint Books in February 1983.[16] The theme tune was also released on 7-inch vinyl via BBC Records in 1980.[17]
Down, Richard, and Christopher Perry (eds.). 1997. The British Television Drama Research Guide 1950–1997, second, revised edition. Ashton, Bristol: Kaleidoscope Publishing.
Tibballs, Geoff. 1992. The Boxtree Encyclopedia of TV Detectives. London: Boxtree Limited.
