Complete list of 1980s British detective series

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Browse British detective series by decade or return to the TV Detective Database:

Below is a complete list of British detective/mystery/crime series from the 1980s. This includes series that started prior to 1980 and continued into the decade, as well as shows that started in the 1980s and continued into the 1990s.

Clicking on a title link in the list below will take you to my post about that specific show (if I have created one). Additionally, the list also includes information and links to places where you can watch/stream the show online or purchase the series on DVD. The final column includes any additional notes and comments.

Note: Most of the links lead to US sites since most visitors to this website are based in the US. However, many of the DVD releases are in Region 2 format (i.e. are imported from the UK and would require a multi-region DVD player for viewers based in the US). Additionally, wherever possible, I link to “complete” DVD boxed sets; however, in some cases, it may be more economical to purchase individual seasons.

A-B

Show Title	Air Dates	Available to stream?	Available on DVD?	Other notes
P.D. James’ Adam Dalgliesh	1983-2005		The Adam Dalgliesh Chronicles DVD set (Region 2)	Not technically a single series but a collection of TV movies and mini-series based on the books by P.D. James.
Agatha Christie’s Tommy & Tuppence: Partners in Crime	1983-1984	[stream here]	DVD boxed set released by Acorn	Based on the books by Agatha Christie
Agatha Christie’s Poirot	1989-2013	[stream here]	Complete Cases DVD collection	Based on the books by Agatha Christie

B

Show Title	Air Dates	Available to stream?	Available on DVD?	Other notes
The Baker Street Boys	1983
Bergerac	1981-1991	Streamable via Amazon or BritBox	Complete DVD collection (Region 2)
Bulman	1985-1987		Complete series DVD	A spin-off of Strangers, which was a spin-off of The XXY Man
The Bill	1983-2010	[stream here]

C

Show Title	Air Dates	Available to stream?	Available on DVD?	Other notes
C.A.T.S. Eyes	1985-1987
Campion	1989-1990	[stream here]	Complete collection DVD set (Region 2)
Captain Zep — Space Detective	1983-1984			(children’s programme)
The Chinese Detective	1981-1982
Cribb (a.k.a. Sergeant Cribb)	1979-1981
Crown Court	1972-1984	[stream here]

D-G

Show Title	Air Dates	Available to stream?	Available on DVD?	Other notes
Dempsey and Makepeace	1985-1986		Complete series DVD (Region 2)
The Fear	1988
Floodtide	1987-1988		Complete series DVD (Region 2)
The Gentle Touch	1980-1984	[stream here]	Complete series DVD (Region 2)

I-J

Show Title	Air Dates	Available to stream?	Available on DVD?	Other notes
Inspector Morse	1987-2000	stream on BritBox	Complete series DVD	Produced the spin-off series Inspector Lewis and Endeavour
Jemima Shore Investigates	1983		Complete series DVD (Region 2)	Based on the books by Antonia Fraser.
Juliet Bravo	1980-1985		Individual seasons/series have been released on DVD, starting with [Series 1] and ending with [Series 5]

K-M

Show Title	Air Dates	Available to stream?	Available on DVD?	Other notes
King and Castle	1985-1988
Lovejoy	1986-1994	[stream here]	Complete DVD collection
Maelstrom	1985

P

Show Title	Air Dates	Available to stream?	Available on DVD?	Other notes
Philip Marlowe, Private Eye	1983-1985	[stream here]	[Season 1 DVD]	UK-US co-production
Police 5	1962-1992, 2014
The Professionals	1977-1983		Complete series DVD set

R

Show Title	Air Dates	Available to stream?	Available on DVD?	Other notes
Rockliffe (a.k.a. Rockliffe’s Babies and Rockliffe’s Folly)	1987-1988		Rockliffe’s Babies DVD collection (includes the first two seasons)
The Ruth Rendell Mysteries (a.k.a. The Inspector Wexford Mysteries)	1987-2000	[stream here]	DVD collection	Based on the Inspector Wexford book series by Ruth Rendell.

S

Show Title	Air Dates	Available to stream?	Available on DVD?	Other notes
The Sandbaggers	1978-1980	[stream here]	Complete series DVD (Region 2)
Sherlock Holmes (a.k.a. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, The Return of Sherlock Holmes, The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes, and The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes)	1984-1994	[stream here]	[Complete Granada Television Series DVD set] Individual seasons have also been released on Bluray.	Starring Jeremy Brett
Shoestring	1979-1980		Complete series DVD set (Region 2)
South of the Border	1988-1990
Square Mile of Murder	1980
Star Cops	1987
Strangers	1978-1982

T-V

Show Title	Air Dates	Available to stream?	Available on DVD?	Other notes
Taggart	1985-2010	[stream here]	Various collections have been released on DVD.
Unnatural Causes	1986
Van der Valk	1972-1992	[stream here]	Complete DVD box set	A reboot of the series was also produced in 2020.

W-Z

Show Title	Air Dates	Available to stream?	Available on DVD?	Other notes
Widows	1983-1985
Young Sherlock: The Mystery of the Manor House	1982		DVD set	Eight episode miniseries.
Zastrozzi, A Romance	1986		DVD set (Region 2)	(based on the novel by Percy Besshe Shelly)

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If you know of a show that is missing from the list above, or if you have any other additions or corrections, please let me know in the comments!