Merseybeat (TV series)

For other uses, see Merseybeat (disambiguation).

Merseybeat
Genre
Created byChris Murray
Starring
Theme music composerJonathan Kerrigan (Series 1—3)
Composers
  • Garry Hughes
  • David Lowe
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons4
No. of episodes38 (list of episodes)
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Production
Executive producers
Producers
  • Ken Horn
  • Kay Patrick
  • Chris Ballantyne
  • Maria Ward
Production locationsWidnes, Cheshire
CinematographyGeoff Healey
Editors
  • Ian Collins
  • Mike Bloore
  • John Rosser
Running time60 minutes
Production companyBBC Birmingham
Original release
NetworkBBC One
Release16 July 2001 (2001-07-16) –
19 January 2004 (2004-01-19)
Infobox instructions (only shown in preview)

Merseybeat is a British television police procedural drama series, created and principally written by Chris Murray, first broadcast on BBC One on 16 July 2001. The series follows the personal and professional lives of one shift of police officers from the fictional Newton Park police station in Merseyside, England.[1] A total of four series were broadcast, with the final episode airing on 19 January 2004. The series had an ensemble cast, initially led by Haydn Gwynne as Superintendent Susan Blake. However, only three actors remained with the programme through all four series: John McArdle, Chris Walker and David Hargreaves. In 2001, prior to the programme's official launch, the first episode attracted controversy due to alleged similarities between its plot and the murder of James Bulger. However, BBC bosses defended the series, stating "there are no associations with the tragic case of James Bulger".[2]

In July and August 2002, Merseybeat faced strong criticism upon its return for a second series.[3] The broadcasting standards commission criticised the quality of the series, and ratings fell sharply. In June 2002, ratings fell below five million viewers for the first time in the programme's history[4] and, in August of the same year, The Guardian reported that the number of viewers had dropped by one million compared to the opening episode of the second series.[5] In late 2003, when Merseybeat commenced its fourth series, it underwent a major revamp, including the scrapping of the title sequence and theme tune. A new closing theme was introduced, while each individual episode opened with a different musical number, including tracks from the likes of The Mock Turtles, Travis and Cast.[6] A more "gritty" approach to the series was also taken as part of the revamp, with the introduction of the station's Criminal Investigation Department, led by Mark Womack, formerly of Liverpool 1 as DI Pete Hammond.[6]

For the first three series, filming took place mainly in the Cheshire towns of Widnes and Runcorn (both within the Borough of Halton), including other locations within Merseyside - making frequent use of local landmarks such as the Silver Jubilee Bridge and Fiddlers Ferry power station. The police station itself was a disused Golden Wonder factory, which is located in Widnes. For the fourth and final series, filming moved wholly to Liverpool; with some locations used in St. Helens, Merseyside.[7] The programme is notable for having never been repeated since broadcast; and despite strong interest from fans, it has never been released on DVD. As of October 2023, series 1 and 2 were shown on UKTV Play, and series 3 and 4 were also available on UKTV Play in early 2024. During filming, the original title of the show was Silver Command.

  1. ^ "Merseybeat". BBC. Retrieved 9 July 2016.
  2. ^ "BBC defends police drama". BBC News. 16 July 2001. Retrieved 9 July 2016.
  3. ^ Flett, Kathryn (30 June 2002). "The second series of Merseybeat is more plod than drama, but there's nothing quite as funny as the filthy humour of A Life of Grime". The Guardian. Retrieved 13 December 2009.
  4. ^ Gibson, Owen (9 July 2002). "Merseybeat fails to arrest viewers". The Guardian. Retrieved 9 July 2016.
  5. ^ Cozens, Claire (20 August 2002). "Merseybeat takes a beating". The Guardian. Retrieved 13 December 2009.
  6. ^ a b McLean, Gareth (18 November 2003). "Let's talk about sex". The Guardian. Retrieved 9 July 2016.
  7. ^ "Merseybeat". merseybeat-online.co.uk. Archived from the original on 3 December 2008. Retrieved 12 January 2022.