Top Telly - ITV series Wycliffe

DS Wycliffe (Jack Shepherd) is old school and deeply suspicious of new-fangled policing methods imposed on his windswept Cornish beat. Far from being idyllic Cornwall is alive with crime of all sorts including smuggling and murder. He has two trusty assistants disillusioned DI Doug Kersey (Jimmy Yuill) and DS Lucy Lane (Helen Masters). Lane is being fast-tracked to greater things but her inexperience is telling.

The series was based on the novels by W.J. Burley and broadcast by ITV between 24th July 1994 and July 1998. They are being broadcast currently by ITV3.

The programme was filmed in Cornwall with a production office in Truro. The series is noted for its picturesque landscapes and for working local themes into the programmes. Filming was carried out on location in Truro, Newquay, Camborne and Penzanze. Wycliffe and his team are responsible for a wide area that frequently takes them away from home. This causes problems for Wycliffe who is a family man married to a school teacher with two teenage children. His fellow officers who are single also find it difficult to form relationships outside their work colleagues.

Each 60 minute episode dealt with the investigation into a murder and the early episodes were based on the books.

The emphasis in the series is on Wycliffe’s skills in observing people and interviewing them with a lesser emphasis on forensic analysis. He has frequent meetings with his “boss” - Deputy Chief Constable Stevens and has to deal with the red tape, budgets etc that go with the job.

The police force is called “South West Constabulary” which is fictional.

Wycliffe plays jazz piano for relaxation and Jack Shepherd played the music himself. Helen Masters was actually pregnant at the beginning of series 5 and this was written into the scripts.

There were five series and one special edition making a total of 37 episodes. They lasted 60 minutes with the special being 90 minutes.

The series ended production when Jimmy Yuill became ill with meningitis and the other cast members refused to agree to his being written out of future episodes even after he had recovered. The production company refused to reinstate him.

ITV’s police series Wycliffe starring Jack Shepherd

Windswept Cornwall is DS Wycliffe’s patch

Starring Jack Shepherd, Jimmy Yuill and Helen Masters