Prime Suspect

Prime Suspect was a highly-acclaimed BBC television drama series of the 1990s, which has been followed up by several sequels.

Helen Mirren plays Jane Tennison, a hard-bitten female detective in a male-dominated profession in this crime series. The character was said to be based on Alison Halford, who acted as an advisor to the authors.

The programme set a trend for many new programmes with women in leading roles. One example is M.I.T, a spin off from The Bill on ITV.