Dempsey and Makepeace

Dempsey and Makepeace is a British television crime drama made by LWT for ITV, created and produced by Ranald Graham. Lead roles were played by Michael Brandon (Lieutenant Dempsey) and Glynis Barber (Sergeant Makepeace), who later married each other in real life in 1989. Premise The premise of Dempsey and Makepeace is the oddball pairing of two police detectives: an elegant British noblewoman, Sgt (Lady) Harriet Makepeace, and a streetwise working-class New Yorker, Lt James Dempsey, both working for an elite and armed unit of the London Metropolitan Police. When his partner Joey dies in a botched drugs operation and he uncovers police corruption at the highest level, Dempsey is under threat of assassination. With help from his colleagues, he hurriedly leaves New York for London, on the pretense of an undercover international police exchange programme. Harriet "Harry" Makepeace is the daughter of Lord Winfield (Ralph Michael), who owns an English stately home. Reference is made to his having formerly been in the Army or the Secret Service. Makepeace's grandfather is mentioned as having been a Victorian collector of antiques and rare items. Makepeace's mother is mentioned only once, by her maternal uncle Duffy and, it would seem she had died some time ago. Makepeace has made her way up through the ranks of the police force, despite sexism by her male counterparts and the physical demands of the job.