Blue Murder was a British crime drama television

Television

Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...

 series based in Manchester

Manchester

Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...

. Shown on ITV

ITV

ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...

 from 2003 until 2009 when it was axed by the Network, it starred Caroline Quentin

Caroline Quentin

Caroline Jones known by her stage name Caroline Quentin, is an English actress. Quentin became known for her television appearances in Men Behaving Badly, playing Dorothy, and playing Maddy Magellan in Jonathan Creek for three years.-Early life:...

 as DCI

Chief inspector

Chief inspector is a rank used in police forces which follow the British model. In countries outside Britain, it is sometimes referred to as chief inspector of police .-Australia:...

 Janine Lewis.

Outline

Created by Cath Staincliffe, who has also written several episodes, it centres on a single mother of four trying to balance a demanding career with raising her young family. Her ex-husband has since started a new family.

First shown on 18 May 2003, five series in total were broadcast. The fifth series debuted on 7 September 2009. The cast includes a new detective played by Belinda Everett, with the first episode featuring Holliday Grainger

Holliday Grainger

Clark Holliday Grainger is an English actress primarily active in television. Over the past couple of years, she has moved into films...

, Siobhan Finneran

Siobhan Finneran

Siobhan Finneran is an English television and film actress from Oldham in Lancashire, England.-Career:Siobhan's first major role was as Rita in the 1986 film, Rita, Sue and Bob Too. Since 2007 she has played Janice in ITV's popular comedy drama Benidorm, appearing in all 4 series and both specials...

 and Chris Gascoyne. Guest stars in subsequent episodes include Mark Benton

Mark Benton

Mark Benton is an English actor, perhaps most famous for his roles as Eddie in Early Doors and Howard in Northern Lights.-Life and career:Benton was born in Guisborough, in the North Riding of Yorkshire, England....

, Lee Boardman

Lee Boardman

Lee Boardman is an English actor and narrator.-Television:He is best known for playing Murray Priestman in Drop Dead Gorgeous as well as the drug dealer Jez Quigley in Coronation Street...

, Kieran O'Brien

Kieran O'Brien

Kieran O'Brien is an English actor.-Biography:O'Brien, who grew up in nearby Royton, began acting at a early age and was the star of a BBC TV series Gruey by the time he was 15. He also featured in several other series at the time in one-off or recurring roles...

, Brendan Coyle

Brendan Coyle

-Early life and family:Coyle was born in Corby, Northamptonshire, to an Irish father and Scottish mother; his parents moved to Corby from Strabane, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. Coyle holds Irish and British citizenship. He is the great nephew of football manager Sir Matt Busby...

, Heather Peace

Heather Peace

Heather Peace is an English actress and musician.Her notable roles have included Anne Cullen in Emmerdale Farm, Josie Clarke in The Bill, Sally 'Gracie' Fields in London's Burning, DS Jo Cavanagh in Empathy and Fiona Jones in BBC Television's The Chase...

, Tina O'Brien

Tina O'Brien

Tina O'Brien is an English actress. She is best known for playing the role of Sarah-Louise Platt in the ITV soap opera Coronation Street.-Acting career:...

, Sylvia Syms

Sylvia Syms

Sylvia M. L. Syms OBE is a British actress. She is probably best known for her roles in the films Woman in a Dressing Gown , Ice-Cold in Alex , No Trees in the Street , Victim and The Tamarind Seed...

 and Anthony Flanagan

Anthony Flanagan

Anthony Flanagan is an English actor most widely known for his portrayal of policeman Tony in Channel 4's comedy-drama series Shameless.-Biography:...

.

Cast

• Caroline Quentin
  Caroline Quentin
  Caroline Jones known by her stage name Caroline Quentin, is an English actress. Quentin became known for her television appearances in Men Behaving Badly, playing Dorothy, and playing Maddy Magellan in Jonathan Creek for three years.-Early life:...
  
   … DCI
  Chief inspector
  Chief inspector is a rank used in police forces which follow the British model. In countries outside Britain, it is sometimes referred to as chief inspector of police .-Australia:...
  
   Janine Lewis, (2003-9)
• Ian Kelsey
  Ian Kelsey
  Ian Kelsey is a British television actor.Kelsey was born in York, Yorkshire, England, to parents Julie and John . He also has an older brother named David. He trained at the Joseph Rowntree Theatre York and graduated at the Guildford School of Acting...
  
   … DI
  Inspector
  Inspector is both a police rank and an administrative position, both used in a number of contexts. However, it is not an equivalent rank in each police force.- Australia :...
  
   Richard Mayne, (2003-9)
• Saskia Wickham
  Saskia Wickham
  Saskia Wickham is a British actress best known for playing Dr. Erica Matthews in the ITV television drama series Peak Practice between 1996 and 1998.She is daughter of the British actor Jeffrey Wickham....
  
   … DCS
  Chief Superintendent
  Chief superintendent is a senior rank in police forces organised on the British model.- United Kingdom :In the British police, a chief superintendent is senior to a superintendent and junior to an assistant chief constable .The highest rank below Chief Officer level, chief...
  
   Louise Hogg, (2006-9)
• Nicholas Murchie … DS Tony Shap, (2003-9)
• Paul Loughran
  Paul Loughran
  Paul Loughran is a Northern Irish actor. He was educated at Methodist College Belfast. He is best known for portraying Butch Dingle in ITV Soap Opera Emmerdale in which his character died in a bus crash with friend Pete Collins. After that he appeared in many other Soaps such as Heartbeat...
  
   … DS Ian Butchers, (2003-9)
• Rhea Bailey
  Rhea Bailey
  Rhea Bailey is an English actress. She is the younger sister of singer Corinne Bailey Rae. Her father is Black-Kittitian and her mother is White English....
  
   … DC Lisa Goodall, (2003-7)
• Belinda Everett DC Kat Skerton, (2008-9)
• Jerry Lewis
  Jerry Lewis
  Jerry Lewis is an American comedian, actor, singer, film producer, screenwriter and film director. He is best known for his slapstick humor in film, television, stage and radio. He was originally paired up with Dean Martin in 1946, forming the famed comedy team of Martin and Lewis...
  
  … Lawyer Dawson