The Gentle Touch
{{Short description|British police drama television series}}
{{For|the 1956 British cinema film released in the United States as "The Gentle Touch"|The Feminine Touch (1956 film)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2014}}
{{Use British English|date=August 2014}}
{{more citations needed|date=September 2019}}
{{Infobox television
| image = Gentle Touch title screen.jpg
| caption = Main title screen featuring Jill Gascoine
| runtime = 60 mins (inc. commercials)
| creator = Terence Feely
| starring = Jill Gascoine
William Marlowe
Brian Gwaspari
Paul Moriarty
Nigel Rathbone
Derek Thompson
Bernard Holley
| country = United Kingdom
| language = English
| company = London Weekend Television
| network = ITV
| opentheme = Roger Webb
| first_aired = {{start date|1980|4|11|df=yes}}
| last_aired = {{end date|1984|11|24|df=yes}}
| num_series = 5
| num_episodes = 56
| list_episodes = List of The Gentle Touch episodes
| related = C.A.T.S. Eyes
}}
The Gentle Touch is a British police procedural drama series made by London Weekend Television for ITV which began on 11 April 1980 and ran until 24 November 1984. The series is notable for being the first British series to feature a female police officer as its leading character, ahead of, by four months, the similarly themed BBC series Juliet Bravo.
Series history
The series starred Jill Gascoine as Detective Inspector Maggie Forbes, who has worked her way up through the ranks of the police force and is based at the fictional Seven Dials police station in London. Maggie's husband, a police constable, is murdered during the first episode, leaving her to juggle her career with single parenthood, raising her teenage son.
The Gentle Touch largely dealt with routine police procedures and offered a frank depiction of relevant social issues (including racism, sexism, homosexuality, mental health and euthanasia). It was relatively low on action and violence in comparison to previous classic crime series such as The Sweeney, opting for a more realistic and low key approach. Although the series mostly focused on Maggie's professional life in a male-dominated field, it also showed her home life with her elderly father George and her teenage son Steve. Occasionally, Maggie's romantic involvements were seen which sometimes clashed with her job.
The Gentle Touch was a ratings success in the UK, where it was screened on Friday nights in a 9.00 p.m. slot (except for the final series which was shown on Saturday nights). One episode shown in January 1982 garnered over 18 million viewers and was the 5th most watched television programme in Britain that year.{{cite web |url=http://www.barb.co.uk/resources/tv-facts/since-1981/1982/top10|title= Top 10 Programmes 1982 |author= |publisher= BARB (British Broadcasters Audience Research|access-date=4 December 2012}} The Gentle Touch made Gascoine a household name, and ran for five series until 1984.
Spin-off
Gascoine returned as Maggie Forbes in the more action-oriented spin-off series C.A.T.S. Eyes (also created by Terence Feely), concerning a specialised team of female detectives in Kent who covertly work for the Home Office. C.A.T.S. Eyes lasted three series from 1985 to 1987.
Main cast
- Jill Gascoine as Detective Inspector Maggie Forbes
- William Marlowe as Detective Chief Inspector Bill Russell
- Brian Gwaspari as Detective Inspector Bob Croft (1980–1983)
- Derek Thompson as Detective Sergeant Jimmy Fenton (1980–1982)
- Paul Moriarty as Detective Sergeant Jake Barrett
- Nigel Rathbone as Steve Forbes
- Kevin O'Shea as Detective Sergeant Peter Phillips (1982–1984)
- Bernard Holley as Detective Inspector Mike Turnbull (1982–1984)
- James Ottaway as George Taylor (1980-1982, 1984)
- Michael Graham Cox as Detective Inspector Jack Slater (1984)
Episode list
{{main|List of The Gentle Touch episodes}}
Home media
The complete series is available on DVD in the UK in five series sets from Network.
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- [http://www.screenonline.org.uk/tv/id/976412/index.html British Film Institute Screen Online]
- [https://dreamsgatheringdust.com/2018/11/29/high-spirits-and-low-morale Article and interviews for the episode "Tough Mrs Rudge"]
- {{IMDb title|0083420|The Gentle Touch}}
- {{epguides|GentleTouch|The Gentle Touch}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gentle Touch, The}}
Category:1980 British television series debuts
Category:1984 British television series endings
Category:1980s British crime drama television series
Category:1980s British police procedural television series
Category:1980s British crime television series
Category:1980s British workplace drama television series
Category:Television series by ITV Studios
Category:London Weekend Television shows
Category:British English-language television shows