Bergerac is back but not quite as you know him.
The 80s detective series, starring John Nettles, is returning to our screens rebooted by UKTV and reimagined by writer Toby Whithouse.
The hero at the heart of the show Jim Bergerac still comes with plenty of emotional baggage, this time a widow rather than a divorcé, relations with his daughter remain strained and his battle with the bottle continues.
And fans of the original show can expect to be transported back to the beautiful Channel Island of Jersey for the new show.
Bergerac’s trademark burgundy Triumph Roadster and leather jacket are also returning for an airing.
But there is a new twist to the story, former father-in-law Charlie Hungerford is now played by Zoe Wanamaker and is his mother-in-law.
Bergerac in its new form will air on U&Drama from Thursday 27 February at 9pm.
There are six episodes of the series which will cover just one case, unlike the old Bergerac where each episode was a new crime for the detective to solve.
These will be shown on successive Thursdays until Thursday 3 April. All six will also be available to stream on U from 27 February.
U&Drama is free-to-air channel, which is part of the UKTV network.
It is available for free on U, Sky, Virgin Media, NOW, Freeview, Freesat and Freely.
Damien Molony leads the cast as the new Jim Bergerac – detective, widow, father and drinker.
Molony described his character “completely heartbroken”.
“He’s just lost his wife to a devastatingly brief illness, he’s drinking heavilyand his relationship with his teenage daughter, Kim, has fallen apart”, he said, “It’s really not looking great for him.”
Irish actor Molony will be best known to television audiences as vampire Hal Yorke from BBC Three’s Being Human.
The 41-year-old has also appeared in Ripper Street, Suspects, GameFace, Brassic and The Split.
Zoë Wanamaker plays Bergerac’s mother-in-law Charlie Hungerford, who is wealthy and well connected.
Wanamaker said her character is “one of those women who is extremely bright and has married into money”.
“I think she’s a smart lady, but in an environment which is probably slightly stifling”, she said, “She’s also quite lonely, as I believe she is a widow.”
American-born actress Wanamaker has starred in films such as Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone and My Week with Marilyn.
On television, the 75-year-old is well known for playing Susan Harper in My Family and Ariadne Oliver in Agatha Christie’s Poirot.
She has won two Olivier Awards for her work on stage.
Philip Glenister appears as wealthy businessman Arthur Wakefield, in the new Bergerac.
He said: “In terms of my character, he’s a rather ruthless person.
“He is a businessman and has made a lot of money and, through that, has made a lot of enemies.”
Glenister, 62, is best known as DCI Gene Hunt from the television series Life on Mars and Ashes to Ashes.
He has also appeared in Roger Roger, Clocking Off, State of Play, Demons, Outcast and Belgravia.
Pippa Haywood takes on the role of Margaret Heaton in the new Bergerac.
The British actress played Helen Brittas in the BBC comedy series The Brittas Empire and human resources director Joanna Clore in Green Wing.
The 63-year-old has also appeared in the Netflix series Bridgerton as the Duke of Hastings’s housekeeper Mrs. Colson and Claire Jenkins in the TV adaptation of Anthony Horowitz’s book Magpie Murders.
The cast of Bergerac also includes:
As with the original series, filming for the show has primarily taken place on the Channel Island of Jersey
In fact, £1.2m in funding for the reboot has come in part from the Jersey Government after the original show boosted tourism there.
Filming in the reboot has taken place across the island from St Brelade and St Helier in the south to Gorey in the east and St Ouen’s in the west.
Jersey-born actor Timothy Renouf said it had been strange filming on location at home.
He told the BBC: “It felt like a slightly out-of-body Truman Show experience.
“We filmed in Vic [Victoria College] where I went to school and in St Brelade’s church where my mum and dad got married.
“It was very strange working on the island that you’re from, it was bizarre.”
While Molony said he felt “lucky” to have filmed there.
He said: “The very first scene we filmed there was at 4am in Bouley Bay,which had the most stunning sunrise.
“We were actually using it as a sunset, and it was so beautiful, the early wake-up call was worth it!
“We also went to St Ouen’s Bay, which is on the west coast of the island and that’s a huge, windy beach that is home to lots of surfers.
“It was a perfect backdrop to a moment in episode one where Jim decides to give up alcohol and properly focus on getting back to work.
“So, it’s a very dark and brooding scene and the weather was perfect.
“I loved filming in the gorgeous St Brelade’s Bay, where we lucked out with some lovely August weather, and we could swim at lunchtime and have ice cream.
“We had another great day on Gorey pier, and in the Driftwood Café on Archirondel Beach, I loved that place.
“We had a quick sprint through Royal Square in St Helier and filmed in the vast grounds of Victoria College.”
Jersey-based police detective Jim Bergerac is a broken man, battling his demons and on leave after the death of his wife.
But when a member of one of the island’s wealthiest families the Wakefields is murdered, chief of police Uma Dalal (Sasha Behar) wants their best detective on the case.
Bergerac returns to work in a bid to become the formidable detective he once was and to prove to his daughter Kim and mother-in-law Charlie Hungerford his life is back on track.
Meanwhile, the Wakefields, led by patriarch and businessman Arthur (Philip Glenister), are keeping their cards close to their chests in this investigation.
And to complicate matters further a man from Bergerac’s past resurfaces to make a shocking accusation.
Can he crack the case or will it break him?
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