Good cop, bad cop?

Tala Gouveia and Jason Watkins on playing TV’s newest mismatched cops

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Starsky and Hutch, Cagney and Lacey, Dempsey and Makepeace... detective duos have been a mainstay of the TV schedules for decades, and this week we welcome a new partnership in ITV’s new crime drama McDonald & Dodds.

Set in the picturesque city of Bath, the series pairs ambitious DCI McDonald, played by Tala Gouveia in her first lead role, with unassuming DS Dodds, played by the BAFTA-winning Jason Watkins.

Their characters couldn’t be more different. While McDonald has transferred from the mean streets of south London, Dodds has been plodding along in a desk job for most of his working life.

‘They are polar opposites,’ says Gouveia, who’s also appeared in ITV’s