BERGERAC IS BACK!

One of the most iconic TV shows of the 1980s returns this week with an all-new cast... but fans of the original need not worry. From the glorious Jersey backdrop to the detective's red Triumph Roadster and troubled past, the reboot is pitch perfect

- By Jane Oddy

SET AGAINST a glorious Channel Islands backdrop with glamorous characters, fast cars and brutal murders, Bergerac was one of the best-loved TV dramas of the 1980s.

Starring John Nettles as the eponymous policeman zooming around Jersey in his classic 1947 Triumph Roadster, the drama aired for a decade from 1981, winning millions of fans.

The series began when easy-on-the-eye detective Jim Bergerac returned to work after struggling with alcoholism and a badly broken leg. Nettles's sensitive portrayal of a conflicted character battling inner demons only added to its allure.

No wonder the director of the highly anticipated reboot - reimagined by writer Toby Whithouse - admits he felt the pressure of measuring up to the original.

"Obviously there is a responsibility to do something good with it, that feels interesting and fresh, and also ticks boxes for people," says Colm McCarthy, who directs the first three episodes of the new series.

"Yet while the name and identity are much cherished, a lot of people don't necessarily hold on to the details of the story.

"As long as you make something that's entertaining and provides an escape to the place of Jersey within it, I think an audience will be happy and enjoy it." He says he loved Toby's scripts from the start. "They manage to be quite dark and go into fairly serious places with the characters, but all the time they have this humour to them that sparkles on the page." The Split star Damien Molony plays Jim Bergerac, back on the coastal roads of Jersey in his predecessor's red Roadster (yes, it is the exact same car). And despite Nettles's ownership of the iconic role, McCarthy insists his own leading man brings something new to the brooding cop.