New Tricks: An Appreciation Part 1

The Programme

New Tricks started in 2003 with a pilot episode that featured Alun Armstrong as Brian Lane, James Bolam as Jack Halford, Amanda Redman as Sandra Pullman and Dennis Waterman as Gerry Standing. The team of 4 made up the Unsolved Crime and Open Case Squad (UCOS), although as one suspect pointed out, the correct acronym would be UCOCS! By the time it finished its final series in 2015, UCOS comprised Larry Lamb as Ted Case, Dennis Lawson as Steve McAndrew, Nicholas Lyndhurst as Dan Griffin and Tamzin Outhwaite as Sasha Miller. Throughout that time the Deputy Assistant Commissioner Robert Strickland, played by Anthony Calf, trod the line between admiring their clear up rate and dealing with noses that UCOS had put out of joint! By the end though, he was the most loyal of supporters. In between the pilot and the final episode there were over 100 cases to investigate and guest stars that are pretty much a who’s who of British television. The invitation to join the ‘Old Dogs’ of UCOS was pretty sought after with TV institutions like June Whitfield, Richard Briers, Bernard Cribbins, Roy Hudd and George Cole all accepting roles of varying degrees of villainy!

It became a sure fire ratings winner, with audiences that peaked at over 10 million in its heyday and even regularly attracted 5 million for prime time repeats. It was pretty much unchallenged in its 9pm timeslot for the 12 years it was on the air, and the final series was still pulling in over 7 million viewers in the days before iPlayer artificially inflated such figures. It is one of those shows loved by the public and derided by the critics who constantly sniped from the side lines at its perceived lack of quality. Occasionally, even the actors were none too complimentary about the series as an infamous Radio Times interview, that made feathers fly all over the place, proved! However, that interview came from a genuine desire to see quality maintained and was well meant, despite the actors proving as direct as their screen alter egos! As the original cast started to leave, Bolam in Series 9, Armstrong and Redman in Series 10 and Dennis Waterman in the final series there was the understandable settling in period for the new cast members. By the end of the run, the new team showed huge potential as they brought a different dynamic to the programme whilst still making it recognisably New Tricks. Indeed, it is more than likely that one or two more series would have seen them as well regarded as their predecessors. Sadly they weren’t to get that chance, but they were definitely worthy inheritors of the UCOS banner.

The Guv’nors

Sandra Pullman

Detective Superintendent Sandra Pullman was the first current police officer to try to control the headstrong and wayward old dogs. In the pilot she was asked to form UCOS and set out its approach. A recurring theme was set up from the start of few resources and a constant battle against the Deputy Assistant Commissioner, originally Donald Bevan, who wasn’t really sure about the wisdom of letting three maverick pensioners look at old cases that often showed up the incompetence or corruption of the original investigation. Sandra was determined to make the unit work and through the 10 years she was in charge she constantly fought for her ‘boys’ but was never afraid to tear them off a strip when they were out of line. Her initial reluctance to accept their always unconventional, and sometimes borderline illicit, approaches to their jobs mellowed into a tacit acceptance and eventually a complicit encouragement that went far beyond turning a blind eye. Sandra’s loyalty to Jack Halford, her old mentor, was never in doubt, even when it was shaken by revelations over her Dad’s death, and over time that loyalty became just as firm when looking after Brian Lane and Gerry Standing.

Over time Sandra learnt to read the signs of trouble with all three of her charges. If Brian was acting more strangely than usual she invariably went to his no-nonsense wife Esther for help in dealing with it. Given Brian’s alcoholism, she was always very careful not to let him get into harm’s way, but when Brian slipped up, after a case involving a hypnotist, Esther blamed Sandra and UCOS for it and it led to something of an estrangement. Gerry’s problems tended to be related to women or gambling, but once she made it clear that he would be called out on it if they affected his work he became more careful even if he didn’t entirely stay on the straight and narrow. The obvious affection she had for Gerry, which had a frisson of attraction on his side at least (!), meant that he was far more likely to be cheeky to her, but it was always clear that she was in charge especially when he broke the rules. The most complex relationship was with Jack, who had been her boss and occasionally still took it upon himself to lead the team in a different direction if he didn’t agree with her approach. Their deep friendship meant that any blow ups between them tended to be spectacular and deeply upsetting to both parties, but even after Jack disappeared from the office he never fully disappeared from her life as she tended to wonder what he would do in different situations, particularly when she was agonising over her future. At those points she could conjure up his presence in her mind’s eye.  

Amanda Redman was fantastic as Sandra over the 10 years and presented viewers with a complex character who continued to develop throughout the series. She was an inveterate romantic who never really wanted to settle down, or, more likely, valued her job more highly given the battle she had faced as a female detective. Quick witted and ready to give as good as she got from her old dogs, she could also be surprisingly sensitive to some of their jibes, particularly when aimed at her by Jack. She was empathetic and disarming to some suspects and confrontational to others, but she invariably got results whichever method she chose. All of these aspects became familiar to us, but Amanda Redman’s skill was to constantly wrongfoot the viewer and keep us guessing. My only thought is that she deserved more of a send off like her three co-stars got, but perhaps that was the way that Sandra was always going to go out, on her own terms with little fuss. She enjoyed making the programme and loved her co-stars, and that shone through.

Over many years, Amanda Redman has become a fixture on our TV screens with brilliant central performances in At Home with the Braithwaites, the marvellous Hope and Glory and her current ratings winner The Good Karma Hospital. in all of those series she has never been anything other than excellent. her range from comedy, at which she displays such a lightness of touch to drama where she can convey a multitude of emotions with just an expression. However, I don’t think any role has suited her more than Detective Superintendent Sandra Pullman.

Sasha Miller

Detective Chief Inspector Sasha Miller had a rocky start as Sandra’s replacement, mainly because of Gerry, who made it clear that he wasn’t going to accept this new boss without a fight. He was disrespectful and did everything he could to destabilise her, whilst trying to bring Danny and Steve along with him. Mind you, they were not entirely eager to follow along as Gerry had form in that respect. Danny had been given a hard time by Gerry when he replaced Brian and even Steve found it difficult when he replaced Jack despite the fact that Gerry liked him personally, although his main difficulties were with Brian. Eventually, through sheer determination, and through showing him how good she was at the job, she won Gerry round and the end of Series 10 finished with Gerry calling her ‘Guv’nor’ to confirm that he had finally accepted her as his boss.

Sasha was different to Sandra in one very important way. Sandra had been brought up in the old fashioned days of policing. She had learnt her trade through following Jack and those of his era for whom the result was the main thing. Sasha, on the other hand was a new style by the book police officer who followed protocols. This was brilliantly brought into focus with Sasha’s second case, Wild Justice, where she investigated the killing of a renowned oncologist. She was sure that Edward Monroe, convicted for that murder was responsible for the murder of a former colleague, but she puts that to one side to build the case against him. Eventually, she finds out the truth. Monroe offers a full confession in return for her not arresting the real culprit. She has a sleepless night fighting with her conscience and then decides that the law must take its course. It is beautifully played and in just a couple of episodes you know that Sasha is going to lead UCOS very much her own way.

Early on, Sasha has problems with her unfaithful husband, Deputy Assistant Commissioner Ned Hancock. They cross swords professionally, largely as a proxy for their personal animosity, which puts Strickland into an awkward situation which he resolves by backing Sasha on the case then tearing her off a strip for insubordination to a superior officer! It is noticeable that the UCOS team take her side and make things very difficult for Hancock, a further sign of their growing affection for her.

The final series sees Sasha completely in charge of the team, although a hiatus caused by an injury in the line of duty means that she isn’t around when Ted Case starts making waves with his unorthodox approach to policing. This causes her some problems, particularly when he shows no hesitation in going off piste and approaching 2010s policing with 1980s tactics. Despite her justified concerns as to the trouble UCOS could get in to as a result of Case’s unorthodox methods, she realises that sometimes it gets the results she can’t.

Tamzin Outhwaite had an incredibly difficult job following Amanda Redman, but she passed with flying colours. Her previous television work in Eastenders and the brilliant Red Cap prepared her perfectly for New Tricks, as did her guest appearance in New Tricks in Season 9 for the classic episode Love Means Nothing in Tennis. Her performance in that was subtle and very clever, with an underlying and unsettling brittleness that you couldn’t really put your finger on, and no doubt alerted the writers and producers, if indeed they needed it, that Outhwaite was someone who could definitely step into the role of Amanda Redman’s replacement. Finally, I must just mention her role as Di in Amelia Bullimore’s exceptional Di and Viv and Rose which I saw when Season 11 had finished. She played a Phys Ed student whose physical confidence was offset by an emotional vulnerability and was exceptional in portraying her character across nearly 20 years. Without New Tricks I wouldn’t have seen that play and I would have missed out on one of the best nights I have had at the theatre.

Next Time: The Old Dogs and Favourite Episodes