Why The Chelsea Detective will be your new favourite series

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The Chelsea Detective

Down-to-earth DI Max Arnold (Adrian Scarborough, Killing Eve, Gavin & Stacey) lives in a modest houseboat in London, just a stone’s throw from some of Chelsea’s most valuable and elegant homes. Underneath the glamour of wealth and fortune lies a darker side of the borough, where greed and anger lead to violence - sometimes even murder. It’s this dichotomy that drive’s Max’s determination to fulfil his role as a detective and bring those responsible to justice – regardless of their wealth and status.

Born and raised in Chelsea, his knowledge of the borough’s geography, culture and people make him a formidable foe for criminals, especially when he’s working alongside his no-nonsense colleague, DS Priya Shamsie (Sonita Henry, Luther, Olympus). The other members of his team include research and tech genius, DC Jess Lombard (Lucy Phelps, Holby City), rookie officer DC Connor Pollock (Peter Bankole, Peaky Blinders) and brilliant but daunting Chief Forensics Officer, Ashley Wilton (Sophie Stone, Shetland).

From the disappearance of a social media sensation to the murder of a local teacher at a prestigious school, Max and his team are never short of gritty cases to get stuck into. And, over the course of the series, viewers are taken on a journey across Chelsea’s many faces, with crimes spanning the leafy Brompton Cemetery, the bustle of King’s Road, the council flats of the World’s End Estate and more.

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Whitstable Pearl

Pearl Nolan (Kerry Godliman, After Life) has always dreamed of becoming a detective, so when her son flies the nest, she sets up a private investigation agency, which she runs from her family restaurant in Whitstable. It doesn’t take long before the town’s residents turn to Pearl for help, but when her close friend dies unexpectedly, she finds herself at odds with the gruff new cop in town, DCI Mike McGuire (Howard Charles, Shadow and Bone).

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Dalgliesh

Based on P.D. James’ best-selling novels, this series centres around Detective Chief Inspector, Adam Dalgliesh (Bertie Carvel, Agatha Christie’s The Pale Horse, Doctor Foster), a published poet and recent widower, as he solves a series of unusual murder cases in 1970s England. Renowned for his empathy as much as his intellectual prowess, Dalgliesh’s skills give him the unique ability to get inside the minds of others and unravel the web of intrigue that lies at the centre of each case.

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Queens of Mystery Series One and Two

Part drama and part comedy, this series follows the adventures of Detective Sergeant Matilda Stone (Florence Hall, The Princess Switch) and her three crime-writing aunts (played by Julie Graham, Siobhan Redmond and Sarah Woodward), as they solve murders in the fictional English town of Wildemarsh. But no matter how many cases they crack, the women are constantly haunted by the unsolved disappearance of Mattie’s mother 25 years ago – will they ever be able to piece together the mystery behind their own personal tragedy?

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Under the Vines

Daisy Monroe (Rebecca Gibney Halifax f.p.) and Louis Oakley (Charles Edwards, The Crown, Downton Abbey) are two city slickers who unexpectedly inherit a failing vineyard in rural New Zealand. Despite neither of them having ever done a hard day’s work, and the fact they despise each other, the unlikely duo must work together to get the vineyard back on its feet so they can sell it, part their ways and hurry back to their urban lives.

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My Life is Murder Series One and Two

Complex but brilliant investigator Alexa Crowe (Lucy Lawless, Xena: Warrior Princess) believes in fighting the good fight whenever she can, whether that means bringing criminals to justice at work or standing up for her beliefs in her everyday life. Though she’s tried to retire several times, she always finds herself drawn back into the world of crime solving by her old boss (Bernard Curry, Wentworth), who regularly relies on her impressive expertise.

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Blood Series One and Two

With a plotline that spirals around old secrets, betrayals and family feuds, Blood follows the life of Cat Hogan (Carolina Main, Unforgotten) who returns to her childhood home in rural Ireland after her mother dies. Though she had been suffering from a long illness, Cat is convinced her father, Jim (Adrian Dunbar, Line of Duty), had something to do with his wife’s death. Desperate for answers, Cat must look to the past to piece together the present.

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The Agatha Christie collection

As well as an impressive selection of original dramas, Acorn TV is also proud to house onscreen adaptations of Agatha Christie’s best murder mysteries. From The Witness for the Prosecution, the law-court drama that will keep you guessing until the very end, to the iconic whodunnit And Then There Were None, viewers will be utterly spoilt for choice with this curated collection.

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