Huge eighties detective show ‘returning 33 years later with new face in charge’
Posted by  badge Boss on Mar 04
The crime drama Bergerac looks set to return to screens (Picture: Larry Ellis Collection/Getty Images)

Bergerac is set to be making a comeback more than 30 years after it was last seen on screen.

Running for a decade between 1981 and 1991, the crime drama and as the title character Jim Bergerac.

Initially a detective sergeant in Le Bureau des Étrangers (‘The Foreigners’ Office’, a fictional department dealing with non-Jersey residents), within the States of Police, Jim later left the force and became a private investigator.

The nine seasons produced 87 episodes.

Now, the show is set to make a comeback, but with a few differences.

A reboot is ‘almost a done deal’ with an unnamed streaming service said to be on board.

The original series, which ran for a decade, starred John Nettles (Picture: United News/Popperfoto via Getty Images/Getty Images)

Poldark actor Aidan Turner, Doctor Who star David Tennant and Happy Valley’s James Norton have also been linked to the series, as reported by .

The show’s original star, who is now 80, could also have a cameo in the new episodes.

A source told the publication that: ‘If all goes according to plan, filming will take place in the summer.’

Former chief minister of Jersey Kristina Moore has also said the project would be ‘a great boost for the island’, with the Channel Island’s government reportedly currently in discussion to contribute £1.8 million.

Aidan Turner is one of the actors rumoured to be taking on the lead role in the new series (Picture: Mike Marsland/WireImage)

She added: ‘The company is ready to go, there are scripts written, they could start filming in the spring for broadcast in November and December of this year.’

However, sources have also said no decisions have been made about casting, though there were previously talks to have a woman in the lead role.

‘Over the years, various ideas have been explored but I think we are now back with a gritty male copper,’ an insider told The Daily Mail.

‘There could be changes as far as the other roles are concerned.’

Bergerac was a major success when it aired on the BBC, regularly attracting 15 million viewers.

John went on to star in Midsomer Murders (Picture: Ilpo Musto/Shutterstock)

The first of the season saw divorced father DS Jim Bergerac return to work after recovering from alcoholism and breaking his leg, before the shows charted subplots about his love life.

The final episode was the 1991 Christmas special, titled All for Love, in which he was tipped for a promotion in a larger Bureau des Étrangers overseeing the whole of the Channel Islands.

It is thought that another broadcaster, not the BBC, is lined up to bring the series back to screens.

Aside from John, who went on to star Midsomer Murders between 1997 and 2011, Bergerac also starred Terence Alexander, Sean Arnold, Cecile Paoli and Deborah Grant.

Metro.co.uk has contacted BBC and John Nettles for comment.

Bergerac is streaming on Amazon Prime Video.