WPC 56
| WPC 56 | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Genre | Drama |
| Created by | Dominique Moloney |
| Starring |
|
| Composer(s) | Debbie Wiseman |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of series | 3 |
| No. of episodes | 15 (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Will Trotter |
| Producer(s) | Mike Hobson |
| Location(s) | Birmingham, West Midlands, England |
| Running time | 45 minutes |
| Production company(s) | BBC Birmingham |
| Release | |
| Original network | BBC One |
| Picture format | 16:9 1080i |
| Original release | 18 March 2013 – 13 March 2015 |
| External links | |
| Website | |
WPC 56 is a British television drama series, written by Dominique Moloney and broadcast on BBC One. The series revolves around the first woman police constables to join Brinford Constabulary, a fictional police force in Birmingham, starting in 1956. The first two series focused on WPC Gina Dawson's struggle to gain acceptance at a male-dominated police station while having to deal with the sexist attitudes that were commonplace at the time. The third series depicts the experiences of her successor at the station, WPC Annie Taylor.
The three series of WPC 56 were broadcast, each as a set of five episodes on five consecutive afternoons, in March 2013, February 2014 and March 2015 respectively.
Set in 1956, the series follows WPC 56 Gina Dawson through the trials of being the first female officer to serve in her home town of Brinford in Birmingham. Chief Inspector Roger Nelson gives her a small office, previously a storage room, and has her making tea, doing paperwork, dealing with children and women. She is told not to distract the men, who might seek to protect her in dangerous situations, so that they can deal with the important police work. She finds that she has to work hard to be taken seriously by her male colleagues, and is shocked by some of the methods employed by Sergeant Sidney Fenton and the blind eye turned by the rest of the officers in order to keep the Chief Inspector in the dark.
Dawson lives at home with her parents, Joe and Brenda Dawson, and has a boyfriend, Frank Marshall.
The first series revolves around two missing boys and a serial attacker, and the relationships of the officers and their families.
Detective Inspector Jack Burns leaves the police to look after his sick wife and his daughters. He is replaced by a Londoner, Detective Inspector Max Harper. Inspector Nelson and Desk Sergeant Pratt are replaced by Briggs and Swift. Police Constable Eddie Coulson is on honeymoon with Cathy Sinclair. His father, now Assistant Chief Constable Coulson, has sexual designs on WPC Dawson. Sergeant Fenton has a daughter and is on friendly terms with the local brothel madam, Rosie Turner, and the crooked boxing promoter Lenny Powell. Cathy Sinclair is replaced by Susie Nightingale as the station secretary.
The second series revolves around a councillor's dead body and his missing girlfriend Rebecca Jones.
WPC Gina Dawson, having been cleared of all blame in a shooting, moves to the Metropolitan Police. Assistant Chief Constable Coulson reneges on his promise to Inspector Briggs that he will retire early after sexually molesting Dawson.
...
Wikipedia