El C.I.D. (1990–1992)

ITV were always on the lookout for another 'Minder' type series which was a runaway success for them in the 1980s and EL C.I.D from Granada was a take on this.

Alfred Molina is Bernard Blake, a CID officer who takes early retirement and moves to Spain to run a bar with his older detective partner, John Bird.

They soon find that there bar is destroyed by a villain they once jailed and find themselves doing investigation work in Spain and keeping an eye on the ex-pat community of British gangsters.

Molina left after the second series and was replaced by Amanda Redman, who joined the series as Bird's daughter.

The combination of the younger Molina and older Bird worked well with a mixture of drama, action and comedy contained in a glamorous setting as the series was shot on location in Spain and even enticed a guest appearance from ex-footballer Kevin Keegan who was then residing there.

It was the chemistry of the two stars that made it work, the adventures they had was amiable enough but the series lost its was once Molina quit and the dynamics changed when Redman joined as Bird's daughter and the series was cancelled after its third outing.

The series never did reach the heights of Minder and is now little remembered.