''Backup'' is a British

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication Media (communication), medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of Transmission (telecommunications), television tra ...

police procedural The police show, or police crime drama, is a subgenre of procedural drama and detective fiction that emphasizes the investigative procedure of a police officer or department as the protagonist(s), as contrasted with other genres that focus on eithe ...

crime drama Crime films, in the broadest sense, is a film genre inspired by and analogous to the crime fiction literary genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and its detection. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combine ...

series, devised by

Nigel McCrery Nigel Colin McCrery (born 30 October 1953 in London) is an English screenwriter and ex- police officer. He is the creator of the long-running crime dramas ''Silent Witness'' (1996-present) and '' New Tricks'' (2003-15). Early life Because of his ...

and Roy Mitchell, that ran for a total of fourteen episodes across two series on

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's Flagship (broadcasting), flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News ...

between September 7, 1995, and July 2, 1997. Focusing on the work of a

police The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest a ...

Operational Support Unit, similar to the

Territorial Support Group The Territorial Support Group (TSG) is a Met Operations unit of London's Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) which specialises in public order policing, amongst other specialist areas. In 2012 it consisted of 793 officers and 29 support staff. T ...

, the series follows the operations of the nine officers of Charlie Van, an OSU of the

West Midlands Police West Midlands Police is the territorial police force responsible for policing the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. The force covers an area of with 2.93million inhabitants, which includes the cities of Birmingham, Coventry, W ...

. Both series were filmed at

Pebble Mill Studios Pebble Mill Studios was the BBC's television studio complex located in Edgbaston, Birmingham, England, United Kingdom, which served as the headquarters for BBC Birmingham from 1971 until 2004. The nine-acre site was opened by Princess Anne on ...

, and saw the likes of Martin Troakes, Christopher John Hall and

Nick Miles Nick Miles is an English actor. He is best known for his portrayal of Jimmy King in the ITV soap opera ''Emmerdale''. Prior to appearing on ''Emmerdale'', he made appearances in various television series such as '' Casualty'' and ''The Bill' ...

among the main cast. A then-unknown

Matthew Rhys Matthew Rhys Evans ( ; born 8 November 1974) is a Welsh actor. He is known for playing Kevin Walker in '' Brothers & Sisters'' (2006–2011) and Philip Jennings in ''The Americans'' (2013–2018), for which he received two Golden Globe Awar ...

starred in the second series as PC Steve 'Hiccup' Higson, his first televisual role. Initial press releases for the series stated, "When things get too much for the officers on the front line, they call for Backup, the Operational Support Unit (OSU)." Notably, the series has never been released on DVD, and aside from a single repeat run on UK Gold in the late 1990s, has yet to be further repeated on British television.

Cast

* Martin Troakes as Sgt. Bill 'Sarge' Parkin * Christopher John Hall as PC Eric 'Token' Warren *

as PC John 'Thug' Barrett * Katrina Levon as PC Gill 'Dippy' Copson * Calum MacPherson as PC Roger 'Flub' Tennant * William Tapley as PC Lionel 'Oz' Adams * Christopher Quinn as PC Richard Goole * Adam Morris as Inspector 'Jean' Harlow * Peter Sullivan as DI Ken Overton

Series 1 (1995)

Alex Norton Alexander Hugh Norton (born 27 January 1950) is a Scottish actor. He is known for his roles as DCI Matt Burke in the STV detective drama series ''Taggart'', Eric Baird in BBC Two sitcom '' Two Doors Down'', DCS Wallace in '' Extremely Dangerous' ...

as PC Iain 'Jock' MacRae * Colette Koo as PC Susan 'Bruce' Li *

Oliver Milburn Oliver Milburn (born 25 February 1973), occasionally known by the name Oz Milburn, is an English actor and restaurateur. Early life Born in Dorset, Milburn was educated at the Dragon School in Oxford, and then Eton College. Career Milburn pl ...

as PC Wayne 'Bog' Cheetham *

Suzan Crowley Suzan Jane Crowley (; born 1953) is an English- American actress, best known for her role as Maria Rossi in '' The Devil Inside''. Filmography Film Television References External links * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Crowley, Suzan 1953 ...

as DCI Helen Chivers * Sam Cox as Superintendent Alec Hallsworth

Series 2 (1997)

* James Gaddas as PC Jim 'Grim' Reaper *

as PC Steve 'Hiccup' Higson * Kate Gartside as DS Kath Reaper

Episodes

Series 1 (1995)

Series 2 (1997)

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, id=0115102, title=Backup 1990s British drama television series 1995 British television series debuts 1997 British television series endings 1990s British crime television series BBC television dramas English-language television shows