Jackie Malton (born 1951 Duncan Campbell, ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. First published in 1791, it is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper. In 1993 it was acquired by Guardian Media Group Limited, and operated as a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' ...

'', 22 January 2012
The cop and the robber – a unique friendship
) is a UK television script consultant and former senior

police The police are Law enforcement organization, a constituted body of Law enforcement officer, people empowered by a State (polity), state with the aim of Law enforcement, enforcing the law and protecting the Public order policing, public order ...

officer best known for being the inspiration for the character of DCI Jane Tennison in the ''

Prime Suspect ''Prime Suspect'' is a British police procedural television series devised by Lynda La Plante. Broadcast on ITV between 1991 and 2006, it stars Helen Mirren as Jane Tennison, one of the first female Detective Chief Inspectors in Greater Lo ...

'' drama written by

Lynda La Plante Lynda Joy La Plante, CBE (née Titchmarsh; born 15 March 1943) is an English author, screenwriter and former actress often known for writing the '' Prime Suspect'' television crime series. In 2024 she was honoured with the Crime Writers' Asso ...

Life and career

Malton's police career, initially in the

Leicestershire Leicestershire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It is bordered by Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire to the north, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire to the south-east, Warw ...

and then the Metropolitan Police Service, was notable for her rise within the ranks of a very male, heterosexual establishment while being a woman detective who was openly gay. Malton worked in a number of areas, including the

Flying Squad The Flying Squad is a branch of the Serious and Organised Crime Command within London's Metropolitan Police Service. It is also known as the Robbery Squad, Specialist Crime Directorate 7, SC&O7 and SO7. It is nicknamed The Sweeney, an abbrevia ...

, Murder Squad and Fraud Squad. She also acted as a whistle-blower against police corruption in the 1980s. Following her work with La Plante on the Prime Suspect series, and her involvement with '' Cracker'' and '' Band of Gold'', Malton retired from the Metropolitan Police in 1997 to pursue a career in script consultancy and has subsequently worked on over twenty major television police series including ''

The Bill ''The Bill'' is a British police procedural television series, broadcast on ITV (TV network), ITV from 16 October 1984 until 31 August 2010. The programme originated from a one-off drama, "Woodentop (The Bill), Woodentop" (part of the ''Storyb ...

'', ''

Trial & Retribution ''Trial & Retribution'' is a feature-length ITV police procedural television drama series that first aired on 19 October 1997. Written and devised by Lynda La Plante as a follow-on from her successful television series ''Prime Suspect'', each e ...

'', ''

Life on Mars The possibility of life on Mars is a subject of interest in astrobiology due to the planet's proximity and similarities to Earth. To date, no conclusive evidence of past or present life has been found on Mars. Cumulative evidence suggests that ...

'', '' Ashes to Ashes'', both series of '' Murder Investigation Team'' and ''

The Level The Level may refer to: * The Level, Brighton, a park in Brighton, England * The Level railway station, a seasonally operated request stop on the Isle of Man Railway * The Level (TV series), a British crime drama See also

* The Levels (disambi ...

'' for ITV. Malton also wrote a play, which was aired on BBC Radio 4 entitled "''Be Mine''". Between 2008 and 2012, Malton achieved an MA in Creative Writing and an MSc in Addiction Psychology. She contributed a chapter to ''Addiction, Behavioural Change and Social Identity'', edited by Sarah A. Buckingham and David Best. Malton, who was already a

Freeman of the City of London The Freedom of the City of London started around 1237 as the status of a 'free man' or 'citizen', protected by the charter of the City of London and not under the jurisdiction of a feudal lord. In the Middle Ages, this developed into a freedom or ...

, was awarded an honorary doctorate from

London South Bank University London South Bank University (LSBU) is a public university in Elephant and Castle, London. It is based in the London Borough of Southwark, near the South Bank of the River Thames, from which it takes its name. Founded in 1892 as the Borough Po ...

in October 2019 as Doctor of the university. Malton continues to volunteer in a prison with men who have a range of addiction issues, that often have had the most profound effect on their lives and the lives of others. Her TV documentary series, ''The Real Prime Suspect'' examined ten high-profile murder cases and was aired in 2019; the second series was released in 2020. Both have been seen in the US, South Africa and across Europe. Jackie Malton's biography, "The Real Prime Suspect" was published by Endeavour in 2023. In this book she admits to once having had a drinking problem and she identifies herself as a gay woman.

References

External links

Twitter:@Thursley {{DEFAULTSORT:Malton, Jackie 1951 births Living people British television writers LGBTQ people in law enforcement Women Metropolitan Police officers British women television writers Place of birth missing (living people) English lesbian writers 20th-century English women 20th-century English writers 21st-century English women 21st-century English writers 20th-century British women writers 21st-century British women writers Metropolitan Police officers