TVTV NewsBBC1TV fanatics can’t get enough of crime dramas from Happy Valley and Line of Duty to Ludwig and Granite Harbour.Hayley Anderson Screen Time TV Reporter15:44, 31 Jul 2026A former Metropolitan Police sergeant has given insight into what TV detective shows most often get wrong.‌Crime dramas are never too far from our screens with series Granite Harbour airing tonight and continuing to come out every Friday night on BBC One.‌The Scottish detective series follows in the footsteps of some iconic crime shows like Broadchurch, Happy Valley and Line of Duty but they’re not all equal in the eyes of experts.‌Police Now chief executive Kurtis Christoforides, a former Metropolitan Police Service sergeant for eight years, has opened up on what he thinks about some of the best shows on TV. He’s also narrowed it down to the one show that has been accurately depicting what it’s like on the force.Christoforides said: “Some shows, like Blue Lights, have shown the emotional toll of being a police officer.‌“Others have highlighted the camaraderie between colleagues and how, despite the long hours and difficult events, teams support each other.“The relief of solving a case is also real. It’s hard work and there is a sense of achievement when we can get justice for victims and make neighbourhoods feel safer.”Blue Lights is the gritty police drama following frontline response police officers in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Its official synopsis adds: “It focuses on the immense pressure, dangers, and complex community tensions faced by rookie officers who do not know who to trust.”‌Blue Lights, which stars the likes of Sian Brooke, Katherine Devlin and Richard Dormer, will be returning for season four later this year.Christoforides also made a note of how crime dramas are failing, including having a single person solve a crime like in shows such as BBC’s Ludwig, Netflix’s Luther and the recently renewed Bergerac.Article continues below“Real investigations are team efforts”, he insists. “Uniformed officers, detectives, forensic specialists, intelligence analysts – even the proverbial senior officer looking on from behind their desk – all play an important part.“No one person ‘solves’ a serious crime alone.“The collaboration makes the investigations robust, and anyway, it’s no wonder their personal life is in tatters if they’re trying to wade through hundreds of hours of CCTV footage and thousands of pages of digital forensic evidence alone.”Choose Daily Mirror as a 'Preferred Source' on Google News for quick access to the news you value.‌BBC1ITV