6th September 1983

Taggart arrives on British screens

Taggart was originally written as a three-part miniseries, which ran from 6 to 20 September 1983 on ITV. The Newcastle Evening Chronicle’s television listing on the night of its first broadcast described it as the “first episode of a three-part thriller. Starring Mark McManus. A young woman is strangled on a riverbank in Glasgow, and Det. Chief Inspector Taggart finds the case increasingly difficult to solve. Taut and well-acted little number from Scottish Television.”

Unexpected success

The series was fronted by Hamilton-born Mark McManus as Glasgow-based Detective Chief Inspector Jim Taggart. It was such a success that a full series was commissioned and broadcast two years later, and it remained on British screens until 2010, despite McManus’ death in 1994 during filming.

In total, 27 series of Taggart were made, comprising 110 episodes, making it one of the UK’s longest-running drama series across all genres.