Liverpool 1, the crime drama featuring EastEnders star Samantha Womack, has landed a new streaming home in the UK. Noted for its “gritty” approach to the genre, this is a throwback that could prove to be a good binge-watch.
The series aired for two seasons across in the late 1990s, and saw Samantha portray Detective Constable Isobel de Pauli, with the figure being transferred to a vice squad in Liverpool’s police force.
Once there, she meets new colleagues DC Mark Callaghan (Mark Womack) and DI Howard Jones (Tom Georgeson), and gradually comes to warm to her new surroundings after a frosty opening.
“Step onto the mean streets of Liverpool in this gritty cop drama. DC de Pauli and her partner DC Callaghan stalk the villains of Liverpool’s underworld in their battle for justice,” reads the logline for the series (via Amazon).
If you fancy checking out Liverpool 1 for the very first time or rewatching it after all these years, then you’re in luck, as all 12 instalments are available to stream in the UK and Ireland on Prime Video.
ITV/Shutterstock
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Though not widely reviewed by professional critics or general audiences, the crime drama does have an average user rating on IMDb, and its score of 6.8 out of 10 is more than creditable.
“Though certainly dated and performed in such a way as to highlight the good looks of the lead actress, it’s not bad and at least has some interesting characters,” wrote one user as they rated it 7 out of 10.
A second viewer was also full of praise for the series, writing: “The gritty streets of inner city Liverpool are excellently depicted and the growth of relationships in the squad woven into the stories.”
“The burgeoning and ambiguous relationship between de Pauli and Cally is developed through the two stories. All in all, an excellently acted series that is enjoyable and believable,” they added.
BBC
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Samantha and Mark would actually begin a relationship during filming for the crime drama, with the pair tying the knot in 2009. They have two children together, and separated in 2018.
Since the days of Liverpool 1, Samantha would go on to have a major role in BBC soap EastEnders, appearing as Ronnie Mitchell for just under 800 episodes before the character was killed off in 2017.
Liverpool 1 is streaming now on Prime Video. EastEnders airs on Mondays-Thursdays at 7.30pm on BBC One. The show also streams on BBC iPlayer, where most episodes drop early at 6am ahead of their TV broadcast.
Read more EastEnders spoilers on our dedicated homepage
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Reporter, Digital Spy George is a freelance writer who specialises in Movies and TV. After graduating with a degree in Film Studies and Journalism from De Montfort University, in which he analysed the early works of Richard Linklater for his dissertation, he wrote for several websites for GRV Media. His film tastes vary from blockbusters like Mission: Impossible and John Wick to international directors such as Paolo Sorrentino and Hirokazu Kore-eda, and has attended both the London and Berlin film festivals.