Ella Taylor
Crime and thrillers top the audiobook charts for women aged 34 to 84, according to Nielsen BookData, so it’s no surprise that there’s an insatiable appetite for gripping TV dramas too. Before we delve into 12 that we recommend, what’s the appeal of all this murder and mayhem?
Author Araminta Hall, whose book Imperfect Women is being filmed for a major new drama on Apple TV+ next year, says the answer lies in the female psyche. "We live with this constant awareness that we could be the victim of violence," she explains. "Most women are fascinated by crime because we fear it so much." And, of course, we like seeing lowlifes get their comeuppance.
The latest TV has moved beyond cosy crime, also encompassing Scandi noir, gritty shows and themes such as misogyny, gender identity and the paranormal. That said, some classics are still going strong – Silent Witness, starring Emilia Fox, is on series 28! Here, we meet the no-nonsense queens of prime-time crime.
1. Keeley Hawes: The Assassin
In new Amazon Prime release The Assassin, Keeley Hawes plays a menopausal retired assassin and mother, who has taken herself off to an idyllic Greek island to put her former life to bed. But when her past catches up with her, she has no choice but to flee the island with her estranged son, in a fight for survival. Will her secrets remain buried? Keeley says, "There's thrills and spills along the way, but at the heart of it is their difficult relationship, which is so good."
2. Rose Ayling-Ellis: Code of Silence
In Code of Silence on ITV1, Rose plays Alison, a deaf woman who has honed her lip-reading skills while working in a police canteen. When her ability to follow private conversations is noticed by detectives, she is recruited to help in a covert operation to foil a high-stakes heist. Things become even more risky when she’s drawn to one of the gang members. Rose, who has been deaf since birth, says, "Everyone is underestimating her ability and what she’s capable of doing. She’s on a mission to prove them all wrong."
KILLER DETAIL Rose also appears in the crossword-solving mystery series Ludwig.
3. Siobhan Finneran & Katherine Kelly: Protection
ITV’s Protection follows a witness-protection scheme gone wrong. Siobhan plays DI Liz Nyles, who places a family in a safe house before the trial of a crime boss, while Katherine is DCI Hannah Wheatley, who investigates when the witness and his wife are murdered, and Liz’s love life might be to blame. "We have to watch Liz try and keep a lid on her own emotional journey," Siobhan says. "To try and work out who she can trust, who she can’t, and has the affair she’s had impacted on the people she’s supposed to be keeping safe?"
KILLER DETAIL The drama was inspired by a real witness protection officer.
4. Erin Doherty: Adolescence
TV doesn’t come much tougher than Adolescence, which sent the horrifying story of a young boy radicalised by online misogyny to the top of the Netflix chart. Erin plays child psychologist Briony, who compiles a court report when the 13-year-old is arrested for murdering a girl in his class. It’s a long way from playing Princess Anne in The Crown. Erin hopes the hard-hitting drama shows that there’s no obvious mistake parents make in real-life cases. "Actually, that’s the scariest thing. It can be right under your nose and you’re doing all the right things," she says.
KILLER DETAIL Erin paid for drama school auditions by working for the PE department at her secondary school.
5. Vicky McClure: Trigger Point
The adrenaline-fuelled world of bomb disposal makes Trigger Point edge-of-the-seat viewing on ITV1 and ITVX. Vicky plays the lead role of plucky Lana Washington in the endless life-or-death fight to stop people from being blown up. In series three, she’s back as an ‘expo’ (explosives officer) in body armour foiling more baddies with bombs. "First and foremost, Lana is a brave, brave woman," Vicky says. "She’s a dedicated member of the expo team but she’s up for a laugh. She’s in a very male-dominated world and holds herself very well."
KILLER DETAIL Vicky is known to improvise in some nail-biting scenes to make them more realistic.
6. Keira Knightley: Black Doves
Netflix’s Black Doves saw Keira burst onto the screen as Helen Webb, the wife of a top politician leading a dangerous double life as a spy. The star trained with stunt and fight coordinators to nail the kick-ass moves in her fight scenes. "It was all mixed martial arts," Keira says. "We started off with boxing, and then he did bits of ju-jitsu fighting stuff." Ben Whishaw plays her best friend Sam, who is an assassin, as Helen hunts down her secret lover’s killer. Series two promises more action-packed drama.
KILLER DETAIL This is Keira’s first telly turn since playing Lara in Doctor Zhivago back in 2002.
7. Tamara Lawrance: Get Millie Black
As the eponymous heroine of hit series Get Millie Black on Channel 4, Tamara plays a brilliant Scotland Yard detective who returns to Jamaica after being sent away to London as a child by her abusive mother. As she battles the baddies in Kingston, Millie must rebuild a relationship with her transgender sister Hibiscus and unpick the poisonous legacy of colonialism in the case of a missing girl. "She’s definitely haunted, but she’s also so unstoppable," Tamara says.
KILLER DETAIL The show was created by Jamaican writer Marlon James, whose mother was a police detective.
8. Sinéad Keenan: Unforgotten
Starring as DCI Jess James opposite Sanjeev Bhaskar as DI Sunny Khan, Sinéad cracks cold cases in ITV1’s Unforgotten. The latest series was another popular outing, drawing over seven million viewers. "Unforgotten is good at pinning down and pointing out the oddities and humanity in people’s relationships," says Sinéad. "And with each new series, there are all these completely different characters, with different world views."
KILLER DETAIL Sinéad replaced Nicola Walker, whose DCI character died in series four.
9. Kaitlin Olson: High Potential
The star of US sitcom It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia has turned her talents to High Potential on Disney+. Kaitlin plays Morgan, a cleaner for the LA police, whose genius IQ leads to her becoming a consultant on cracking cases. "She’s got it under control, she’s a boss, she’s in charge, but she’s insecure and she doubts herself, and she’s tortured by this brain of hers," says Kaitlin. "She worries about her children, so there are universal things in here that I think a lot of women can identify with."
KILLER DETAIL Kaitlin is married to Always Sunny co-star Rob McElhenney, who co-owns Wrexham AFC with Ryan Reynolds.
10. Kate Dickie: Dept. Q
Based on the bestselling Danish novels by Jussi Adler-Olsen, in Dept. Q, Kate plays Moira, the chief superintendent overseeing a team of misfits, mavericks and miserable–but–still–talented – crime-fighters. Full of quirky cops and lawyers who’ve made mistakes but are determined to catch killers, the Nordic noir has been transported to Edinburgh for its eagerly anticipated Netflix series. Expect dark crimes and even darker humour from Kate’s eccentric squad. "I think I’m happiest being in other people’s skin," says Kate. "I’m here to tell characters’ stories as best I can. I think I’ve got one of those faces that changes with the characters I play."
KILLER DETAIL Perfect for fans of Slow Horses (available on Apple TV+), who love misunderstood goodies.
11 & 12. Sian Brooke & Katherine Devlin: Blue Lights
Raw recruits with the Police Service of Northern Ireland try to prove themselves good enough for the Belfast beat in Blue Lights on BBC1. Sian plays Grace, who’s swapped social work for a police uniform in her 40s, while Katherine plays Annie, with her own reasons to show she’s got what it takes. For Sian, growing up with a father in the police helped her understand the role. "I could see the person behind the uniform," she says. "That it was a real human being, it was a dad, and so that gave me an insight, I suppose, into the world of policing."
KILLER DETAIL Sian played Eurus Holmes, the secret villainous sister of Benedict Cumberbatch’s detective in Sherlock Holmes.
This article first appeared in the July 2025 issue of woman&home magazine. Subscribe to the magazine for £6 for 6 issues.
