Heartbeat
Heartbeat: Series 17
Published: Monday, 18 June 2007, 11:50AM
Heartbeat was first broadcast in April 1992 and since then four new young bobbies have walked the Aidensfield beat.
Cockney policeman Nick Rowan (played by Nick Berry) was first to arrive in the stunningly pretty Yorkshire village and set up home with the no-less-attractive Dr Kate Rowan (Niamh Cusack).
Despite initial problems with suspicious and sexist locals, they became an integral part of the community and Nick quickly got to grips with all the ruffians and troublemakers from outside.
Nick was replaced by PC Mike Bradley (Jason Durr) in 1997 who married solicitor Jackie Lambert. They divorced after her infidelity and he continued the Heartbeat tradition by dating Dr Tricia Summerbee.
James Carlton stepped into his shoes in 2003 and he was followed by Jonathan Kerrigan a year later.
The series is inspired by the novels of Nicholas Rhea and, apart from being a mainstay of ITV drama, it is particularly popular in Australia, Norway and Finland.
There have been hundreds of memorable moments down the years. Dr Kate Rowan’s death in September 1995 coincided with the birth of their daughter, Katie. It had a nation of fans sobbing long into Sunday night. But there was romance for heartbroken Nick in the sixth series when he met Jo Weston, the schoolteacher.
One of the most shocking moments in the series occurred when PC Steve Crane (James Carlton) met a grisly end in 2004. He was pushed off a bridge by the father of a kidnapped child.
More recently we sobbed as Gina (Tricia Penrose) finally married her soulmate, PC Phil Bellamy (Mark Jordon). As the snowflakes fell, she arrived in a fur cape at the village church in a horse-drawn carriage.
This series has welcomed a new bobby on the beat. It's actor Joe McFadden who plays PC Joe Mason. As we have seen he is not afraid of danger and is a firm believer in using his initiative to solve crimes.
Derek Fowlds and Mark Jordon are the only two characters to have survived through more than 300 episodes since 1992. The series has been in ITV’s top five best-performing shows since then.