Lennie James narrates the first three series of this BBC documentary that plants cameras inside Britain's largest police force, capturing everything from domestic violence calls to counter-terror operations across London's 32 boroughs. What distinguishes the series is its access: senior officers allow filming during live investigations, revealing the moment-to-moment decisions that determine whether cases proceed or collapse.
The production team, led by executive producer Aysha Rafaele, spent months negotiating access before filming began in 2014, with commissioners Bernard Hogan-Howe and later Cressida Dick granting unprecedented clearance to follow officers from emergency calls through to court proceedings. Each hour-long episode focuses on a different aspect of modern policing: the domestic abuse unit in Hammersmith, the homicide team investigating a teenage stabbing, the cyber-crime squad tracing online fraudsters.
When Rosalind Eleazar took over narration for series four in 2023, the programme had shifted focus to document the Metropolitan Police's attempts to rebuild public trust following scandals including the murder of Sarah Everard by a serving officer. The final series follows the force's parliamentary and diplomatic protection command, the dog support unit, and the specialist firearms officers who responded to the 2017 London Bridge attack, providing a detailed record of how Europe's busiest police service adapted to scrutiny and reform.
Production Details
BBC One / 4 Seasons / 23 Episodes / 2015 - Present
Showrunner(s): Ricardo Pollack, Joanna Rowlands
Producer(s): Jonathan Low
Main Cast
Lennie James as Self - Narrator (voice)
Rosalind Eleazar as Self - Narrator (voice)
